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Multitasking -- Or -- How to Manage Adult-Onset ADHD
by Chrissie Anderson Peters
On December 13, 2002, I graduated from the University of Tennessee's MSIS program -- in which I had been a distance education student since Fall 2000. During that same span of time, I'd worked in both a public library and in my current position in a community college library. I remained active in the Virginia Library Association (VLA), became more active in the Tennessee Library Association, and began to do committee work in various parts of ALA. Did I mention that I also met a wonderful man online, planned a wedding, and will be married for one year in January 2003?
Multitasking is just something that I do, without much regard to how or why. When I saw the call for contributors for this issue, I knew that this was a topic near and dear to my personal and professional existence.
Crazy
Many friends think that I am crazy for taking on my various volunteer activities. Rather than blaming mental instability, though, I chalk it up to being interested in a variety of topics and methods for accomplishing tasks. I have been going full-throttle since my first year as an undergraduate, back in 1989. In college, I transformed myself from a "member" to an "active member" in several organizations.
In the seven years between completing my BA and beginning my Master's degree, though, I became involved with VLA. This was during my first pre-Master's professional position at a public library in 1997. The director was very involved with VLA and encouraged the staff to be, as well. Until then, I had never considered belonging to professional organizations; other supervisors and co-workers had led me to believe that only "important" people in the profession were privy to such activities. Once I learned that this simply was not the case (at least in that particular public library!), I began a journey towards professional development that included conference presentations, an appointment to a state library-sponsored advisory committee, and networking everywhere I went!
Your Heart Will Lead You Home
Involvement with multiple groups or activities has become second nature over the years and I cannot imagine life any other way. My involvement with the Library of Virginia came when someone mentioned my name as someone who was interested in young people, given some of the programs that my library had begun for YAs. Although I hadn't intended to do anything other than provide programs to teens (a group that I had always loved working with), someone in the profession decided that I had something to offer back. So, when asked, I could not help but say yes. The committee work that I was part of through that organization has led me to other committees and activities, that I know were built upon those earlier professional experiences. Simply saying "yes" when asked to serve paved the way for me to learn many new things and to meet countless new people, all of which is a necessary part of professional development and personal growth.
The Pleasure Principle
When being busy is what makes you happiest, when networking and ceaseless learning are two of the ways that you find joy, then you find ways of balancing the parts of life that provide the most pleasure. When asked how I find the time to work while being involved with so many professional activities, plus building a life with my newlywed husband, my answer is that I am fortunate enough to have a career that I love –- a career that is such a major part of my life and interests. Much of my professional extracurricular work is so intertwined with my professional position that each day affords me ample opportunities to think and act on things connected to the committees.
It's also helpful to have a boss who respects professional potential in the field and who realizes that many of the contributions an employee makes to committee work can also be used in the workplace. (Not to mention the great publicity this gives the institution!) A supportive supervisory team can make a significant difference in what employees feel they are capable of achieving. For me, performing well on the job is integral to other facets of my professional development. If I slack off on the job, that same attitude will spill over into my other professional endeavors. Most activities that I undertake blend well with my professional goals and abilities. I believe that this ability to choose and perform those functions that "connect" is the real key to my success in balancing everything. Having a husband who does not mind vacationing wherever ALA happens to be taking place does not hurt, either...
Take It To The Limit
Multitasking is not about overcommitment, though. All of us have limits. Knowing what and where those limits lie is crucial. Feeling stressed and stretched beyond self-recognition is not a place where any of us hopes to be. Sometimes, "yes" should not be the answer. Being commended, respected, and recognized for doing things well can be exciting. However, committing oneself to the point of frazzled nerves is no fun for anyone involved.
Sometimes it is best to thank people for their faith and encouragement, to express what an honor it is to be considered, then to politely decline. No one can do everything. No one should try to. When the joy of doing something becomes lost in the pressure to get it done, it is time to take a break. This is the time to take on fewer extracurricular activities and to take a deep professional breath, so that you will be ready for something else that matters to you when the opportunity presents itself.
Chrissie Anderson Peters is a Reference Librarian at Northeast State Technical Community College in Blountville, TN, and a December 2002 MSIS graduate of the University of Tennessee's online Masters program. She has worked in the library profession since 1993, in public and academic libraries in Tazewell, Roanoke, Bedford, and Bristol, VA; as well as Bristol and Blountville, TN. She currently belongs to VLA, TLA, ALA (NMRT, YALSA, ALSC, and SSIRT), and was recently elected as President of a regional professional organization, the Boone Tree Library Association. She is a wife of one year to Russell Peters, and mother to two lovable cats, Mel and Reid.