Uni-tasking vs. Multi-tasking

I previously wrote about uni-tasking, the concept of concentrating on one thing at a time.  I have been doing this more, especially for work.  However, I find that I still like multi-tasking.  I thrive on the craziness sometimes and it makes me feel like I’m accomplishing more.  However, I have learned to plan more carefully and choose specifically what to multi-task.

Friends will not be surprised by my favorite way to multi-task: running while chatting with a friend.  What a combination!  It’s great social time to catch up, get advice, listen, etc. while getting an excellent (and fun) workout at the same time.  I find myself running farther and farther these days (yes, over the New England winter!) and much of my success in doing so it is the long runs with friends.  The time and the miles just fly by and I love it.

Check out the personalized race bib. How cool is that?

The long runs over the local hills paid off this weekend.  I completed my first 15k race and it was fantastic.  Perfect weather, scenic course, and I finished faster than I expected.  Yay!  Thank you to my good running friends including those at Tri-Valley FrontRunners who organized and hosted a fabulous race.

Are there any particular tasks that you like to combine & multi-task?

Any fellow runners who have completed a race (or two) this year or are you just getting started?

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Longest. Run. Ever.

I ran my longest/farthest distance today.  Not long for marathoners by any stretch, but long for me and I’m quite pleased with how much I’ve been enjoying running.  I particularly love running with my BRF and the Soup Group.  They keep me going and the miles fly by.  🙂

My newest sneaks – Brooks, which I won at the Manic Mommies Escape in Savannah last Fall.

Anyway, here are my reactions to my long run in the excellent 40-ish weather.

• Me: New long run distance (9 miles).  Yay!!
• My feet: Get off of me and leave me alone already!
• My throat: Water me!
• My stomach: Feed me!
• Whole body: Post-run naps are awesome.
• My cat: Post-run naps are purrfect.
• My stomach (post nap): Feed me again!
• My head: What a wonderful weekend.  Maybe I should sign up for that half-marathon.
• Feet: You are you crazy!  Now put me up and stop thinking about running.

Good night.  😉

Cats: What a Life!

Work at home days can be wonderfully productive or they can be incredibly challenging, varying by the day.  Some days it’s easier to focus and other days there are too many distractions in the house.

On the more difficult days, I sometimes find myself envious of the kitties, whom are predictably sleeping in various spots around the house.  For example, here’s our sweet, soft, black kitty glancing up at me.  I’ve started to call her “duvet kitty” because of how many hours she spends sleeping on our bed.
What a life!

Then there are the cats that take over my comfy chair.  They are certain (and wrong!) that I put out this chair just for them.  Not only is the little calico sleeping on the chair (at least I remembered a blanket to easily deal with the fur), but the tabby cat is curled up under the chair too.  Me thinks these indoor kitties have it made.  They should clean the dishes or do the laundry or something, with all the extra time they have to waste.

Sometimes the cats just amuse me and brighten my day.  For example, our daughter found Bailey in this odd pose, basking in the sun for a nap just the other day.

Is anyone else distracted and/or amused by their pets
while working at home?

This Mom’s Snow Day

It happened again.  I took a ton of pictures on Christmas and then… nothing!  Every year I’m overwhelmed by the holidays.  So afterwards, I focus on work and getting back to normal.   And I forget to take pictures.  😦

Luckily, today’s snow day (more on that to follow) inspired me to break out the camera again.  When downloading the photos, I realized I haven’t even done anything with the pictures I took on Christmas.  I so want to be on top of photos and even get the good ones printed, but it’s so time-consuming and hard to prioritize.  Ugh.

So for now, I’m just happy to have some 2013 pics only halfway into January.  We’ll see if I can keep it up and maybe have some good photos for the beginning of next year’s family calendar.  (I make a calendar on Shutterfly every year.  Love that site!)

Okay, that’s the bright side of the snow day.  The downside?  I’m swamped with work and today was supposed to be “catch-up day” so I can stay on track with my clients and marketing and everything else that goes into running a business.  Then came 6:20 A.M.  Ring ring.  I woke up, saw the snow, and thought: they’re calling a delay for school.  But part of me knew better.  You see, we live in a very conservative district where they err on the side of calling school off.  So I was not surprised when the recording announced that indeed, schools were closed for the day “due to inclement weather”.  We’re in New England, snow happens.  We got 2-3 inches of wet snow and then it stopped by mid-morning.  So although it took a long time for a plow to arrive on our street, it was not a big storm or a problem.  Oh well, it is what it is.

Some of you know I’m not a morning person, so you won’t be surprised by this.  After being woken up by the school snow day call, I was delirious enough to tell the kids “you can go back to sleep.”  Yeah, right!  I was definitely still dreaming.  One of them was actually thoughtful enough to close my door before bounding downstairs, presumably so I could rest.  Too bad I could hear them bickering through the door.

So I’m making the best of the day – taking some much-needed rest time, enjoying extra time with the kids, and fitting in some work when possible.  And, of course, I took some pictures of the snow.

Any other parents home with the kids for this snow day too?  What are you doing with the day?

Running, Prioritizing, & Enjoying the New Year

Almost a week into the new year and so far, so good.  I’ve been good busy overall and everyone is the house is healthy (knock on wood).  So I’ve been able to concentrate on My 3-Words for 2013: Run, Prioritize, and Enjoy, which I shared in my last post.  Similar to resolutions, these are what I intend to concentrate on over the course of the year.

Running was fabulous today: nicer than expected weather, a good friend to run with, and an interesting new route.  It was a good challenge (hilly) and I enjoyed the long run.  I am pleased to enjoy running so much that I run during the winter now too.  It’s particularly refreshing this time of year and when there’s snow on the ground, it’s scenic too.  I am taking a break from races for a while though.  It’s nice to run just for fun without training for a bit.  Then I’ll be pumped to race again in March, I’m sure.

Prioritize.  This one is my biggest challenge as there’s always so much I want to do.  However, I have been staying on top of things by prioritizing quite well.  So far.  Definitely something I need to be conscientious about.

Partly because the first 2 things (running and prioritizing) are going well, I’m enjoying life as well.  3 for 3 – off to a great start!  One of the little things I’m currently enjoying is good tv.  We just finished re-watching Downton Abbey seasons 1 & 2 over the past couple of months, so I’m very excited about tonight’s (U.S.) premiere of season 3.  Most of the time, I just record shows and watch from the DVR as it’s convenient, but I look forward to watching this show live.  I don’t want to hear spoilers.  Also, I think the twitter feed should be amusing.  We’ll see.  I’m also looking forward to the new season of Biggest Loser, but I’ll have to watch that one on the DVR as it’s on at the same time as Downton Abbey.  What luck.  Oh well, I’ll just be thankful for the ability to record, I guess.

How is your new year going?
Any particular show(s) you’re following?