Back in the summer of 1991 when my family went to Disney World, I first heard the song, "It's a Small World After All" - over and over again as we rode the ride which, for some reason, scared my then 6 year old brother (the characters are kind of creepy!)  At the age of 10, that ride didn't make sense to me.  The world didn't seem small, it seemed big and scary.  It still seems big and scary to me most of the time.  I've always had a sense of how small I am in the scheme of things.  Whenever I travel, I marvel at the complex system of roads, bridges, and buildings.  I am amazed at scientific research, manufacturing on a massive scale, and when I see these things and hear of missionaries or aid workers helping people all over the world, I feel like what I know, what I do, and what I am just might not matter.

​This week I found the sweet spot between being a jerk and being efficient.  Every day this summer during my one-hour commute home from work, I’ve dealt with construction on the dual lane, split highway I drive (aka the bypass.)  The construction moves a little bit every day so I never know exactly where it’s going to be.  The westbound lanes are restricted down to one lane for just a few hundred feet, BUT since you don’t know exactly where it’s at, cars who drive the same route every day, start getting into the right lane in expectation WAY before the actual lane closure.  I typically sit in a long line of traffic in the right-hand lane for 10 solid minutes before the left lane is actually closed off.  There are a high percentage of semis, so you can’t see very far ahead to know if the left lane is closed just ahead or a mile away.  Since the left lane isn’t actually closed, there are these few, what I used to call “jerk cars,” that speed by on the left (they were probably going like 27 mph which seemed like speeding to my 4 mph)  Daily, I’d grumble, “Oh you jerk cars are going to speed past all of us who are doing what we’re supposed to be doing -patiently waiting in the correct lane.”  

​Well, one day this week, I was kind of in a hurry and didn’t have that extra 10 minutes to spend in a line of traffic inching forward waiting for the construction to appear, so I thought, “I think I’m gonna try being a jerk car…”  I started rationalizing – they’re not really breaking the law - the road isn’t actually closed, and it’s probably wise to use BOTH lanes while they are available to make things more efficient, right?”  So, even though there was a long line of traffic stacked up in the right-hand lane, the left lane looked clear. I turned on my signal and went for it and became a “jerk car!”  I drove and drove and drove at a speedy 27 mph and was amazed how many cars I passed in the right lane waiting patiently (probably cursing me under their breath.)  As soon as I saw the orange sign that tells you to merge, there was this heaven-sent opening that I easily moved into.  Then almost immediately, the blinking sign and the construction barrels appeared that officially closed the left lane.  There I was in the correct lane, breezing through the short actual construction zone.  In no time, I was back to cruising toward home, and I was so proud of myself! This was efficient!!  So you tell me, was it a jerk move or a genius one?

​I started wondering why I’d been wasting so much of my time waiting in traffic this summer and wondering if there are other things in my life that I think of as “jerk moves” that would really just be more assertive and efficient?  I asked myself why I was in that right lane.  The answer was easy - because everyone else was there.  I seemed like what I was “supposed” to do –like I was following the rules and being a good citizen and a good driver.  Really, the people who I thought were being jerks, well, they were the ones that were doing what was actually much smarter and much more efficient.  Are there practices I’m following or things that I’m doing just because others are doing them?  Maybe what I should be doing is paying attention to the people who are doing something different– what is it and is it working for them?  What would happen if I did that and put myself first – would I become more efficient and successful?  What if I said, “I know that there’s going to be a roadblock up ahead, but I might as well make up some ground while I can.”  WOW is that a metaphor or what???  I realized that I apparently learn a lot from traffic metaphors since this is my second post about them - I learned a lot from left turns in a previous post! 

​Make forward progress while you can, don’t just sit there and waste time. I think that applies in so many ways – if you are unhappy in your life, you can sit in line behind all those other unhappy people, or you can do something about it, take a chance, and get in that left lane and move forward. There are always going to be roadblocks ahead as well as things you don’t even know are coming.  Do you want to get behind a line of people who are waiting for bad things with the mindset, “I know that construction is ahead, I’ve gotta prepare, move slow, and be cautious.”?  With that school of thought you are already in the right spot, and though you’re prepared, it’s going to take you FOREVER to get anything accomplished.  Instead, you could take a chance, get out in that left lane, speed past a bunch of people, get some stuff done.  Realize it may be a little tricky or take a little time to get back in the correct lane to get through the actual construction zone, but be forward thinking enough to realize that by getting out from behind that traffic allows you to see what’s coming and know when to shift back to seamlessly move through a challenging spot.  If you start preparing for disaster or roadblocks far in advance or are scared to take a chance, you’ll just be stuck in traffic.  

