When I was in high school, I would do my assignment in front of the television while eating my dinner. My mom would always scold me for doing so. She would tell me: "You can't do two concentrations at one time". And I would be thinking in my head: "This is called multitasking mom. This is how kids do their assignments nowadays." I sure do have a rebellious mind when I was a teenager.
What my mom was telling me is to focus.
Back in college, I was part of the multimedia ministry of our church where I was trained to handle pressure and do a lot of multitasking action. The tasks were hard especially when preparations were a mess or lacking. That's where I realized that multitasking was not only hard but also hazardous to my health (stress, you know?). Sure, I did finish the tasks on time but if we would evaluate the quality of the results, I would just say they could have been better.
Why am I talking about multitasking? I don't know about you but for me, I do multitasking to solve overflowing problems faster in a shorter period of time. I'm not really sure if I really solved the problems or created more problems for a later time. Just to say I'm doing something to solve my problems, I do them all at once! How stupid of me.
I once posted a status message saying: "Kung marami kang problema, papilahin mo sila!" (If you have many problems, make them fall in line!)
This is about Prioritizing and Time Management.
Reality check: Your problems should not dictate what you should do, you should be the one dictating what you should do with your problems!
When I was in 2nd year high school, I read a book entitled: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey, the son of Stephen Covey who is the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Anyways, the 3rd habit is Put First Things First. A topic under the discussion of this habit is about the Time Quadrants (rows: Important and Not Important, columns: Urgent and Not Urgent). I highly encourage you read the book and learn more about it.
I learned how to prioritize and manage my time after reading that chapter of the book. I started writing down my goals per week and giving time for each goal. It was not an overnight magic, it was a continuous process. Just like what they say, you cannot develop a habit overnight!
If you have many problems, write them all down then organize them according to your priorities in life. Give it time. It can be very frustrating to see how long the list will be but very rewarding once you check the problems solved one by one. Finish one task before starting another one especially if you are going to use the same body part for both tasks. And of course: Avoid cramming! (note to self: Avoid cramming!)
Another reality check: Problems come EVERYDAY! It's your choice if you want to add your problems today to the upcoming problems of tomorrow. I rather would not. I only have 24 hours today, I'll only have 24 hours also tomorrow. Why waste time on things that are unimportant, right?
The most important thing before doing anything else is to pray. Pray to God for strength, wisdom and grace. We cannot remove God from the solution of our problems because He is the solution!
Problems are meant to be faced and solved, not to be ran away from. You'll be surprised how fast problems can run back to you if you ran away from them!
Make your problems fall in line according to your priorities. Manage your time properly. Pray and do something about those problems.
Philippians 4:13 (NIV)
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
