Multi-tasking

Well, the good news is: I passed my exam! I'm very glad to have that out of the way. 1 down, 6 to go. But the other 6 won't be until next school year, so I just won't think about that yet. :)

The bad news is: I learned I'm a TERRIBLE single-tasker. Now, I always knew I preferred multi-tasking, but I thought that I could choose to single-task when I needed to. I found out this past week that that is not the case. I really needed to devote almost all of my non-class time to studying for the test. So I decided ahead of time that I was just going to let everything else go: no housework, no grocery shopping, minimal cooking, etc. But when it came time to follow through, it just about killed me. It makes me so stressed to see laundry unwashed, dishes not put away, e-mails unread, etc. And having to eat pizza and sandwiches for dinner feels like some sort of personal failure, even though I know that's ridiculous. (Also, side note: Darby and I have a very fair division of labor. So all of the chores not taken care of were my responsibility, not his. And even though I'm in charge of making dinner, he NEVER complains about what we have. So any pressure I feel is totally self-imposed.)

Darby, on the other hand, is a great single-tasker. Sometimes this is a problem, as he can't put a project out of his mind until it's done, even if he really needs to do other stuff. But this week, I realized that single-tasking can be an asset, especially in grad. school. I think next time I need to study I'm going to have to go to a coffee shop or some place where I can't see the mess. Maybe I should go to a hotel (hee-hee)!

Are there any other chronic multi-taskers out there? Do you have tricks for making yourself focus on one thing when you have to?