As I was thinking about this, I realized this is something I deal with often – similar to analysis paralysis!  I know there’s going to be a problem, and I start thinking about it and don’t know what to do, so I just get in line behind everyone else in the “safe” lane and sit and barely move forward.  I do this so often – even though I know the path and the potential outcomes, I’m scared to get in that other lane and make forward progress, because what if I make the wrong decision and I take the wrong path and then it takes me time later to get back into the right lane?  But you know what – that is rare.  When I, the safe, rule-following patient driver, get to the part of the road that narrows to one lane and see some of the “jerk cars” who passed me along the way waiting to get back into my lane I think “haha jerk cars, I’m already in the right lane and now you have to wait!”  But you know what, it took me 10 minutes to get there, and even if the “jerk car” had to wait for a couple minutes to merge, they STILL spent much less time on that same stretch of road because they took a chance and now they get to do more with that time they saved!  Why am I not taking more chances and getting in a position that I can see further ahead?  Fear is the answer, but I don't want it to be!  Once I'd been a "jerk car," I wasn't as scared to try again.  I want to continue practicing what's different, what's assertive, what's efficient, while still remaining kind and considerate - I don't really want to be a jerk!

This week, I had a unique experience at work - the opportunity to focus on one project for two days straight!  This is far from the norm for me as I'm usually switching from project to project and being interrupted by one "fire" after another all day long.  It's difficult to get any one project completed (let alone completed well) because there are so many projects and so many urgent little things that take my attention away from the important tasks.  I can almost see you all nodding your heads in agreement - this battle between the important and the urgent coupled with the sheer volume of expectations placed on each one of us in both our professional and personal lives is almost an epidemic in our society. 

When I was forced into focusing on an important project it felt odd, and a little wrong, to put everything else to the side and do just one thing, but it was AMAZING!  I felt more clarity and forward momentum than I'd felt in a very long time.  Interestingly, because I'd been thinking about one thing all day, my mind just kept on working efficiently even after I was "done" for the day.  I had ideas and worked out problems in my head overnight much more easily than I would have if my mind would have been all over the place during the day as it usually is.

Those of us writing resumes in the early 2000's probably all listed multi-tasking as one of our strengths.  Being able to do many things at once was looked at as desirable.  Since then, a lot of research has been published to debunk that myth of multi-tasking.  Dave Crenshaw says in his book, The Myth of Multitasking: How "Doing It All" Gets Nothing Done, "Remember this rule: the more responsibility you have, the more hats you wear, the more likely you are to become inefficient."   You may be thinking, but if I don't do at least some things at the same time, I'll never get anything done!  I hear ya, but stop to consider what you could accomplish and how fast you could accomplish it if you did only one thing at a time.

Productivity coach, Marcey Rader, describes different types of tasking methods in one of her blog posts.  Multi-tasking is truly doing two things at once, and since only 2% of the population can actually do this - stop trying!  What the rest of us are doing is called switch-tasking. Rader describes switch-tasking as "juggling two tasks by refocusing attention back and forth and losing time and progress in the switch."  Switch-tasking makes us 30-40%  LESS productive because we are switching our focus about every 3 minutes.  There are some tasks that can be done as background tasks which do allow us to complete more than one thing at a time.  A great example is listening to music while running or folding laundry while watching TV.  Listening to music and watching TV are done in the background, while the other task is done in the foreground.

So, how do we realistically create an atmosphere where we can focus on one thing at a time?  I think this starts with remembering that you're in charge of you (one of my early blog posts talks about this in depth.)  I'm the one who thinks I need to do dishes, do laundry, help with homework, post to social media, and talk on the phone all at once - no one makes me do that.  I am guilty of being what my husband calls, "willy-nilly" all too often.  It's so easy to blame others for having to multi-task - "my job demands it" or " I have so much on my plate" - but if we are really honest with ourselves, we may realize that switching from one task to the other is something we do at home when no one is looking, too.  If that becomes our normal, we're going to do that in whatever situation we find ourselves in.  And it's going to become more pronounced when we are under stress.  For me, it's a way to avoid decision making - if I do just a little, just the part I know how to do, and then flip to something else and yet something else, I can avoid doing the hard parts.  The hard parts might not be as hard if I didn't have to reacquaint myself to the project every time I switch back to it after focusing elsewhere.

