I'm don't mean to complain and whine but...
Many years ago I worked as a secretary for a banking consulting company and then in a detective division. I was very well-organized and could find anything that was needed in a millisecond. Things have changed or I have changed or both. Maintaining the organization of personal, my company, and professional information has become overwhelming for me. At times I struggle to understand it. I don't think I'm any less efficient than before but like the frog in the cold pot of water, gradually over the last 30 years things have heated up and I haven't jumped out of the pot. (Luckily, I've been simmering rather than boiling).
I know that 3 emails, a post office box and home delivery, two phones lines, on-line communication apps and a cell phone are a lot more than I've ever had of 'communication' devices. But I used to work a switchboard and it wasn't so disruptive. Of course, that was the only thing to do at that time.
That is an interesting concept 'the only thing to do.' Not in a long time has there been an only thing to do. As a matter of fact, over the years, it seems that there is only one more thing to do to add to the many other 'one more things to do' that I didn't have 30 years ago.
This could be part of how I loose my focus? I think what has happened is that I need someone to do what I used to do. I need a housekeeper, a cook, someone to do the laundry, grocery shop, clean out the kitty box daily (I have 6 cats rescued from the coyotes, owls, cougars and coyotes like them for dinner). Since I'm a one person business, I need someone to clean the office weekly (I do that, but at least I pay myself, a little). Then I need someone to do the filing, help me organize my reams of research materials (so I can find it quickly when I'm working on something and the muse of memory reminds me that somewhere I have data on the subject I'm writing about). I also need someone to file all the papers I still have to keep up with (what happened to a paperless workplace with our computers)? It would be great to have someone to set up my appointments and keep up with who has paid and who hasn't and deal with that accordingly. Then there is the taking care of the mail, whichever way it comes in, every piece means there is something else that needs to be done. (Another only one thing to do.)
I do have a remote staff: a billing person, web person, marketing person and illustrator. But it's just me and my therapy cat Sampson in the office, until our clients come in and we get to do the work we love.
Oh, I forgot, there are phone calls. One day I realized I was on the computer, had my cell phone in one ear and the other phone rang and I answered it. Though everyone got taken care of, my realization shook me up. I think that was the day I realized that multi-tasking had gone too far and I had better get a grip. But the commode backed up and I had to go take care of that so I forgot about my resolve.
After writing this I know am sure that I do not have attention deficit problems. I have 21st century techno out the kazoo problems and the challenge of trying to figure out what I really need and what I don't. Of course even when I do know what I want I can't always get it my way. Like when I bought my car, it had 'packages'. Even if you don't want the whole package, in order to get the one thing you want you have to buy it all. I don't really think that makes much sense. It's like when I bought my cell phone, I don't even know 3/4ths of what it can do but I have to get the whole thing then spend hours trying to figure out how to use the part I want. Maybe technology has made some things easier but it has also made them more complex and time-consuming to learn how to use. You really can't get just what you 'need' you have to get the whole 'package'.
How about packaging some simplicity? With simplicity we could s---l---o---w down and breathe. We could connect with body/mind, feel our selves and take a good look at what we truly value. We might even realize what is most important to us. We would hear each other say "It is so exciting what I am doing with my life." instead of "I don't know what to do with my life." We would wake up to the relationships that are important to us that we have let slide to the back burner of our lives and take action to see which relationships might be repaired and reconnected. We would have so much oxytocin (the love hormone) running through our veins we'd be able to feel calm and relaxed. No one would know what to do with that because all of a sudden they would be able to experience a completed thought from start to finish with no interruptions in between. That would be scary, wouldn't it?
Deborah Chelette-Wilson, a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas since 1998. She has worked with children, teen and adult providing a healing presence and practical solutions for the challenges of living in the 21st century. She is a dedicated advocate for children and families. For more information: http://www.deborahchelette-wilson.com/
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