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Thursday, September 20, 2012

Things I love Thursday {Unitasking vs Multitasking} Springfield, MO Photographers

Stop the madness! I got to this place late last year and let me tell ya, good thing it was before wedding season. Unitasking is an everyday learning experience for me and I wanted to stop and think about it before fall craziness is in full swing. (We have a 2 wedding weekend…hooray!)

In the world where it’s almost impossible NOT to do ten things at once, this is especially hard amongst small business owners. We wear different hats…sometimes at the same time. It can be hectic & overwhelming, ESPECIALLY if there is no order or balance. I’ve asked photographers about this for years. How do structure your week? How do you find balance? Funny thing, no one ever had an answer for me really. I realized balance and ‘unitasking’ is learned.

Unitasking
Unitasking describes the act of focusing on only one task at a time. 

In today’s world of television, mobile phones, text, email, instagram, facebook, twitter, pinterest and [insert technology here] it’s hard to keep your head from exploding. It takes a lot of brain power to keep up with all the forms of communication out there. We think we are multitasking but we’re switch-tasking…unorganized and ultimately unsuccessful. Constantly toggling between one task and another. You can’t exceed your client’s expectations using that approach. You can’t give your family undivided attention & priority, either. In one sense task juggling makes me feel important & fulfilled (like I’m super woman and have soooo much responsibility) but all I’m doing is overloading my circuits.

This year I implemented a weekly schedule and an awesome workflow that allowed me to turn around weddings & portrait sessions in record time. It also allowed me to take on more and grow in the process. As I am grateful for our workflow and those that have helped out tremendously this year, I still feel a little frantic inside most of the time. I haven’t had  much time to visit with my family, my dog needs more attention, I haven’t tried a new recipe in a while, I don’t do yoga anymore, I don’t do much of anything ‘just for the heck of it’ quite frankly. You know…for fun. :-) In reality, multitasking & over working makes us feel less happy & it affects how we connect with people (and ourselves). It’s the delusion that we are efficient and successful, when all it really leads to is distraction and headaches.  

So, I want to challenge myself going forward this next year to be more proactive with unitasking and creating a more balanced lifestyle for myself and family. In the future I hope that I can form some good habits & adapt to a more relaxed style of living…one task at a time. ;-)

What helps you stay organized and on task? I’m interested to hear your thoughts! 

We spent 7 days this August UNPLUGGED and it was fantastic! No internet or cell phones & it was glorious!
More photos here:  http://christinebonnivierphotography.blogspot.com/2012/08/playa-del-carmen-mexico-2012-personal.html 

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