When Multi-Tasking is More Mayhem Than Helpful

Are you a master multi-tasker? There is a time to multi-task and a time not to. It’s important we discern when it’s best not to multi-task.

To multi-task or not to multi-task? That is the question. The answer?

Yes.

And no.

We moms are experts at multi-tasking. We can be talking on the phone, French braiding hair, cooking supper, helping a child with homework, checking email, and nursing a baby....all at once.

Dads?

They can change a light bulb.

But don't you dare ask them a question while they are in the middle of changing that light bulb because they'll have to stop their twisting motion in order to answer you! ;-)

(Okay....maybe I exaggerate just a little...)

A woman's ability to multi-task can be both a blessing and a curse. It can be beneficial during on those days we need to get more done in less time. And it can be detrimental when it detracts from something important that requires our focused attention.

For example....being on hold with the insurance company while sorting laundry?

Good.

Trying to paint your nails while a crying teen pours her heart out to you about a friend who hurt her?

Not so good.

Cleaning the bathroom with non-toxic cleaning products while you supervise your toddler as he plays and splashes in the tub?

Good.

Typing away on the computer and checking email while your friend on the other end of the phone tells you her husband is divorcing her?

Not so good.

Yep, multi-tasking can be great! (And let's see if any of you can beat my friend Suzy's best record. One day I called her and discovered she was talking on the phone to me, bleaching her teeth, giving her son a spelling test and bouncing on the mini-tramp for exercise all at once!)

But multi-tasking is not wise when there are actual living, breathing people who need our attention. People with needs. And feelings. At those times, perhaps we should fight that innate urge to multi-task.

And, on a grander scale, we must fight the urge to multi-task by taking on too many responsibilities outside of our four walls; by saying 'yes' to numerous commitments we really don't feel called to but are afraid to say no to; by wearing too many hats at church, school or in the community in an attempt to be the 2013 version of Super Woman.

Nearly did me in a few years ago.

Then I heard a few statements that helped me to sort through my over-committed schedule and scrape off my too-full plate. They are:

• Beware of the barrenness of a busy life.

• Don't take on more than you can pray for.

• If Satan can't make you bad, he'll make you busy.

Slow down and chew on those for a while. Or. better yet, print them out and post them where you'll be sure to see them in hopes to keep you from getting overloaded in the first place.

Yes, to multi-task or not to multi-task? The answer is sometimes "Yes" and, at other times, "No". Always, we must lift our tasks before the Lord to make sure they are in line with His word and His will. And then, with what He does direct us to do we must keep this in mind:

Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.Colossians 3:23-24