Blogger: Wendy Lawton
My college instructor daughter was home for Christmas. She never fails to amaze me with her ability to do so many things at one time. She’s an avid fiction reader, usually consuming multiple books each week. This being her break she planned to read and catch up on her many favorite television shows. Interestingly enough, she does this simultaneously and seems to be able to absorb both story lines.
I’ve always wished I could multi-task like that, but as I thought about it, I realized I do multi-task. I am just not able to use the same modality. My daughter is reading a story and watching a story unfold. I can’t do that but I did realize that as long as I’m using two different parts of my brain I often multitask as well.
For instance:
- I love to bake and cook but when I spend a Saturday in the kitchen I’m usually listening to an Audible book at the same, hence catching up on my market research while creating culinary delights.
- I wake up early to spend at least an hour in the morning praying and reading through the Bible, but that time is largely me talking to God. Talking and talking and talking. I’ve been trying to add the practice of listening prayer but as I sit there, with no distractions, my mind wanders all over the place. The dust on the table, what I need to thaw for dinner prep, my agent to-do list for the day, etc. I’ve found the best time for me to listen to God is when I’m scrubbing toilets or working in the garden. Keeping my hands busy seems to free my mind to listen.
- And on the subject of prayer, I always admired Billy Graham’s ability to “pray without ceasing.” He said it took many years to cultivate but that he is now able to talk to someone while communicating with God at the same time. I’ve been working on that and am getting better at talking to my clients while praying for them. I still need lots of practice but I’m determined.
So what about multi-tasking writers?
- I have a writer friend who was in a serious car accident. While she was in the ambulance with the attendants picking glass out of her teeth she was making mental notes of everything for her novel.
- And how many writers go on vacation– supposedly to get away from it all– and use the time to collect settings and experiences for their books?
- Our own Rachelle Gardner sits at gymnastics meets all over the country cheering on her talented daughter while reading manuscripts, writing blogs and doing email. Of course this is our same colleague who, when she has dedicated time in her office, either uses her standing desk or her treadmill desk.
- Author Lauraine Snelling often rides in their RV on the way to author appearances while working on her manuscript.
So how about you? How do you multi-task?
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The multi-tasking writer. Myth or reality? Click to Tweet
I pray as I drive–my commute to work is my prayer time. But I sometimes tell God, “this traffic requires 100% of my attention. Catch you on the other side.”
On unceasing prayer, I find it possible to talk and pray at the same time if I don’t use words to pray. I run a little movie in my mind–wordless images–that God surely understands; for example, in a conversation that is escalating towards harsh words, I envision the final handshake or hug as my “keep me from anger” prayer.
Many a time, sitting behind the wheel, I have to say, “Shelli, get your head in the game!”
I used to love to drive. It was a great time to think, dream and pray. Now my commute is by foot.
I multi-task while teaching kiddos during the day. For example, as I monitor them reading aloud, I make mental note of the topics that interest them, vocabulary and ideas that are new for a particular age group, and how they do or don’t relate what they are reading to their own lives.
Great research subjects.
I talk on the phone while I cook, wash dishes, or fold laundry. This is pretty much the only time I talk on the phone. I just cram the receiver against my shoulder and get to work on what needs to be done.
I do the same thing, Kristen. 🙂
Same here!
Ditto! 🙂
Perfect use of multi-tasking.
I used to have some mastery of multi-tasking, until I realized that I was losing moments I would rather have retained.
To this end, I’ve tried to proscribe any tendency to multi-task, because it encourages only touching the high points of ALL experiences. The habit, once ingrained, is hard to break. One becomes something of a supervisor of life, rather than a full participant.
We all agree that it’s rude to check messages on a phone while dining out; but how many of us, during a lull in the conversation, would secretly like to do so? And how many, on using the necessities, take that opportunity to check messages and email?
And do we look forward to taking that opportunity? I did, when my life was different.
It’s better, I think, to concentrate on washing the dishes (as an example) without resentment or desiring the task to be past through letting one’s mind wander to plot, character, or style of one’s WIP.
Aside from cultivating the ability to stay in the moment, I believe it also helps my writing; deeper experiences, even if mundane, increase the “thread count” of my narrative style.
It’s nice to be more productive, but it’s more productive for a writer to live, rather than oversee one’s life.
Good points, Andrew!
