1. “Pair a head task with a body task.”
I was catching up on some podcasts the other day and noticed a Before Breakfast episode with this title.
I thought, “Oh, that’s what I say all the time! I wonder who else is a fan of this idea.”
And when I hit “play”, I discovered it was me that Laura was quoting. Ha.
I do love this method of multi-tasking; it is the only way to do it effectively.
Two head tasks (talking on the phone while writing an email) do not work. Your brain will just switch back and forth between the two.
But a head task and a body task (talking on the phone while folding laundry) work great together; I actually focus better on a head task when my body is busy.
Click here to listen to the episode.
2. I have recovered from night shift jet lag
I spent the first 48 hours after my night shifts engaging in rather slug-like behavior. I did almost nothing productive, and I slept a whole lot.
Chiquita was surprised to see me on the couch
By the 48-hour mark, I had mostly recovered, and now I feel like myself again. Yay!
There is a bit of a recovery period after working a string of day shifts, but that’s nothing compared to the rest I needed after six night shifts.
A tired me is fine with Chiquita
Thank goodness I am back in the daytime world. I do not like being a creature of the night.
(I will be working mostly day shifts from now on!)
3. I am slightly less anemic
I got my blood test results back, and I am happy to report that I am not as anemic as I was previously. Yay!
Probably partly why I am anemic. Ahahaha.
These results mean my iron supplements are working, so I can just keep on this path.
Some of my markers are getting pretty close to the low end of normal, so I’m hopeful that in a few more months, I will be walking around with average levels of hemoglobin.
Donating blood is still off the table for a good while, though. BOO.
4. A little factoid about the spleen
Can I tell you something interesting about how the spleen finds geriatric red blood cells and gets rid of them?
Sometimes when I lie in bed, I look up at the light and think about how much the shape reminds me of a red blood cell.
The spleen has pretty small channels that red blood cells have to squeeze through on their way through the body. Young cells can handle this with no problem, because they are flexible and can kind of squish/bend to make it through (source).
However, as our red blood cells age, they get less flexible. So the old red blood cells get stuck, and are then essentially sent away for recycling.
I imagine it sort of like a red blood cell game of limbo; the young, flexible cells can bend and make it under the bar, but the old ones can’t.
And that’s how the spleen knows which ones to keep and which ones to throw out. 🙂
5. Diabolical dishwasher loading
You know what’s nice about having a small household?
You can load the dishwasher any which-way you want, and there’s still room for everything.
With a household of six, I had to be more careful.
But here, I throw things into my dishwasher in a slightly unhinged way, with no eye to maximizing space, and it’s just fine.
Wanna tell me some miscellaneous stuff? Go for it!
Joyce
Wednesday 15th of October 2025
I made the mistake of donating blood right before I had to have blood drawn at the doctor's office. They were very concerned, needless to say. They were putting me on iron supplements right away. I told them I would wait the 56 days and have blood drawn again. As I knew, the levels were normal. I explained that if my levels were low, I would not have been able to donate. I guess they must not encounter that very often. I was laughing really.
Central Calif. Artist Jana
Monday 13th of October 2025
I can read and knit at the same time. Of course, the knitting has to be relatively automatic and a simple repetitive pattern for this to work. I thought I was special, and then my mom told me that her grandmother used to do this!
WilliamB
Monday 13th of October 2025
@Central Calif. Artist Jana, When I was little I was amazed my grandmother could knit plain stockinette while watching TV. Then I learned to knit while reading and she was shocked that anyone could do that. As you say, repetitive patterns only.
Selena
Monday 13th of October 2025
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/the-most-effective-productivity-hack-is-the-one-you-least-want-to-do/ar-AA1LeWWy
"The problem is the brain hasn’t changed much since the days of hunter-gatherers, but the demands we put on it have, says Kayla Stajkovic, a lecturer in organizational behavior at the University of California Davis. In the past, humans did a fair amount of strategizing and planning to survive, but now, we’re bombarded with emails and messages all day, we juggle calendars, attempt to multitask, and pull out our phones when we can’t think of anything better to do."
PNW Casey
Monday 13th of October 2025
Evidently, my Husband and I argued enough about dishwasher placement, our youngest daughter told her fiancée that she didn’t care if they argued, but NEVER about the dishwasher! Now, it’s just the two of us and we have set places where things go, which helps … but, he still moves things around. And, I still think I’m doing just fine.
Hanging out the laundry was the thing my mom was strict about … at one of our homes, the laundry lines faced the alley where the football boys ran between the school and the field. Large items (sheets, etc.) went on the line closest to the alley. Unmentionables came next with large items on the front line that could be seen from the street. I still am meticulous about the way I hang laundry on my IKEA rack. I also play “tetris” with it and can hang up to 2 loads.
My ex worked graveyards (4 - midnight). I worked days. It probably prolonged our marriage longer than it should have.
Ruby
Monday 13th of October 2025
Our is eight years old and DH can stack it so tightly that the dishes do not actually get clean. I have wrested the dishwashing away from him and thus no longer have the Coffee Cups with a Nasty Surprise inside.
We eat every meal cooked at home and go through a lot of dishes. It is not unusual to have to run it twice a day.