Recently my daughter "tweeted" about a time management technique where you block daily activities into chunks rather than multi-tasking. http://bit.ly/8ZoVRu Focusing on one task at a time does allow for better concentration where my usual attempt at multi-tasking does strain whatever I have left of functioning brain cells. I have found that chunking has helped with my writing but it should be done with horse blinders so you can't see the pile of dirty dishes or unwashed clothes. And no matter how well the chunk of time is planned, a bit of short term amnesia can get in the way. (I think that sounds so much better than constantly admitting to senior moments.)
For example. During a chunk of e-mailing this morning, I sent off a message with an important attachment - without attaching it. Guess that is why I send a lot of "PS" notes.
These bits of amnesia are usually short (not sweet) but sometimes turn into a string of bits where I remember just long enough to forget again. Since my cataract surgery, I wear sunglasses whenever outside as I find my sight more sensitive to sunlight or in the case lately - bright snow. After failed attempts of remembering to take them with me from the kitchen table, I kept them on the bookcase near the door but stll walked out without them. Now I carry them in my pocketbook with another pair in the car. That works most of the time, unless I just go out for a walk.
As for lapses in the house, I just go with the flow of staring at everything in the laundry room and then just turn around knowing that I will think of whatever I want when I get back in the kitchen. The trick is to head back to the laundry room fast enough to not have enough time for the amnesia to set in again. I think of it this way - I get a lot of needed exercise.
Perhaps this crazy weather doesn't help. It seems to be effecting the plants. My poor Christmas cactus seems to have forgotten that it blossomed at Halloween and is blossoming again.
Looks like my blogging chunk of time is about up. Next chunk is blinder free so some of the misc. activities get their share of multi-tasking. It's hard to give up old habits.
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Book update - My novel, The Spruce Gum Box, is winding its way from one stage to another. It is in edit and I'm getting excited about meeting with a designer sometime this month. We will be discussing ideas for the book cover. We will be adding blurbs about the book at http://SpruceGumBox.com as we go along. it shares space with my blog site right now while the SGB site is being built.
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