This is an attitude I’ve been cultivating when I travel for business Andrew. Instead of trying to keep up with everything going on at the office, I put on my out of office message so I can really be 100% present with the people I’m with.
My thoughts exactly. I write, homeschool my three kids, take care of pets, serve in my church, etc. But I really try to write early in the morning when I *know* I can give it all of my attention. My concentration, attention to detail, and tapping in to the intuitive side of my brain degrade the moment I try to parent my kids and write at the same time. On the other hand, I’m trying to refrain from writing about my life to myself while I’m actually living it! I believe that’s what Ayn Rand referred to as second-handing. And it leads to a less authentic experience.
Andrew . . . The way you wash the dishes is called:
“Practicing the Presence of God.”
Brother Lawrence did it every day, every hour, every moment of his life.
That’s wonderful company in which to satnd – theanks, Don and Rascal!
I multi-task with some things. Because of time constraints, I am often preparing dinner while talking through the boys’ homework with them. Unless it’s sixth grade math. Then it gets my full attention. 🙂 I also work on laundry while I do other things in my day.
I’m learning to discern those times when I do okay with multi-tasking and those times when I need to be singularly focused. When one of my kids wants to talk? I’m all there. Computer lid closed, tasks set aside for that time. I think there are times to multi-task, and times to put everything on the periphery on hold and choose to be fully in the moment.
I’m finding that when I multi-task too much it’s hard to focus on any one thing for very long because my mind keeps a running litany of everything else I need to remember to be doing. There are times I need to multi-task, but I’m also seeing there are times to just breathe in the moment. 🙂
i don’t know how people write books and raise kids at the same time 🙂 it is the ultimate 🙂
The ultimate . . . something. 😉
Welll said, Jeanne. I’m not sure how we could be moms without multi-tasking, but math and children with heart issues need my complete attention.
🙂
I am not allowed to help with math homework.
Or science.
Pi is a food, okay!!
LOL, Jennifer. Even I know a little about Pi….It’s 3.something. Right? 😉
Good balance, Jeanne.
First of all, I love the pray without ceasing. Praying while talking with others. I’m going to work on this. Thank you for sharing that.
And I ask you to pray for me. I’m leaving today, 2-1/2 hour drive, to my speaking location. I’ll be speaking to a women’s church group tomorrow morning on surviving hardships. I’m not as nervous this time, more excited.
Multi-tasking? I have to admit, lately as I’ve been watching movies in the evening with my family, I’m simultaneously working on my new writing project. I keep a journal by my window seat … and as a thought comes into my mind, I write it down. If I don’t, it’s gone. I don’t miss the movie … the tears flow at the end every single time (my husband’s been picking inspirational movies from Netflix lately). 🙂
Prayers up, Shelli.
You’ll do great. You have a heart for the hurting.
Thank you, Andrew!! 🙂 My mom’s going with me. 🙂 It should be great fun.
Praying for your trip and for the women whose lives will be touched by you tomorrow, Shelli.
Always a good idea to have pen and paper nearby for those will-of-the-wisp thoughts.
Thank you, Johnnie! Bless you! Means so much to me.
I know you’ll do amazingly well!! And know that I’m praying for you.
Thank you, Jennifer! 🙂
In line with Andrew’s point, may you enjoy the drive and not multi-task by reviewing your message en route. Journey mercies.
Lord, prepare today the hearts of the women who tomorrow will receive Shelli’s message.
Thank you, Shirlee. Pray for my sweet mother … that she doesn’t ask me once about my writing project, or she’s liable to get an ear full!! 🙂
My prayers are with you, Shelli!
Thank you, Jennifer! 🙂
Praying right now. They’ll love you.
Thank you, Wendy! Thank you!
I’m praying for you, Shelli. I’m certain the Lord will fill your mouth with His words, and minister to their hearts.
And, I’m impressed. If there’s a movie on, the only thing I can do is fold laundry. Try and work on another story? No can do. 😉
i work full time and do a lot of freelance as a bookreviewer so scheduling is a massive need of mine, especially with edits on my first to-be-pubbed novel due in a few months and a novella needing to be written for the same series by may. to add, i don’t want to give up on a great new idea so i have been plugging away at sample chapters. i have a nice long subway commute to work in the morning (about an hour) so i do all of my reading then (research for my historical novels, as well as books for whatever contest i am judging, what is next on tap for me at novel crossing and for my own blog), i use lunches at work for edits and when i am at home in the evening i am always working on something. even if i have the television on, i am either white-boarding, brainstorming etc., weekends are big writing times for me —as are holidays and long weekends— and i like to make it a fun experience so i am not “working” on the weekend; so i often take my laptop to a favourite coffee shop and move in for the day 🙂 i think writers are, in essence, always thinking about writing so, thus, are somehow always writing 🙂 it’s a fun whirlwind and one that my writing group and i talk about daily
When you are inspired by the whirlwind it is a good thing. A very good thing.
