I’m not saying that moms are basically computers, but I’m also not NOT saying that. If you catch my drift.
We organize, plan, calculate, and we do the same amount of work whether our battery is full or in the red. For many of us, we work with so many tabs open (metaphorically and literally) that if someone else were to take a peek at all the things we’re working on, they’d be entirely lost. But for us, we somehow manage to keep it all straight and to get it all done.
This is called multitasking (ever heard of it?). Unsurprisingly, it’s a thing that moms take immense pride in. Ever had an argument with your spouse about how they can’t seem to do ONE THING, meanwhile you’re doing a million things all at once? You kind of puff your chest out a little, and in the middle of all of your annoyance you feel a particular warmth knowing that you do everything for everyone.
What happens when “great at multitasking” becomes a part of our identity? It makes you great at your job, it makes you great at home. But, does it make you great for yourself? Does it fill your cup? Being a great multitasker leaves very little room for rest, in fact, we could argue that a great multitasker often feels guilty when they take an opportunity to rest. For a person who takes pride in productivity, just sitting and taking time for themselves can feel like laziness.
However, if we stay in line with this “moms are computers” analogy: what happens when we have too many tabs open and don’t ever fully shut down, or at the very least, don’t charge the battery? The machine starts to slow down, new tasks don’t load quickly, everything starts pausing, you lose your work because there’s not enough bandwidth to keep up on all of the moving pieces. In the end, if we overload it with too many open tabs and not enough time to catch up and recharge, we end up sucking the life out of it and inevitably missing the mark on efficiency altogether.
I think it’s okay to be take pride in being a great multitasker and being able to do and juggle everything all the time. But, it’s also okay to take a break. So, if you’re overloaded, I encourage you to take a minute, close each tab one by one, put your feet up, grab a cup of coffee, and just worry about charging your battery for a little bit.
