As a mother of two young children, I feel like my ability to focus on anything has flown out the window. Blame it on the constant interruption or "mom-brain" but I literally cannot focus on completing something without moving to something else.
For example:
Let's say I am washing the dishes and loading the dishwasher. As I am loading dishwasher I notice little toddler hand prints all over the it.
I take out the Windex to clean them off.
Then I notice the cabinets have some unknown liquid on them so I clean it.
Oh no what is that on the floor? Pull out the Swiffer mop.
Throw away paper towels and Swiffer cloth to notice the trash is full.
Take trash out--but wait! There is that annoying crab grass in my black mulch.
Start weeding out garden, go back inside and now my hands are black from the mulch.
Washing hands off, I hear my phone get a text. Check text then decide to check email.
Oh crap need to finish that photo book before the discount expires!
Hear toddler waking up from nap---then baby is waking up in the swing.
And guess what isn't finished? Yep the dishes. I seriously cannot finish my original task without repeating to myself, "Finish this, then move to the next task."
Do any of you have this problem? I can't imagine how I would be in a real office environment. My inability to focus leaves unfinished chores and projects all throughout the house.
I find myself continually saying, "I need to do this because I can't do it while the kids are up," which leads to me running around my house like a chicken with its head cut off.
How do you balance your cleaning/chores/projects while caring for the kids?
I would take my kids to the gym every am and pack a light lunch that they would eat there..then shop on the way home then it would be the magic time of the day NAP TIME! I would clean and cook then. we always had a play room where their toys were and they pretty much stayed there... my tables all had baskets in them where the toys would get dumped. starting at age 2 the kids had to help with small chores...sometimes they would still be in diapers!!! but a sponge and container of soapey water would keep the tubs clean and the kid entertained for at least a hlf hour. good luck!!
ReplyDeleteOh, does this sound familiar!
ReplyDeleteI stopped cleaning.
ReplyDeleteHA.
just kidding, kind of.
It once took me an entire day to make a cup of tea because I kept getting distracted by other things. I swear I must have boiled that kettle 5 times. And then when I finally brewed a cup, it went cold while I was folding laundry. So I put it in the nuker...walked away to answer the phone. Found cup of tea in nuker next morning!! oye.
I have certainly dropped my standards on some things like cleaning and organization. Some days all you can get to is the bare minimum. Learning to prioritize is huge though. Other than that....I think we all just find what works for us eventually.
Totally familiar. I start one thing get distracted by another and then BAM, hours later the original task sits half way done. Oh well, you win some and lose some!
ReplyDeleteI don't have kids, and I still have this issue. I fear it's only going to get worse as the time comes for me to have kids. I'm trying to teach myself to finish one task at a time still. And I just fear that that might not ever happen lol
ReplyDeleteUmmm yeah that sounds familiar! Sorry I don't have any solutions for you! :)
ReplyDeleteMy whole life is one big scatterbrain since my second child came into the world. Eventually everything gets done, it just takes longer than it used to.
ReplyDeleteOh Natalie I can just picture you running around from one task to the next! I don't have kids but I do this all of the time too... I think our minds are so overloaded with information, tasks, etc. (whether we work outside the home or are inside the home) that we can't focus for too long! I've found that eventually my rabbit trail of tasks leads me to my original one haha
ReplyDeleteSometimes, I do stuff with a child or two hanging off me. Or I do stuff after 9 o'clock at night. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm the worst about this, especially at nap time. I am guessing with #2 it's only going to get worse too! Too funny though about how our trains of thought work on these things!
ReplyDeleteI cant totally relate. and during night time when i lie down to bed i feel like i didn't finish or accomplish anything. but at least the kids go to eat right? i think that's the most important one.
ReplyDeleteHa!!! I know!! I read that mothers are the best multi-taskers, but that multi-tasking isn't really that efficient because of the things that you just said. I try to finish one room at a time, carry a basket with me and deposit all the miscellaneous crap i find in each room at the end. Hang in there!!
ReplyDeletexo
OMG. I need to repeat the same mantra. Does it work? I can't seem to get anything accomplished in my household. Even the small tasks are left unfinished. I'll be thinking of you the next time I try to finish doing the dishes :)
ReplyDeleteYup. It's a product of our multi-tasking momma nature. Sometimes I have to remind myself to make a priority list and NOT get distracted and do one item at a time and if I notice another item I just add it to the bottom of the list.
ReplyDeleteOn the weekends it takes me approx 4 hours to finish 1.5 cups of coffee. Of course it's much the same m-f at the office.
Chores??? Cleaning??? What are those things? As a mom with bigger kids I can tell you: There are some days when they're little that you think you totally suck, but then one day (when the littlest turns 4-ish) it just changes and slowly, slowly becomes easier.
ReplyDeleteOh all the time! I have plans to get things done and it never works out because I have two kids trying to get their "things" done!
ReplyDeleteLol! Yep- some things just don't really happen when you have kids. The best is just to stick with the one task or go back to it or it might never get done :)
ReplyDeleteYou described me to a tee lol so I am kinda happy you go through the same thing, cause now I know I am not alone lol
ReplyDeleteI do this all the time and I drive myself crazy!!
To do lists are my friends...
Oh my gosh, this is me EXACTLY! And at the end of the day I'm so mad b/c I didn't get anything done!
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