Writing is truly an amazing whirlwind, Rachel! 🙂
Rachel, you’re amazing. Simple as that. 🙂 I love reading how you fit things in. 🙂
also, here is a fun perspective from david c cook (now tyndale) novelist Amy Sorrells https://amysorrells.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/so-you-wrote-a-book-when-ya-quittin-your-day-job/
Love it.
For those interested in some extreme professional multitasking, I’d recommend Ed Macy’s books “Apache” and “Hellfire”, about his experiences flying the Apache attack helicopter in Afghanistan.
The crew members wear a monocle, on which aircraft status information is displayed in the form of selectable pages (weapons, nav, systems). The other eye is used for flying (though one can see through the monocle display.
The result is a requirement to divide the tasking of one’s brain according to the input from each eye; and for the eyes to be able to function independently.
Macy describes a video taken of his face whilst flying; both eyes could be seen to be moving independently. His wife saw it, and found it rather revolting. If you’ve seen the Newsboys’ music video for “Shine” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiMamfnL4ZE), you’ve got the picture.
And yes, he could read two books simultaneously.
The books are really worthwhile; Macy’s a good writer, and has a great heart. There’s also an interesting step of faith, from agnosticism to belief. Not a major part, but it stays with you.
Okay, not for me. It must be a rare gift.
Wow, Andrew. I can’t imagine being able to focus that intensely on two demanding tasks. 🙂
I do lots of multi-tasking, but I learned the hard way that as a parent and a wife, I was not “attending” – 100% focused listening to my kids or husband. In both cases, there is subtext that can be missed. By not studying their faces, I missed the emotion of the conversation. Time spent listening didn’t seem like it was “productive” time, but I now regret every time that I turned away to put away dishes or wipe the counter. I want people to remember me as a person who was “present” when I was present.
I still struggle with this, but when I pick up my tiny little bean of a grandson (6 weeks and still 9#) I don’t want another thought in my head except to delight 100% in him.
Good distinction, Sheila. Of course with teens, I found that if I was doing something else, driving, doing dishes, etc, it was easier for them to open up than if I was actively listening to them. For some reason that was too intense for them at that time.
Wendy, my ten-year-old and I have great conversations during our 30 minute drive to school. I couldn’t plan this kind of connection if I tried. Sometimes the silence between us is just as enriching.
Jenni, that’s when I get the privilege of hearing my very quiet youngest daughter sing her heart out. And I’m listening! 🙂
That’s beautiful, Sheila!
Sheila, I love the intentionality of your focus.
I so appreciate your perspective, Sheila. When I can’t stop a task and a boy wants to talk to me, I let them know I’ll finish as I can, but that I can’t stop right then. They’re usually willing to wait to have all of me when we talk. But I confess, sometimes it’s hard to do that. To just stop and listen.
Mom + Writer =
– Brainstorming plot points with my daughters while we make peanut butter and jelly for seven.
– Making notes for blog posts while my husband drives us on errands.
– Making up stories (like the one about the leviathan that lives in the pond in the botanical gardens) as we field-trip.
– Dozing off while the 6yo reads to me. Wait, maybe that one doesn’t count….
I got tickled at the dozing off one, Meghan! It definitely counts! 🙂 Get that nap in when you can. Remember in Little Women, when Joe is reading to her Aunt March? Aunt March is snoozing! But Joe gets her reading practice, right?! 🙂
I’m rereading Little Women right now with my ninth grader, Shelli, and I’d forgotten about that part. Now, I’m anxious to get to it! Seems to me that Aunt March was a bit older and rather more curmudgeonly than me, though…. 🙂
Wasn’t she the “great” Aunt March? 🙂
The dozing part is dream creativity, right?
Umm…exactly, Wendy!
Does writing down a story inspiration in the middle of Sunday service count as multi-tasking? 😉
Yes!
When I had four kids at home, I was basically living on Coke and chocolate. I was a SAHM and hubs travelled A LOT for work. One year between the beginning of May and the end of August, he was at home a total of 9, that’s NINE, days.
