Multi-Tasking
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work.....Colossians 1:10a
The term "multi-tasked" certainly applies to motherhood. As an illustration, my husband loves to tell the story of how I nursed a baby with my left arm, while dishing out ice-cream with my right. (Necessity is the mother of invention, and it helped that I utilized a high counter).
The occasion was an older child's birthday. There was much activity and excitement, and I, as the mother, was at the center of it. The baby needed me with a task that only I could fulfill, and yet, so did the "child of the hour". I was being pulled in two directions at once. And so, with a little ingenuity, I was able to bring the two tasks together. The baby's needs were satisfied, while I was able to remain an active presence at the older sibling's birthday celebration. Thankfully, it was only our close family present.
Often times, as a homeschooling mother, I find myself "multi-tasking". While tutoring a child in math at one end of the kitchen table, I intermittently fold wash at the other end. When ironing my husband's shirts, I sometimes station my young son in a chair, set perpendicular to the ironing board, and peer over his shoulder as he reads to me. Lunch has sometimes been eaten in front of the television, as we watch an educational video. And spelling tests are frequently given while I do dishes at the kitchen sink or prepare dinner at the stove.
When my children were younger, I often set myself up to nurse the baby on one side, while cuddling the toddler on the other, with a book on my lap and reading to the preschooler. This took some practice juggling, but with time, proved successful. Many times I took advantage of car drives to recite, review, and memorize Bible verses, math facts, and spelling words. Of course, I was careful not to read and drive at the same time.
I have found that "multi-tasking" is often a means of survival. If planned properly, it is a good implementation of time management, and a way to please many, while accomplishing much.
Sometimes I take time at night, as I'm laying in bed, to think through my day. What needs to be accomplished? Is it washing, ironing, special cooking projects, baking, correspondence, errands? What are the schooling needs? Math drills, reading, spelling tests, history projects? And then I consider what I can REALISTICALLY combine. I try to make it a goal to do the one-on-one teaching in the mornings, tackling the more difficult subjects first, and spending time with the younger ones who are struggling in any particular subject. After lunch, if my older children don't need me for one-on-one, I then attempt to combine tasks (chores and younger children's schooling).
If, at any time, combining becomes too stressful, I stop one or the other, making a judgment of which is higher priority or need. For multi-tasking to succeed, wisdom is needed to know my capabilities and that of my children.
Multi-tasking can be a benefit to busy mothers, but only when planned, thought through, and implemented with God's wisdom and direction.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for providing me this option for time management. Please give me Your wisdom as to how to implement it, and to use it only when beneficial, and not to add more stress.
