Being a mom increased my multitasking skills, but wait a minute; is multitasking a skill? Hehehe 😉, just maybe! Most times, I will sit down and run a lot of calculations in my little mind on how things will go for the day so I can achieve the maximum result within the day. In some cases, I have succeeded, but there was a particular time I didn't manage my time well. Multitasking indeed went wrong, and that affected other things in my home due to how poorly I managed my time.
I hope you do remember the saying that time is money," right? Both procrastination and laziness are good eaters of our time if you ask me, and sometimes miscalculation drains our time as well. It takes so much discipline for one to keep time and manage it properly. I can't count the number of times I mismanaged my time; it's very bad, but I have had enough bitter experience to make me sit up and do the right thing, at least to a reasonable extent.
So without further ado, let me share with you all the times I managed my time poorly, the negative effects of it, and the lesson learned!
It was a Saturday, and my husband traveled out of the city, leaving behind my children and I, with my cousin's sister living with me. I did not have any raw food available at home, so I went to the market to restock the house. Before going, we all had lunch together, and that was the only food left at home, both raw and cooked. So my plan was to make dinner after restocking that afternoon.
The market I chose to visit on that day was a bit far, and on the way to the market, I remembered one of my dear friends who lives close to the market. It's been a long time since I promised her that I would visit, but I never had time to do so, so I quickly said to myself, "Why not pay the lady a surprise visit at once since you are close to her house?" I listened to my mind and headed down to her house. It took me an extra hour to go and return to the market, but unfortunately she wasn't at home. I didn't call her prior to going because I wanted a surprise. Back to the market, I was buying stuff and checking time, and before I could finish the shopping, it was 6:30 p.m.!
Then I thought of my kids; they must have been feeling hungry by then, and Mummy is still in the market. I regretted going to see the friend in the first place; however, I quickly said a word of prayer in my mind that I wouldn't meet traffic on the road. Behold, I met severe traffic, and I shed tears. A lot of questions were running through my mind: when will I reach home today, prepare dinner, and take care of the kids before bed? I quickly called my home cell phone, but the number was switched off. There was no means of reaching them that time of night, and I became worried. I regretted going to that far-flung market when I could buy a few things nearby and plan very well for restocking. Eventually I got home around 9 p.m. after facing the traffic, but lo, the kids waited for Mummy, cried for hunger, according to my sister, and they all went to bed. I hated myself that night. I calculated wrongly and messed up with my precious time at the same time.
The morning came, and they woke up so weak and staggering due to hunger. They felt the effects of my poor time management. I apologized to them for being a bad mom that night, but then I learned my lesson.
Lesson learned
The experience taught me that family should always come first before any kind of friend visit; it should be a secondary plan entirely. I also learned not to wait until there was nothing in my home before I restocked.
In my effort to kill two birds with one stone, I ended up killing none at all. This is what multitasking did to me, but I'm glad I learned ways to adjust my family's lifestyle practically.
This post was inspired by the #hivelearners community on the topic titled Poor time management