A to-do list or a schedule with only the most important tasks in a natural order of your energy level goes a long way in helping you stay on task.  A timer can also help you, especially if it's something you don't particularly love doing.  Setting clear expectations about your time with those who you feel accountable to may be the most important aspect in being productive.  If you tell your boss or your spouse or your kids that you will do multiple things for them in an unrealistic time frame, you are going to naturally try to switch back and forth to try to get things completed.  Pad the time you think you need, so you can over-deliver and gain momentum.   Finally, decide what NOT to focus on.  Cal Newport says in his book, Deep Work: Rules for Focuses Success in a Distracted World, “What we choose to focus on and what we choose to ignore—plays in defining the quality of our life.” 

This coming week, I'm going to try to improve my productivity by trying single-tasking.  I know I can't spend two whole days on one project again, but I can spend blocks of time this week with head-down focus.   I'm excited to see the results!

Sources

​Crenshaw, Dave. The Myth of Multitasking: How Doing It All Gets Nothing Done. Jossey-Bass, 2008.​

Rader, Marcey. “Multitasking, Switchtasking, Background Tasking or Hypertasking.” Marcey Rader Coaching, LLC, 13 Dec. 2017, www.marceyrader.com/multitasking-switchtasking-background-tasking-hypertasking/.

Newport, Cal. Deep Work. Piatkus, 2016.

Photo by Steven Wright on Unsplash

Inspiration is everywhere
I remember being asked if I thought I’d run out of material to write about and if this outlet that I thought was going to be fun and therapeutic for me would turn out to be a burden.  So far, I haven’t had to struggle to find things to write about because my life is a work in progress, and I just write about what I experience. Sometimes I have things to share that may be helpful and other times I just write about the raw honest truth of my shortcomings.  Just like you see more pregnant women when you are pregnant, I have found more inspiration now that I’m looking for it. 

Because I’m always looking for an inspiring quote, an interesting article, a great organizing idea, or something worthy of a Friday Funny title for my social media posts, I have read more books and articles, learned more about organization and productivity techniques than ever before in this past year.  The stories I’ve heard from readers who have been inspired by something I have written have truly brought me joy. 
​

I'm overweight - actually obese according US Department of Health.   There I said it – funny how that was so hard since my weight is something that I really can’t hide.  Growing up, I stayed at a pretty healthy weight (probably because of my mom's 2-vegetable-with-one-being-green-at-dinner rule!)  The first time I remember really making an effort to lose weight was when I was getting ready for my wedding.  But back then at 21, I just ate fewer chicken nuggets and jogged a little and - boom, I weighed 133 by wedding day.  Well, since then I've accumulated a lot of things - a husband, a mortgage, two babies, a career, a couple of side hustles, some stress, and a lot of weight!   I remember during my second pregnancy, my doctor logged my 9 months pregnant weight and said, "Have you ever weighed this much before?"  I was a little shocked at the question, and said, "No and I hope I never do again!"  Well, I weigh more now than I did when I gave birth over 7 years ago, and I’ve tried harder than ever during that time frame to lose weight.  It’s frustrating and sometimes disheartening to try and fail over and over again.  I’m tired of the ups and downs. 

​My internal dialogue would be maddening to anyone who could read my mind.  I give myself a pep talk reminding myself I’ve lost weight before so I can do it again, and I make a plan.  Then I try real hard – for a couple of weeks - and when I don’t see the results I want, I give into a little self-pity and feed that with actual food.  I think I might as well just eat whatever I want since I’m already overweight.  I say to myself, “It’s not the number on the scale that matters, it’s what the inside that counts.”  I think I don’t look that bad, and I just need to learn to be happy with who I am and how I look.  But then I see a picture of myself and do a double take because that can’t really be what other people see when they look at me, right?  No, it’s just the camera angle – you’ve got to hold the camera higher.  It IS just the camera angle, right?  I don’t feel like that person in the photo – or in the mirror.  And then I start feeling down and realize that I AM that person, and that person seems lazy and incapable if she can’t do something as simple as control the food that goes in her mouth and the number of steps she takes per day.  The doctor even comments on my weight and tells me there's nothing physically wrong, I just need to eat better, exercise, get more sleep.  I want to scream, “I’VE TRIED THAT!”  They don’t understand my life and how stressed I am and how little time I have - and then insert excuse after excuse.  I finally crumple into the question, “If I can’t lose weight, am I really capable of much else?” 
 
