help for the restless brain

As I mentioned recently, I am a horrible multi-tasker.

Well, it turns out that I'm not so great at single-tasking either.

If I multi-task, I turn into a lousy cook with empty tubs

of soapy water running through the wash and scattered

projects taking over the house. But when I try to focus

on just one task at a time, I drive myself crazy considering

what else I could be doing instead of the item at hand: "What

will I do next?" "How will I do it?" "Is this the highest priority,

or should I skip what I'm doing and move on?" "If I moved

to Valladolid, who would teach me to make poc chuc?" etc.

Now, in Leo Bautista's world, I would enjoy the sudsy water

on my hands while washing pots and pans, find great pleasure in

the aroma of (slowly... arrgh! so slowly) rising bread, and delight in the

colors and textures of the laundry I am folding. However, my brain

may just not be that disciplined yet. Or ever. So in the meantime, I have this

thing that helps me not obsessively think about what's coming

next. And this is it: scripture memory.

Last year, my friend Hannah and I led a study on a section of the Bible

called Ephesians. At the end, we decided to put it to memory. We

would work together on this by checking in with each other's progress

and helping each other review on a semi-regular basis. It seemed like a

reasonable thing to do, as we had just finished learning a bunch

that we didn't want to lose.

I'll post soon on some helpful techniques I've picked up this time around,

and other reasons that memorizing the Bible is a great idea.

But in the meanwhile suffice it to say that this is the handiest crutch 

I've found for focusing my mind in a way that allows sustained mundane

activity. And isn't there plenty of that to be had on any given day?