Have you ever heard of having a manic Monday? Manic means being in a frenzy, the sort of frenzy that doesn't appear to be completely sane. My manic days aren't always on Mondays.

I spent nearly a full day last week working on the house I purchased, which was something I didn't really expect to be doing. I had taken a day off to try and get a few things done and I had a fairly productive day overall, although I really had no monumental accomplishments. It was one of those days that is taken up by a multitude of little things, from hanging a closet door to putting in a new sink, hauling a load of trash to the dump and picking up supplies.

However, it turned out also to be a very peaceful day, since I didn't even have to speak for the better part of the day.

That's most common working at houses without inhabitants. I sometimes find myself thrilled with the prospect of nearly a full day of monk-like silence. I do occasionally talk to myself, but those conversations don't count. I enjoy talking, but I also enjoy taking a break from it from time to time. To everything there is a season, Solomon said. A time to talk and a time to be quiet and a time to know the difference between the two. I'm still working on that one.

When I'm not distracted, I seem to accomplish more and I am less stressed doing it. Not to say I don't appreciate company, it's just that I'd rather not try to work and socialize at the same time. I've found my mind and body work best in unison, my mental train firmly seated on the tracks, all the necessary accoutrements and supplies neatly at hand and ready to use, a plan already hashed out and my body dressed and ready to work. Those are the times when I forget to eat until I pause hours later and realize that I'm hungry.

When I have a simple task to do, I enjoying teaching the children how to do whatever it is that I'm doing, provided that it isn't overly dangerous. For instance, I've let them ‘help' clean the chimney, dig potatoes, mow the grass, cut firewood paint and do simple carpentry, mechanic and plumbing tasks. I usually don't let them get too close when I'm working with electricity, heavy lumber or drywall, since I do tend to get caught up in what I'm doing and I'm sometimes a danger even to myself at those times. When the job gets less familiar and more complicated, I usually have to work alone and concentrate.

Sometimes I find myself pulled in many different directions to start with. I guess that makes me sound mean, but I do tend to get very focused in what I'm doing. Sometimes that focus reaches the point of being oblivious to my surroundings, including conversations, others' needs and even my own. Those are the times when I am most appreciative of being alone. If I don't eat lunch until 4 p.m., that works. But families need to eat on a regular schedule and also need to be kept up with at least some to prevent undue problems, like painting the floors and each other, breaking things and generally getting in a raucous state. As I was saying, when I've reached that point of full focus on a project, whatever it is becomes the only thing that exists at that moment in time. I have my full attention, my complete concentration, locked onto that one thing like a laser beam. I've heard that some people are good multi-taskers, but I think most are women. I can do several routine things at once, like... OK, maybe that's not true. I can't talk and read or converse and watch television and I can't concentrate on a problem and do anything else. Come to think of it, I can barely walk and chew gum. And when there is a need to do multiple things, like trying to do a task while someone is talking about something else and there is a lot of other sounds and distractions, I find myself entering that manic phase. Those are the times when I feel like I'm running 100 miles per hour and still getting nowhere. The very nature of newspapers has helped me learn to cope with that sort of thing, since distractions are the norm, but it still can get me out of sorts if I'm not careful. Too many people with too many requests pulling me from too many different directions and I'm feeling overwhelmed before I even get started.

I'm not complaining, since I am a person who likes to stay busy much better than being idle. But sometimes it's like being in a room with too many people all talking at once. It can be almost frightening in a way—voices over one another, clamoring to be heard, two phones ringing at once, someone at the door knocking and different segments of life all coming together like the crescendo of a piece of foreboding orchestra music. All the while, I'm usually trying to attain that feeling that I've ‘accomplished something' that was placed before me to do.

So what to do? The best thing is usually to try and take a quiet moment to gather the thoughts and pinpoint one thing at a time until the din has fallen to a gentle hum, no more distracting than rain on a tin roof in the background while reading a book in a creaky old rocking chair.

One thing I've learned since having children is that I should always put people before things. Things can wait and usually don't get upset, but those people may be the very ones who pick your nursing home later.
 

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