As a working mom, triathlete and everything in between Multi-Tasking has become second nature. However, there are some lessons to be learned when attempting to take on the world.
My super awesomesauce friend and fearless leader of GoTRIbal is sharing some of her insights and advice about women, multi-tasking and all the stuff in between.
Your mother was right.
Running with scissors isn’t good for anybody – unless you’re a woman.
If there’s one thing you are probably really good at, it’s multi tasking. And let’s just call a spade a spade here shall we? If you are a woman, there’s a pretty darn good chance you’re good at it.
Test: Are you reading this while replying to work emails, lacing up your running shoes, planning your friend’s 40th birthday invite list, and arranging your boyfriend’s (husband’s, sister’s, kid’s) next dentist appointment.
All this has caused the world’s advice and research on “work/life balance” to explode.
A friend of mine, Felena Hansen, CEO of a co-working space designed specifically for women, plainly and matter-of-factly says she’s not a fan of this ‘work/life balance’ phrase. “There’s no such thing,” she says. It’s really just “work-life integration”.
But this post isn’t another deep dive into that topic. It’s more to notice the ease with which we, unconsciously almost, seamlessly accomplish this work-life integration through our multi-tasking activities.
And yes, I might even have a suggestion or two on how to excel at it.
1. Being athletes (and a huge number of other roles we all occupy) requires a base level skill in multi-tasking. I stretch my hamstrings while brushing my teeth. Suffice it to say, my teeth probably don’t get the full treatment, nor do my hammies get the best stretch. But so far, neither have let me down.
Lesson: You have reached Super-woman status when you know & practice the difference between multi-tasking activities that are no-brainers & avoid the ones that have disastrous outcomes (texting while driving). In other words, which are “just get’er done” and which are “I’m not liiiiiisssteeenninggg”.
2. My work is spent connecting people. Not just any people, but people with others who can help support them in living their healthiest, strongest life forever. That means, my life is spent where healthy, active, Make-Awesome-Happen type of people are. (FYI: Brook is one of those people) In any 10 minute period, I’m listening, and then thinking “Who would this person love to know? Who would love to know THEM?”
Lesson: This is such tight work-life multi-tasking integration I should call it “Wo-ife”. This kind of multi-tasking is one everyone should aim for. The blurred line of what we’re Naturals at combined with what we can do for a living.
3. “Women are better at being able to stand back and reflect for a moment while they are juggling other things.” I didn’t say it, he did. This really is magic when it happens. I like to think of it as self-awareness in the moment. Like when you’re talking with your husband (sister, kid, parent) for the 147th time about something, and you immediately think, “Wait, what if I worded this differently? Calling him a turd isn’t working.” Then you put the knife down.
Lesson: I would argue that true reflection IS a practice not shared while doing other tasks. You just can’t do it WELL. But we can wield this multi-tasking power best in those moments where we catch ourselves in an action that’s not conducive to bettering our relationships, and do a quick presto-change-o so that we are.
This is all to say, we can’t be masters of our domain all the time.
We try to be. But sometimes we blow it.
If we’re already good at something, we are supposed to work at getting better at it. So, isn’t it right that we focus on getting better at multitasking multi-tasking?
Tanya is the Founder of GOTRIbal, a premier active lifestyle network designed to make meaningful connections and bring relevant content to women who want to lead active, healthy lifestyles. She proudly multi-tasks while integrating her work-life every day.
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I’m looking for more guest posters for my GiveitaTRI feature. If you are an athlete, wannabe athlete or have a message about body image you’d like to share email me at RedheadReverie{at}gmail{dot}com