If you Give a Mouse a Cookie

The house is quiet, nap time prevails and I just finished reading If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff to my baby not one but 4 times before she dropped off to sleep. As I read I was thinking about the story.

Here's a synopsis...a mouse shows up to your house and you give him a cookie, then he wants milk, a straw, a napkin and the list is never ending. Before too long you are helping this mouse cut his hair, sweep and mop the floor, settle down for a nap and get distracted by pictures, create his own art picture, see the fridge and...want another glass of milk and cookie. Talk about a demanding mouse. And I know mice, we had a whole family that put up residence in my home we had to catch and 'send to a better place' (at least that's what my kids think!).

So lately I have been feeling a lot like this mouse. I can't seem to complete one project or task without my mind flitting to the next deed at hand. My mouth is still full of toothpaste and I see the unmade bed and whisk over there and so on. I AM the mouse!

Have you ever had someone compliment you by telling you how great you are at multi-tasking? I have decided this is actually an insult! That's right. Multi-tasking is BAD. I have been busy with so many projects lately that I am like a whirling mouse, running here, there and everywhere. Even when I drop off to sleep at night my brain in whirling and I lay awake making endless lists in my head.

Ever noticed how IMPOSSIBLE it is to be a great listener when you are trying to multi-task. Here is a perfect example. This morning I was at the gym and I had a conference call I needed to listen to at the same time. So after doing my intense Jillian Michaels routine (LOVE HER) I jumped on the eliptical, dialed my cell phone into the conference call and with an earbud and the phone on mute listened to the call for 30 minutes. End result? Got an average workout and a half listened to phone call.

Multi-tasking is a four letter word. Here is your quote for the day to meditate upon, "Today, we must start to recover our sanity. The way we do this is to concentrate slowly on completing one task at a tmie, each hour of the day, until the day is over." [Sarah Ban Breathnach from Simple Abundance].

Go forth and stop doing so much.

Heather Johnson
Talk Show Host
http://www.confessionsandchocolate.com/