multi-tasking vs. compartmentalizing

I'm reading The Male Factor by Shaunti Feldhahn. I'm not very far into it and am already amazed at the differences she has discovered between men and women at work. Apparently men compartmentalize and when they come to work, they are AT WORK. And when women come to work they are still participating in their life as a whole.

The past few days I have been working from home. I feel like I have been really productive in meeting my client's needs, having some great business development meetings, and networking.

During my "breaks" (and conference calls) I have done the following:

• Fix the stupid remote control so I can finally use my TV the civilized way
• Find the problem with the garbage disposal so it works again
• Erase my old hard drive, load snow leopard, and install all my husband's data so he can use my old laptop
• Wrap the girls' christmas presents

Clearly, I don't compartmentalize.

While my husband appreciates this work, he sees me as primarily goofing off during the day. "When are you going to get a real job?"

This book is giving me a new perspective on what I have already been picking up on. I think this is important... I can be great at multi-tasking and I won't be sharing this with my male colleagues. I'm going to try the "all business" approach next week in all my conversations and see what happens.