We didn’t just play Survivor, we lived it.
Creativity involved faking some weird disease so I could sit alone and undisturbed in the bathroom and read Dee Henderson novels.
I was never a career-driven individual. Two of those in our house would have been utterly insane. When one spouse’s work involves being present at the moment pollen flies on his experimental trees, that are a 13 hour drive away, the other spouse has to have a schedule flexible enough to deal with picking up the kids from swimming lessons.
Now that we’re down to 2 at home, and one can drive, and hub’s career is more publication focused, because it does take 20+ years to gather the data, the doors are wide open for me to follow my dreams.
My multi-tasking involved standing in the background while he built the financial foundation of our family. There were hard years of not knowing if I was ever going to be able to find my niche. Now that I have? His multi-tasking includes running the house for 2 and 3 week chunks of time while I go to retreats and conferences and research treks. Almost exactly what I did a decade or two ago.
Multi-tasking isn’t always a minute by minute gig, sometimes it’s a year to year stretch in which one spouse carries the burden for the other.
Hubs said to me in early Fall that he’s had his time of building his career and doing all sorts of things to that end, and he’s done almost as much as he wants to do, and now, it’s my turn.
“Go, don’t worry about us. We’re good. It’s your turn now. Enjoy every minute of it.”
Although, he is a bit ticked that I refuse to use the phrase “A hail of bullets” in my work. He feels that he should have ONE line in the books that came from him.
Love it, Jennifer! Love it!
I think I’d give him a line, Jennifer. 🙂 Sounds like he’s a keeper! You schedule of yesteryear sounds frighteningly familiar. I am thankful for a new season of life too!
I think we all sighed in unison, Jennifer.
“Go, be free to pursue your dreams!” Sounds like a line from a Disney movie. Glad it’s your reality, Jennifer.
You’ve got a goooooood man, Jennifer. 🙂
I’ll drive and listen to a book on CD.
When I am writing, I’ll surf the Web or check email or play a quick game and mull over in my head what I need to write next.
I can’t read fiction or heavy non-fiction when watching TV but I may look at a magazine or a catalog when I watch TV. I also pay bills the same time I am watching TV.
When we think about it, we actually do multi-task quite a bit, don’t we?
I agree with some of the others about how being a mother forces you to be a multi-tasker to some degree. 🙂 Unfortunately for me, it is SO hard for me to focus and be thorough if I’m trying to do several things at once. (I could NEVER watch a show and read a book at the same time!) 🙂
I love that you make time with God a priority, Wendy. I tend to talk and talk and talk when I pray, too. I also have a hard time with the stop-and-listen thing…My mind wanders quickly…something to work on!
I hear you, Jennifer. Can’t you just picture God thinking, “If Wendy’d stop petitioning me for things I could tell her the answer is on its way.”
I too have a tendency to wander when I’m attempting to be still. The dust thing gets me every time. Downloading audio-books onto my I-phone means I’m never without something to read (or listen). I’ve always been one to talk to God all day long, as if he’s sitting in the room with me. As a child, my parents thought I had an imaginary friend. I am blessed in that I’ve never felt separated from Him. I’ve been angry at God (may He forgive me). But I’ve always felt His presence and love.
The perfect “imaginary” friend.
Having just read Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism, I am determined to cut down on multitasking, lol. That said, I do listen to podcasts while doing housework and taking walks.
Interestingly, when I was working in the business world in the late 1980s and 1990s, most job recruitment notices listed “ability to multitask” right near the top. I feel like I perfected a skill I now must shake free from.
I can identify with the woman in the car accident. As I walk through the dark valley of my mother’s dementia, there’s a small part of the writer in me saying, “Remember how this feels so you can describe it later.”
Is that a book we should be reading?
There’s no groundbreaking new information in Essentialism, but for those struggle with distractibility, as I do, it’s a worthwhile read. The gist is that “only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.” He warns against spreading oneself too thin with myriad responsibilities and commitments.
McKeown writes for a business audience, and his examples of turning down requests, meetings, etc., that don’t align with one’s core goals won’t fly in some situations. Not all workers can skip meetings at will, for example, without jeopardizing their jobs. But for a self-employed person (writer) with control over their schedule, it’s sound advice, especially if you frequently kick yourself and say, “Why did I sign up for this?”
