Lately I have been thinking about simplicity. Several years ago, I went to a women's retreat with our church and the title was Abundant Simplicity. We read the book by the same name written by Jan Johnson.

In the beginning of the first chapter Jan states that simplicity is "not a discipline itself but a way of being." She talks about experiments with simplicity of speech, frugality, spaciousness of time, holy leisure, and simplicity of appearance and technology.

Before I get any more into the awesome things of note I found in reading this chapter, a little background.

The History: Several years ago, DH and I basically sold our stuff, home, business and all. We traveled and lived in our RV with our one special needs baby at the time (now 10 23 years old). We SIMPLIFIED. We eliminated television in our home years before that. We had to, space was limited.

Then, we bought a house, settled in and ultimately adopted three more kiddos with varying degrees of trauma and angst. Life was a lot- for all of us- back then. Talk about a busy, complex life!

Now, we have moved to a home in the country and still live fairly simply. Two have grown and flown. Life should be somewhat slower now…

The Reality: That said, we still have two at home who will need ongoing care. Behavioral interventions, educational special needs, and lots and lots of medical. Plus, an aging mother-in-law who lives with us now as well.

So! Not so peaceful after all. Way less hectic than it could be, but... simplicity? No.

Rereading this old essay got me contemplating simplifying again.

The Epiphany: Then I realized that if I simply stopped multitasking it would be huge! Why do I feel the need to get 3-5 things done at any given moment? Am I really being more productive, or just making myself feel indispensable? Could it be that I might actually be more efficient if I did just ONE thing at a time?

• Why am I having a text conversation woven in and around saying goodnight to my son? Or while I'm refilling medication prescriptions and doing laundry?

• Why am I blogging while I'm helping with schoolwork? Or while supervising breakfast and cleaning the kitchen?

• Why am I reading an e-book while making dinner? Or while hanging out with my husband for a few precious minutes... and texting?

• Etc, etc, etc... (Please don't judge, I'm judging enough for both of us!)

And now the research bears out that our brains don’t actually multitask, they simply rapidly switch between tasks- (which I am really good at by the way). BUT, that is an exhausting habit in an already exhausting lifestyle.

So, for now my experiment with simplicity is Tasking (one thing at a time), not Multitasking (get it?), as much as is actually possible while also multi-caregiving!

And, of course, the bottom line with that seems to be... technology (for me). What ways are you over-taxing your brain? What gives energy back to you?