Monotasking

I'm usually the kind of person who is juggling two or three balls in the air at once. Cooking while listing auctions on eBay, watching TV while doing artwork, etc.

I've begun to realize, however, that to get ready to become a full-time RVer, sometimes I'm going to need to slow down and just do just one thing at a time. Otherwise I will get overwhelmed by the decisions that need to be made and the number of tasks that need to be accomplished!

What made me realize this today was noticing the photos of family and friends that are sitting on my dresser. That reminded me that I have two largish boxes of photos that I brought with me when I moved here to Eugene, and I haven't done anything with them except continue to store them. That's fine in a small rental house, but it won't work when I'm living in my motorhome. So, one of many decisions that I need to make is what to do with my pics...digitize, scrapbook, or what?

Normally I am somewhat freaked out by the prospect of yet another time-consuming task, such as dealing with these photos. But, when I don't multitask and I just concentrate on what I'm doing, thinking and feeling in this moment, it's all okay. Then I remember that the decision to become a nomad is a conscious one--it's following my heart and my dreams. So everything that needs to be done in order for me to hit the road is good.

In truth, I've always wanted to be the kind of person who lives such a simple life that she'd have time to take lots of photos and make nice scrapbooks. That's the kind of person I want to be when I'm traveling...enjoying and savoring the journey. Dealing with the photos effectively and creatively will be one more step toward becoming the person I really want to be. So will all the other tasks that I encounter and face as I work towards becoming a vagabond.

So today I am practicing monotasking. I did a bunch of clean-up work on my computer and in my kitchen this morning. This afternoon I'm going to make stuff disappear from my home office. Maybe later this afternoon, I'll indulge in a little multitasking while "Oprah" is on, dinner is cooking, and some of my friends are available to play a game online...but until then I'm doing things one task at a time.