I've told myself so many things about my weight - some are lies and some are truths, but I've lost track of which are which.  I’m speaking as a 37 year-old woman with no medical or psychological training – just my own experience and observations.  I’ve found that my weight is intertwined with so many aspects of my life which is why losing it is not as easy as simply eating less and moving more.

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​Weight and Relationships
I am blessed to have children who tell me I’m beautiful even when I don’t feel that way and a husband who has never made me feel ugly because of my weight.  My closest friends and family love me unconditionally, so I know that changes in my appearance won't make the people who matter to me love me more or less.  This makes ME the only person I need to impress, and it’s hard for me to do things for myself.  I find it easier to help someone else meet their goals than to take the steps that I need to take to get where I want to go.  I feel selfish when I try to eat differently than my family or take the time to exercise because in my mind, that takes something away from them.  My relationship with myself needs to rise up and take precedence so I can be my best self.  
 
Though I have confidence in my close relationships, it is very easy to compare myself to others.  When I start comparing, I feel bad about myself, but I often turn to excuses.  “If I was a stay at home mom like her, I’d have time to exercise and would be just as fit.”  “If I had as much money as her, I could afford to buy healthier foods, too.”  "If my job were as easy as hers, my stress level would be less, and it would be easier to lose weight.”  Instead of all of these, “If I had…then I would be” statements, I should be looking at the women I’m comparing myself to and learning from them.  I know not all skinny girls have it all together.  I should learn how they manage to get and stay healthy in spite of the struggles of their lives.  

​Weight and Health
I know, intellectually, that my weight does impact my health and that losing even just a little weight will improve my overall health and well-being.  According to the CDC, being obese can increase chances of all sorts of health problems including high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, mental illness, and body pain.  With all of these risks, you’d think that I’d really focus on decreasing my weight.  Instead, I continue to rationalize why MY weight problem isn’t all that bad.
 
I’ve always had good blood pressure – like, it’s my pride and joy.  No matter how much I’ve weighed my blood pressure has always been normal and usually below normal.  It was like my barometer of health, and I’d rationalize that even though I was overweight, since my blood pressure was good, it wasn’t really impacting my health.  Earlier this year at a routine doctor appointment, my blood pressure was high.  I freaked out because this threw my healthy-though-fat theory out the window.  I've since worked to get it back in the normal range, but it will take constant attention to keep it that way.

As I age, I think more about my own mortality.  I’ve heard people say they want to get healthy for their family, and that’s great – I want more quality time with my family too, but in all honesty – I want to live long and enjoy my own life for me!  I am guilty of the putting off healthy habits -  “I’ll start good eating Monday” and  “after I get through this, I’ll start exercising” and “I’ll start going to bed earlier after summer is over.”  Why do I keep putting it off?  As those of us who are over about 25 know, time seems to accelerate as we age.  I don’t want to miss out on NOW because I don’t have enough energy to enjoy life, and I don’t want to miss out on the future because of the bad habits I have now. ​

​Weight and Age
Between kids, I lost 25 pounds and kept it off for two years (until I got pregnant again.)  I read and followed the South Beach Diet to the letter.  I thrived with a strict program with rules and quick results.  I’ve tried to follow the same program several times since and failed.  Has my body chemistry changed now that I’m getting older and it’s just no use?  A New York Times article says, “Although it is possible to lose weight at any age, several factors make it harder to lose weight with age.”  That’s kind of depressing…The one good thing about the passage of time, though, is the improvements in technology.  A FitBit will surely do the trick or an app to track my calories, right?  Though these are great tools, they don’t do the work for us.  I’m living proof - I’m at the same weight I was before I tried those things.
 
The older I get, the easier it is to tell myself that there’s no one left to impress.  I’ve got a family who loves me, a career, and many great friends.  I’m nearing 40 and maybe my body has just found its happy place, and I need to accept it.  It’s easy to tell myself my body is different now and it’s not my fault that the weight is clinging to me (in all the wrong places, I might add.)  But then I think – I’m not even FORTY, I’ve got many, many years ahead of me – hopefully, I’m not even half done.  Do I want to live the last half of my life not meeting my potential?  I’m older, but I’m wiser and I have more resources and experience than ever.  I certainly know what doesn’t work, so why not use that to my advantage?  I want to make the rest my best!

