Reply to I cannot multitask and get very overwhelmed and stressed easily--how to handle?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You need to think about it as doing one thing at a time. So if you have to:

1. Do a load of laundry
2. Empty the dishwasher and then put any dishes in the sink in the dishwasher
3. Take a shower and get dressed
4. Call to make an appointment

You COULD say "AHHHHH! Too many things! I'll just hide in bed all day and hope nothing falls on my head."  But! Here's the other option:

You look at each item, put them in the order you'll do them, and then start doing one after another.So if it were me and it were 8:30 a.m., I would:

1. Start the laundry
2. Take a shower and get dressed
3. Move laundry to the dryer
4. If after 9am make call for appt
5. Then do dish project

Technically since you've got laundry going while your showering that is multi-tasking. But to me, it's doing one thing at a time. [/quote]

This is good advice. It's not necessarily that you need to multitask by doing multiple things at once; rather, it sounds like you have trouble prioritizing and then getting things done in the right order -- you get so overwhelmed you just quit. I am very organized and my default response to everything is to make a list, in priority order. Then I follow it, and it all gets done. I also have the advantage of working very fast and having a good sense of how long things will take. You seem to say you don't have this, but maybe you can develop it or at least develop coping strategies.

At the beginning of each week, make a list of the tasks you  have to accomplish (with sub-parts as necessary), both for work and home. Then arrange them in priority order. Then consider how long each might realistically -- realistically! - take, and when you will have time during the week to do them. Then put them in that order, or even make a calendar or schedule if necessary. Seriously, schedule the grocery shopping, laundry, time to read pregnancy books, etc if you need to. At the beginning and end of each day, review your list to see what you have accomplished and what remains, and how the situation might have changed. Maybe you got another project that bumps something further down the list. Maybe you worked faster on project 1 than you anticipated and you can either move project 2 up, or accomplish something else that is short during the time frame left for project 1. Do this twice a day and every week, and you will essentially frame your time for you to get done what needs to be done. It will take you some extra time at first but you should get faster as you go. I keep my list on the computer or on Outlook so it's easy to modify, but my DH does his on paper and just rewrites it every day. He says he remembers better that way. Whatever works for you.

If, after doing this for a month, you still feel like you can't get stuff done -- then maybe you really can't, and you need to cut back. You have to make the call whether you'd rather work part-time and do a great job and be happy, or full time and do a mediocre job and be stressed. Everyone's calculus is different. You have to do what works in your situation. [/quote]

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