I read somewhere recently that linear time is a practical construct we invented because our minds cannot deal with the actuality of it all happening at the same time. Well, when I have too many things on my plate it feels just like everything is happening all at once. My mind, and I cannot handle it. Yesterday morning for example I had to deal with a business issue that weighed on me. At the same time my daughter complained about an ache that had been lingering since yesterday. On top of that I was also still wading through a bunch of medical bills, I needed to research and prove incorrect. What a hassle!

Then I remembered my financial adviser's words of wisdom from the other day. He recommended tackling my medical billing issue one baby step at a time. "Don't do it all at once," he said. "Pour yourself a glass of wine at the end of the day, take a look at one bill, make a call and resolve that one issue."

That was really good advice and that's how I tackled my morning - minus the glass of wine, which I substituted for a cup of tea. Until the doctor's office opened I set aside daughter's ache, I also set aside the medical billing mess, and concentrated fully on the business issue, which got addressed to my satisfaction. Next, I took care of daughter's ache, called the doctor, was reassured, and daughter came home telling me she felt a lot better. Phew! Lastly, I sat down with the bills, made some phone calls, made a spreadsheet, waited for a return phone call - and lo and behold, there was a mistake on the statement, in addition to which previous payments were applied in such a way that it was difficult to interpret. That issue got untangled as well.

Clarity of mind ensued from lining my issues up like beads on a string and dealing with them in a very linear way, one at a time, one after the other.