​Weight and Stress 
Here’s a hot topic and one that we all like to argue about – stress.  What causes it, can we will our way around it, what does it do to our minds and bodies, how should we deal with it?  Stress is defined as “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.”  We’ve all been there, but we can all think of someone in our lives who’s been there more or longer or in a more extreme way than we have.  I know others who cope in a much healthier way than I do even when they have much more stress.  Who am I to blame stress on every negative thing in my life?  I am blessed in so many ways, and I let the few negatives in my life outweigh all of those positive things.  I’m stressing about what stress is doing to me.  I am in no way denying stress can cause all sorts of physical and mental problems. I’m coming to realize that focusing on the problem instead of the solution is only exacerbating the problem.  Case in point, when my blood pressure went up, I became my son’s science fair project, “Can Yoga Decrease Blood Pressure?”    I did yoga for 15 minutes a day and my blood pressure did decrease.  Was it the yoga in and of itself, or was it that I slowed down, took time for myself, had some physical activity, focused on what I didn’t want for my body, and probably ate a little better?  Not sure exactly why it worked, but it did.  You’d think I’d have kept it up after the project ended, wouldn’t you? But, no, I saw even just 15 minutes a day as disruptive to my schedule. So I stayed in the same stressful state – it gave me something to blame.

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​Weight and Sleep
Research says that dieters who cut back on sleep over a 14-day period, lost 55% less weight from fat, even though their calories stayed equal.  A sleepy morning increases your chances of taking in more calories, losing impulse control to avoid junk food, and skipping exercise.  The answer to this seems so simple - sleep more.  Why is this so hard for me?  Under the guise of productivity, I stay up too late.  Sleep was one of my areas of focus for this year, but I’ve failed miserably!  I’m constantly tired, hitting the snooze button multiple times a morning, but yet I stay up late to get things done or just watch TV.  I rationalize the need for late night TV as down time after a stressful day.    I know that many experts suggest early morning exercise to jump start a healthy day.  I will never be able to accommodate that if I continue to go to bed so late!  I need to take my own advice and set (and stick to) a bedtime for myself like I set for my kids.

​​Weight and Priorities
My kids and family are my top priority, and I often use this as an excuse not to take care of myself.  My go-to quip when making light the fact I’m overweight is, “Well I love to eat, and I hate to exercise.”  I realized recently that at least half of that statement is a lie.  It turns out I don’t hate being physically active, but what I do hate is exercising when I feel like I’m neglecting another responsibility.  Spending time with my kids, cleaning my house, working, staying caught up with the paperwork of life always take precedence over exercise for me.  I need to make exercise a priority, and by re-framing what my responsibilities really are – setting a good example for my kids and helping them be healthy - I can give myself permission to take care of myself.  

​Weight and Organization
I truly believe that being organized can help me get to and maintain a healthy weight.  The times I’ve been successful with a healthy lifestyle are the times I had a realistic plan, I monitored my progress toward that plan, and had systems in place to help me be successful.  I’ve tried many different diets over the years, and have found it difficult to stick to them.  I need something that is realistic in the long term, can be measured so I can see progress, and can have “shortcuts” set up to help me stick to it.  As I said before, I love food, so depriving myself long term is just not going to work.  I need to measure things – weight, calories, miles, minutes, steps – so I can see forward progress.  I need it to be easy to maintain.     Standard meals or snacks, specific days or times that I do activities, a chart or an app to keep track of it all.  This sounds like the building blocks of success to me! 
 
Another way that being organized helps with weight loss is meal planning.  Going to the store with a plan and a list helps prevent buying on impulse.  Having a list of meals posted on the fridge helps me not to just run to McDonald’s.  Keeping a detailed calendar is going to be critical for making time for exercise.  Either a shared digital calendar or a family calendar on a white board in a central location can allow the entire family to know what to expect.  If you know what is coming up for the next day, you can plan ahead and set out the supplies you will need for exercising or cooking a meal or packing a lunch the night before.  

​My conclusions from exploring my weight loss struggle are this:  I need to go to bed earlier on a regular basis, plan for healthy foods in my house and lunchbox, set a plan about what I’m going to eat and how I’m going to keep moving and monitor my progress, find someone to be accountable to other than myself, schedule exercise even if that means cutting out another activity in my day, consider my quest to become healthier as a service to my kids through my good example.  I also need to love who I am right now, but not in a “you are what you are and that can’t change" way, but in a “you are what you are right now and have the potential to be what you aspire to be" way.  Neither self-loathing or burying my head in the sand will work – only acceptance and continual improvement will really make me healthier and happier.