My Meandering Mind

Originally published on Six Short of a Dozen on September 25, 2007… I took the liberty of editing it a little. I’m the author, I can do that.

Scattered Minds

Moms are busy. I know, big news flash on that one. We have children to train, homes to manage, husbands to tend to, blog posts to write…and other things squeezing in for attention. It can leave a woman feeling a bit chaotic and overwhelmed.  Details slip as we try to hold together the big picture. We laugh and call it mommy brain, but it gets frustrating.

What’s a mom to do?

Divide and conquer.

First write down what needs your attention. Get everything out of your brain and onto paper. Group similar items together: around town, in your office, child training, husband’s wishes, etc. You may find some things overlap. Maybe your husband would like you to run by the bank for him - two categories.

You’ve all heard about prioritizing. Well, do that next. What is critical, what is important, what can wait, what really doesn’t need to be on your list?

Take the critical and important items and see if anything can be delegated. Delegate and make a note to follow up on it.

Now look at the remaining list/categories and figure out the best time of day (or week) to focus on those tasks. One category will overlap ALL categories and that’s child training. Moms know child training is a 100% of the time job. Turn your back for a minute and your cat’s head might be highlighted pink (yes, this happened, and I forgot to grab the camera!).

Now focus only on what you need to think about and do right now.

Your mind is no longer scattered because you know it’s all written down on paper. You can relax and give your attention to training your children as you complete your tasks.

If something comes to mind, write it down and get back to what’s going on now.

I find this helps my scattered mind relax and focus much better. Anytime you feel like everything is crazy, step back and go through these steps.

You will get a lot more accomplished if you do this on a regular basis, but if you are like me and get off track, this will also help you get back where you want to be.