Jack-in-the-Box…

Recalling this childhood toy is likely an easy task for many – exclamations of glee and feigned surprise by Mom and Dad when Baby squealed! When too many toys cluttered the space a reminder would come that it’s time to put your things away in the box!

Similarly, on Christmas mornings if the flurry of ripping and tearing at wrapped parcels resulted in too much excitement or bewilderment, wise Moms or Dads would reduce the quantity to nurture quality appreciation. Too many objects to focus on can feel overwhelming, regardless of age.

A recent discussion with a dear friend on this subject of too many choices was enlightening, to say the least. In today’s too-busy world where the pace and expectations sometimes exceed reason, it’s inevitable that people feel frenzied, overly anxious, and sometimes incompetent. Too many objects to focus on at the same time with little opportunity to intently examine just one at a time.

She explained, when I asked “How do you manage to do everything you do?” the simple theory of “compartmentalizing”.

Juggling too many balls in the air at the same time for too long leads to an inevitable error in judgement. Oops! To create ease and increase simplicity, imagine individual little boxes – each one labelled with a different subject, or task. When one is addressed, and dealt with, simply close the box – and move on to others which need attention.

Circumstances may direct that more than one box be open at the same time – multi-tasking of sorts – but the key is to close each box when you’re done with the contents and never have all the boxes open at one time!

My web designer sister today reiterated that process – a well-known process in writing programs. Compartmentalize different aspects of the whole into their own “box” – then presto, everything runs smoothly.

By implementing the theory, it should become easier to cope – inevitably some people will have more boxes than another! I’m striving now for that exclamation of glee, and maybe a delighted squeal, when a lid is removed and out jumps Jack-in-the-Box!