Well, this is tough. Like many of us, you probably need to do one thing at a time. Your description was actually so completely spot on that I started laughing. I mean, if I have to go to the bathroom and my child asks me a question when I am on my way there, I get upset and snap, "Not right now!"

However, what you CAN do, is 1) help her understand how you work now, 2) try to understand how she feels, and 3) develop a communication plan for her to get your attention.

My husband has it down pretty well. He comes over and says, "Julie (pause), may I speak with you?" Then he waits. He does not take it personally if I snap, "Not right now" which is what I do most anytime I get a second task (my current goal is working on a softened version). By using my name, he gets my attention. With my immediate family, sometimes I try to look down at what I am doing and if it's not time sensitive, I remind myself that I can pause it. For example, chopping lettuce. Put it down, turn around, listen to husband for 3 minutes while he tells me about doctor appointment tomorrow.

Now, he has learned that he can't just chit chat to me while I'm making dinner or I'll shoot through the roof, so he saves that for when we're sitting down together. So now we have to carve out that time, which we previously would have done while I was making dinner, but no more. But I try to remember. There is and never was any such thing as multi-tasking, so...? Maybe a positive way of looking at it is that it is a more mindful and intentional approach.

Don't get me wrong - I know this is really hard for him to deal with and he is struggling with wondering if this is our new life forever. Meanwhile my children cannot do this at all, so I block them out too much or end up yelling and have meltdowns (but we are discussing a safe word for that, a great idea I got on this board).

Be well
Julie