When Multi-Tasking Goes Bad
by Alana Morales

Now that I have been a work at home mom for well over a year now I have become the Queen of multi-tasking.

How can this be a bad thing? Well, I now completely lack the ability to do less than three things at a time. When I sit down to watch a movie or TV show, I am still working or thinking about working or feeling guilty about not working.

I decided to make a chart of my daily activities and how they get completed.

When I eat breakfast, I am also emptying the dishwasher, feeding and cleaning up the kids from their breakfast and cleaning my kitchen from the night before.

When I am folding clothes, I am also getting snacks, getting my son's backpack ready for the next day or refereeing a karate match between my kids.

When I am driving, I am going through spelling words with my son, thinking about the work I need to do that day, or trying to remember what I need from the store.

When I am going to the bathroom - wait a minute. I don't get to go to the bathroom for more than 27 seconds anyway, so that doesn't really leave time for much else. Except yelling down the hall at my daughter who now knows how to open up the drawers in the kitchen. My husband is starting to get frustrated with me because when I do get to spend a little time with him in the evening, my mind is always elsewhere. Which I think is ironic, considering that it is usually the woman who is mad at the husband for being distracted all the time.

Torture for me would be to sit me on the couch with absolutely nothing - no paper, no pens to write on my hand with, no articles to read. Then make sure the kitchen was messy and my kid's clothes needed to be washed. Then just force me to sit there and do nothing.

After about 19 seconds I would begin to tremble. After a minute I would look like I was going through detox. After about 5 minutes, you would have to strap me to the couch, because that would be the only way I would be able to not do anything.

What if it is like a drug addiction and I have to add more and more tasks to my plate? Where would I be able to draw the line? Is there a limit to how many tasks a woman can tackle at a time?

If I could be a guy for a day, I wouldn't have any problem with this. After being married for almost ten years, I am convinced that the only multi-tasking men can do is read while going to the bathroom. Just think about how much less productive women would be if we were like this?