Beyond Multi-tasking to Mega-tasking

Have you ever had a day where you were doing more than multi-tasking? Lately, my days go something like this:

Exercise at 5:45am- thinking about the day while marching, sidestepping, and waving some weights in the air.
Quiet time at 6:30 until family comes in for family devotions at 6:50.
Breakfast-reading the paper or yesterday's junk mail while eating, then off to the shower.
Morning routine: Sit in office chair to check e-mails, listen to the morning news while reading messages. Jot notes on to-do list with left hand and clicking mouse with right hand. Jog across the hall to blow-dry hair. Note that the toilet paper is almost gone, and run downstairs for a pack. Notice the laundry on the pile while downstairs and throw a load in. Grab a diet soda on the way up. Note the crumbs on the counter as I swing through the kitchen and stop to wipe surface, toilet paper under arm. Deliver toilet paper to bathroom and swipe a little eye make-up on. Back to office chair for some writing. Remember the wood stove needed filling and pause to load it up. Back to office chair. Remember that hamburger needs to be thawed for supper and run down to basement freezer to get it. Note that the washer is done and toss a load into the dryer on the way back. Forget frozen hamburger on top of the dryer and run back down to get it. Back to office chair...

I'll spare you the details of the rest of the day. You get how it goes. Most of us know how to mega-task not just multi-task!

What are you mega-tasking today? Click on the TITLE of this post to link to the full blog to leave your comments about your crazy life.

HEADLINE: "Kiss" Book Review

Ted Dekker knows how to spin a tale that makes the improbable seem possible. Whether it is a child who can heal multitudes as in "Blessed Child" or a woman who can steal memories from others through physical touch and emotional vulnerability as in "Kiss", Dekker's stories make the surreal come alive. In "Kiss" Dekker joins with author Erin Healy in creating a story that keeps the reader on edge and looking over his or her shoulder, never knowing who can be trusted. Although the story is billed by some as a romance, that isn't the central theme of the book. Heart-warming relational connections do find their way into the story, but the real thrill is in the suspense of a good mystery and in the psychological phenomena woven tightly in the plot.

Dekker's writing has drawn me in like few authors can. I hesitated to pick up the books because I'm not a fan of Sci-Fi or Fantasy fiction. But now I see that his writing is neither. There are no aliens or fantasy creatures. Instead, his style introduces supernatural events in everyday situations. Healy adds enough of the feminine touch to this story that both male and female readers will enjoy this gripping account of emotional healing and reconciliation. I give "Kiss" five big smackeroos.

Book Recommendation for You

I just finished reading a fantastic new book by Ted Dekker and Erin Healy that will be coming out in January. Here's a teaser about the book from the publisher:

Sometimes dying with the truth is better than living with a lie. After a car accident puts Shauna McAllister in a coma and wipes out six months of her memory, she returns to her childhood home to recover, but her arrival is fraught with confusion. Her estranged father, a senator bidding on the White House, and her abusive stepmother blame Shauna for the tragedy, which has left her beloved brother severely brain damaged.

Leaning on Wayne Spade, a forgotten but hopeful lover who stays by her side, Shauna tries to sort out what happened that night by jarring her memory to life. Instead, she acquires a mysterious mental ability that will either lead her to truth or get her killed by the people trying to hide it. In this blind game of cat and mouse that stares even the darkest memories in the face, Shauna is sure of only one thing: if she remembers, she dies.




About the Authors:

Ted Dekker is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing. After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor's Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in management for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb the corporate ladder.Since 1997, Dekker has written full-time. He states that each time he writes, he finds his understanding of life and love just a little clearer and his expression of that understanding a little more vivid. To see a complete list of Dekker's work, visit The Works section of TedDekker.com.

Erin Healy is owner of WordWright Editorial Services, a Colorado-based consulting firm specializing in fiction book critique, manuscript development, and editing for publishers. Kiss, co-authored with Ted Dekker, is her first novel. Erin is the director of the Academy of Christian Editors and former editor of Christian Parenting Today magazine. She and her husband, Tim, are the proud parents of two children.

Only 16 Shopping Days...

