Addicted to Multitasking

I have a problem: I am addicted to multitasking.

Like all of us, I have a lot going on in my life. I've got kids, a job, all the blogging, a dog, pathetic attempts at exercising... you know, the usual swirl. And I have found that the only way to get it all done is to do more than one thing at a time. This takes the form of:

• blogging while watching TV (like right now)
• catching up with friends on the phone on the commute home
• balancing my checkbook while on conference calls
• returning client calls from the Safeway
• emailing while at a red light (yes, I am that annoying person you have to honk at to get her to notice that the light has changed)

The problem is that I am suddenly incapable of not multitasking. If I am doing only one thing, like watching TV, I get antsy. (Is there laundry to be folded? mail to be sorted?). If I find myself in line at a store, I simply cannot stand there without checking my blackberry. In the cellular dead zone of Rock Creek Park, through which I drive on my commute home, I go nuts, even though I have XM Radio and an iPod adapter, with their myriad options, in the car.

I really do my best to make an exception when spending time with my daughters, keeping myself focused on them and treasuring the experience of being with them. But there are times when I am emailing myself to remind me of funny things they said, which I can later post on my blog, and I admit that I am guilty of inventing "fun games" for them to play, like "Let's clean out the fridge!" or "Let's pack for the beach!"

The greatest casualty, for me, is my reading. I love to read - I blog about books and spend a lot of time leafing through book reviews and bookstore shelves. Yet, I am finding that I have trouble just sitting and reading and not doing anything else. I tend to push off my reading to that nether zone before bed, when the computer is shut down and the TV is off and the distractions are gone. But of course, then I fall asleep 5 pages later. No wonder it takes me weeks to get through a novel.

So there's my confession, my dirty little secret. I'd appreciate any hints on how to shake this addiction. Email me - I'll write you back from the dry cleaner.

Original DC Metro Moms Post. Gayle also blogs about books at Everyday I Write The Book.