Organizing family events always seems to be a hassle... can the new Qlubb.com help? My answer: Yes... but only if you can convince your family.

I signed up on TwitterMoms a few months back to review Qlubb.com, but then life happened (travel, class, readjusting schedules) and I never blogged about it. I did, however, start a Qlubb for the only group I could think of: my family.

We live in 2 countries, 3 states, and 5 cities. We have birthdays that are hard to remember. We plan trips that are hard to coordinate. We host Christmas exchanges that have to be planned. Most of those activities seemed to require a half-dozen emails or phone calls, so I was excited to have an online club ("Qlubb") to keep it all in one place.

I set a password (it gives the same one for every member) and began playing with the features. The birthdays I remembered, I added to the calendar. The ones I didn't, I posted a request under the "Blurbs" (kind of like an ongoing chat) feature for other people to post.

I explained how family members (especially those with cute kiddos) could upload their photos. I used the "files" section to post our 2009 Christmas gift exchange list, generated at Random.org.

And, of course, since this is a group, not a personal message center, I sent invitations to my family members.

All the above-mentioned features work great, and unlike a previous site where we hosted a family group, it actually LOOKS great, too! Stylish and clean-cut, I like being able to see everything at one glance, though there are some limitations (I can't find any way to delete things like calendars that aren't relevant for a group I run, and everyone has equal editing permissions, so I don't feel safe inviting people I don't know to a group).

The problem isn't Qlubb's layout or features, it's what happens after the invitations go out. I reworded the default invitation so it wouldn't sound spammy, and sent them out on Nov. 30, 2008. Last week, I was chatting online with one sister, resent the link to her, and she finally joined. Member number two. I've resent all the invitations, texted them, and mentioned it. No more members.

I'm not sure whether this is a Qlubb.com problem or a problem with online groups in general (though our previous Yahoo! group saw everyone join the week invitations went out). If most people are like me, I'm pretty member account-ed out from everything online these days that requires a sign-in.

I used to stick with major accounts, like one on Yahoo, that let me get into multiple features (chats, games, website, groups, email, etc.). Nowadays, it doesn't seem to be realistic (partly because the big guys seem to me to spread themselves too thin and are no longer good at all of what they do), so I have accounts all over: google, flickr, twitter, ravelry, tons of single-topic forums, bookcrossing, several social networking sites, wordpress, Amazon and multiple other online stores, several bookmarking networks... you get the picture.

But is adding yet another place to sign in too much?

...and you?

Start your own Qlubb (for a book club, a Bible study, a coffee group, or your family!), and let me know how it goes. Do people join?

Even if you don't want or need a Qlubb, what do you think about the way the internet is going? My simple life sometimes seems overburned by so much to keep track of. What about you?

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As a home manager, we're all really good at... well, almost everything! Do our homes benefit when we do it all at once, though, or is there a better way?

I've decided to nix multitasking from my life... mostly.

Let me be clear: I've always thought of myself as really, really good at multitasking. 10+ tabs open in Firefox, bread rising in the kitchen, laundry in the washer, embroidery in my hands, and a list of Chinese vocabulary I'm studying next to the keyboard. Oh, and the phone cradled between my shoulder and ear until I get a sore neck and tell my husband I'll call him back later. Efficient, right? Oh, the things I can check off my to-do list in an hour!

Strangely, though, I've become more and more aware in the past few months of the need to live in the moment. To listen to my husband, and only listen to my husband, when he's talking to me. To work on my latest embroidery project curled up on a comfy chair in the living room... no computer, 'background noise,' or even music. Just my hands, the fabric and thread, and a mind clear of distractions to focus on thinking about the recipient of the gift, praying for him or her, and putting love and thought into each detail of the current project.

Oh, and you know what the strange thing is? Ever since I've decided to try out one-at-a-time tasking, I've actually begun to check EVERYthing off my to-do list, almost EVERY day. Who would've thought!?

It's not just me!

Lest I imply anti-multitasking is a "Me-Original," check out these links which also promote NOT multitasking:

* Time Magazine on The Multitasking Generation
* NPR with Think you're Multitasking? Think Again
* Zen Habits' 7 Habits Essential for Tackling the Multitasking Virus

...and you?

What do you think of doing one thing at a time, rather than everything at once? What would happen to your home and your life if you slowed down and focused on a single task at hand? Let's chat: share thoughts (whether you agree or think it's impossible) in the comments.