...'til Christmas. Don't hate me. I finished my Christmas shopping several weeks ago. If it makes you feel any better, I still have many things to do. I haven't sent out my Christmas cards yet. In fact, I still need to buy the stamps. And I need to make some goodies and treats for special friends, neighbors, Sunday school teachers, etc. I haven't wrapped anything either! And there are a couple of small handmade things I need to finish. And...is my list making you weary?

This time of year, many of us are weary. Take a deep breath and hang in there. In just 16 days, you'll be sitting amidst a heap of torn wrapping paper, empty boxes and tangled ribbons breathing that satisfied sigh of relief as your family delights in those carefully chosen gifts. And I know that out of sheer gratitude, those same family members will volunteer to clean up the mess and maybe even to clean the entire house for the next year! We can dream, can't we?

Blessings to you,
Michelle

P.S. Looking for a gift idea for the writer in your family? How about the book "Writing so Heaven Will Be Different?" It's an anthology for writers, and here's a shameless plug; I wrote one of the chapters in the book. Each chapter contains the story of a writer and how attending the Write to Publish writer's conference has played a role in his or her writing journey.

Simple Answered Prayers

My son shot his first buck this past weekend and he was tracking it with some difficulty. Every time he got close, it jumped up and ran off into the brush. Finally, he enlisted the help of Dad and his younger brother. Before heading off into the woods, they stopped to pray that they could find the deer and that it would stop before it headed onto neighboring property where they wouldn't be allowed to track any further.

After some time of searching, they were approaching the property line and they started to worry. They stopped to pray again and just after they lifted their heads, one of them spotted the deer just yards in front of them. Dad took care of "finishing off" the wounded deer with his Magnum 357, but the stories of how he looked like Barney Fife from "The Andy Griffith Show" live on. The simple story of faith and prayer in the woods will also live in the memories of my boys.

What prayers has God answered for you recently? Click on "comments" to share your story.

Trade Hobbies With Your Spouse

Have you ever tried something you never believed you would enjoy? I used to ridicule my husband's love for deer hunting and fishing until I tried it and discovered it wasn't so bad. In fact, I really enjoyed it! It gave me a new appreciation for him and his interests as well. You can read more about it in my article in the November 2008, Focus on the Family couple's issue on their website. Follow the link: "Hunting Deer and Gluing Sparkles".

Don't forget to leave a comment about how you have tried one of your spouse's hobbies. How did that turn out for you?

Taming the To-Do List Monster

Small Accomplishments

Have you ever noticed that as your to-do list continues to grow it becomes as overwhelming as moving a mountain of pea gravel with a spoon? Mine does. But, how many of those things could have been accomplished in not much more time than it took to add it to your list. My to-do list is on my computer, so it means going to my office, turning on the computer, clicking on the sticky notes program, adding another bulleted line for the item and typing the name of my feat to accomplish. Then there is the time wasted recopying the to-do list. You do it too don’t you? When I kept my list on paper, I recopied it every week to tidy it up.

Sadly, many of the tasks on my list would take less time to complete than I waste with the whole to-do list process. For months—five to be exact—I have wanted to go through my spice drawer with a black sharpie and write the names of the spices on the lids so that I wouldn’t have to select a dozen or more other spices before landing on the cinnamon bottle. Today, after enough irritation in my attempt to find garlic salt, I got out the marker and wrote the names on. Do you know how long it took? Ten minutes. Ten!

Let’s do the math of five months, approximately two minutes consumed each day playing spice roulette on the four days per week that I actually cook something that doesn’t come out of a box…That’s twenty weeks, multiplied by four, multiplied by two…That comes to a minimum of one hundred and sixty minutes or 2.66 hours consumed by the problem.

Now, comparing the 2.66 hours to the ten minutes it took me, which would have been wiser—writing it on my list, or just getting it done?

Look through your to-do list. How many things on there could you complete in less than thirty minutes? How about setting the timer for 30 minutes today to work on your revolving list? If you like the technique, you might want to do it two more times this week. Instead of recopying today, I’m going to see how many things I can slice off the list. It would be nice to have just one thing left on the list by December 24^th—RELAX!