Praying for you, Jenny. I dealt with my grandmother’s dementia. She fell and broke her hip … in the hospital the day she died, all she could say was, “Help me.” But every now and then, she’d look up, wide-eyed, reach her precious arms out … I have no doubt she saw her Savior.
He came and is coming to save.
Thanks, Shelli. I appreciate your prayers.
What an insightful post, Wendy! I love the examples you give because they are such beautiful examples of purposeful, meaningful multitasking. I find that if I’m not purposeful with multitasking (i.e. I’m just trying to madly juggle too many activities at once, without much thought or plan), I feel scattered and unproductive on all fronts.
But approaching tasks with consideration and care, I think it’s possible to strike a balance that allows for multitasking at the same time as living out Jim Elliot’s quote, “Wherever you are, be all there.” Some multitasking encourages deep and productive engagement for me (like listening to a book as I cook, like you), whereas accidental spontaneous multitasking makes me frazzled (insert mental picture of me trying to grocery shop, tend kids, answer cell phone, pull out planner form purse to make appointment while on cell phone… it’s not good. I need to compartmentalize some things.)
My hope is to hone in on the good kind of multitasking, and pull back on the other kind. Thank you for the examples of the WONDERFUL sorts of multitasking! 🙂 Those are the things to strive for.
“…trying to madly juggle too many activities at once, without much thought or plan”–that sounds like how I’ve felt this new year! Though I don’t feel I have as good reasons for it as you, Amanda, with your little ones and all. 🙂 Anyway, this post is helpful to me to be purposeful in multi-tasking, as you say. I think I need to pray and think it through more than I have been rather than just charging madly and sometimes aimlessly ahead, or being so overwhelmed by all there is to do that I don’t do anything!
I’ve gotten several private tutoring students this year, which has put more longer periods of driving into my weekly routine as I visit their homes. Yesterday I used the driving time to work on writing ideas–with Christian music playing on the radio–and it was helpful! I think I might try to start using that time that way. Also, I’ve been taking advantage of my phone this past year to catch up on writing blogs (like this one) in random waiting times when I’m out and about. I need to remember to keep doing that…it does help.
Bless you all as you continue to find the balance between multi-tasking and just being there! I guess God is good at both, isn’t He? 🙂
Wendy,
I love this question! I’m a MAJOR multi-tasker, but the downside of it is that sometimes I do a lot of everything but don’t do well at it all or actually complete anything by the end of the day. That’s when I know I need to peel off a couple tasks and prioritize. Sigh. I truly think I can do it all. My aunt likes to remind me that being young is what makes us old… and I’m finally starting to believe her.
I’m an audiobook narrator/producer as well as an author, so I listen to other audiobooks for style and story for my productions as well as for my own writing. I have a step machine I use (ahem. well, at least i think about using…lower case=whisper) while doing QC on my finished audio files or while reading final drafts of my writing. I also home school a 7th grader and have my laptop on hand to do edits or blogging or writing my quarterly newsletter while she’s completing tasks. That keeps me immediately available, but also getting my own stuff done, as she’s much more independent than she was in younger years. I don’t do a lot of social media anymore, mainly because I don’t find it to be productive time for me. And we only have Netflix and Amazon Prime, not regular TV, so I watch my favorite shows/movies ONLY when I’m folding laundry, or suffering from insomnia because I can’t shut down my over-active imagination.
That being said, there are a few times when I do NOT mutli-task. Dinner time. We sit around the table, no phones, and eat and talk. Bed time. I do not watch my TV shows/movies when my husband is awake. That’s our time and it’s sacred. Devotions. I do my best to stay focused on what the Lord is teaching.
Wow. I sound pretty organized. HAHAHAHA! Did I tell you I haven’t changed out of my pajamas in 3 days? Or that my gray is showing? A LOT?
Happy Tuesday!
Becky
I’ve started carrying a notebook in my gym bag because I tend to write blog posts and novel scenes in my brain while I swim laps and I got tired of scribbling notes on the backs of pool schedules I stole periodically from the racks.
I am very much in the same boat as far as prayer time and hands-busy listening time!
I’m reading this posting at the same time I’m reading a great new book:
“The Dummy’s Guide to Multi-Tasking”
Seriously Folks:
It’s funny how focusing on a “single task” to completion in the 21st Century seems to have become an old-fashioned idea.
But then . . . I’m old-school and I don’t mind being called old-fashioned.