I recently had a conversation with a friend about compartmentalizing. And my friend said something like, ‘I know compartmentalizing can be bad, but I think you need to start doing it.’ And damn, she’s right! And also, I’m really starting to feel that compartmentalizing is actually really good for us. At least at times and for some things.
I remember when my Mom got sick several years ago and we found out that she wasn’t going to get better. Things were happening fast, decisions needed to be made, not everyone was on the same page, and I was really just trying to do what my Mom wanted me to do. So, I TOTALLY compartmentalized. Like I did this thing first and didn’t think about anything else until that thing was done. Then I did the next thing. Then the next. And really, it was the only way I was able to make it through it.
Cut to the conversation with my friend. I think I’ve said this before, I LOVE what I do, BUT there’s a LOT going on in my life. There can be days where I’m pulled from one thing to another at the drop of a hat (animal clients, human clients, house chores, contractors, vet visits, paying bills, classes, things breaking, family stuff, etc.) and I’ve kind of gotten myself in the habit of turning on a dime to address whatever pops up the moment it pops up.
I was talking with this friend about the hubby. When the hubby walks out the door in the morning, he’s able to say subconsciously ‘this ½ hour is drive time, this 8 hours is work time, this hour is TV time’ or whatever. I can’t do that. But I need to do that. Case in point. As I was writing this, my email pinged and I saw it was from a client that I teach with and for. But instead of finishing writing this I stepped away from it, dealt with that and am now back… The question is:
Why?
So I have two knew goals. 1. As my friend helped guide me to do, I need to spend some time meditating on what the lesson in all this jumping around, multitasking, and not being completely present in one thing at a time is all about. And 2. I need to compartmentalize.
Let me just go write that down in my calendar.
Live and Learn in Munay.