Lately I've been feeling like I'm being pulled in all directions. I have a typical Dilbert-type day job in Manhattan, which has been busier than usual. As you know, we're in the process of selling our apartment and building a new house upstate. A close relative is getting married soon and there's all sorts of hullabaloo with the the wedding. I recently had surgery to correct a heel spur problem and am 3 weeks into a 12-week recovery period. And I'm trying to lose a significant amount of weight. Don't you wish you were me?
To be perfectly honest, it's not as bad as it sounds. The fact that everything has been go-go-go is actually a welcome change from my usual go-sit-sleep. The constant flurry of activity keeps things interesting. Or so I tell myself when I'm mopping the floor at 1:00 in the morning.
I gave the subject of stress some thought earlier this week, and I realized that it's not the incessant demands that are stressing me out, it's the fact that they're all bleeding into one another. I'm a linear thinker. I like things to have boundaries. I like to know when it's time to eat, when it's time to sleep, when it's time to fight with the insurance company, and when it's time to call the mortgage broker. When I'm at my Dilbert job, I like to do my Dilbert job (and catch up on celebrity gossip). But when I'm at my Dilbert job and the lawyer calls about the house, I get thrown off track. Similarly, when I'm home eating dinner (and catching up on celebrity gossip) and Jen starts to talk about her day at work, my brain feels disjointed.
To be fair to Jen (and fair to myself) I've come to the conclusion that we need to stop eating dinner, watching TV, and talking about work all at the same time. Also, we need to stop going to bed, watching TV, and talking about work all at the same time. Jen is a great multi-tasker; I am not. I can only focus on one thing at a time. If Jen is trying to talk out her problems, and the King comes on TV, it may be f--ked up, but the King never fails to distract me.
So what am I trying to say here? I'm saying that Jen and I are going to talk about work every night over dinner, and only over dinner. We are going to eat at the table (you know, that thing with all the mail on it) and not turn on the TV. This will enable me to focus on what Jen has to say, and it will help me talk through my own stress, too.
Comments