EPISODE 20: Habit Stacking for Autoimmune Warriors
- autoimmunesisterho
- Dec 31, 2024
- 22 min read
Updated: Jan 1
BECKY: Welcome back to Autoimmune Adventures. Today we're diving into a topic that many of us with autoimmune conditions can relate to - the challenge of managing our energy levels. But first, our good bit minute. Harvard Health has recently published an article that states, "Research has shown that regular physical exercise is one way to improve cognitive functions like memory recall, problem solving, concentration, and attention to detail. However, it's not clear if the physical aspect alone boosts your brain or if the combination of other factors, like the mental challenge of an activity, the frequency you do it, and the desire to improve also contribute. Take swimming, for example. It has obvious cardiovascular and muscle building benefits, but also involves constant thinking, processing, and learning.
You have to be mindful of your breathing rhythm and how to properly execute strokes and kicks. You also can measure your expertise in terms and endurance and speed, which motivates you to practice your skills to be a better swimmer. A brain training activity doesn't have to be exercise related. Much research has found that creative outlets like painting and other art forms, learning an instrument, doing expressive or autobiographical writing, and learning a language can also improve cognitive function."
We thought this was applicable to what we're talking about today, because we are discussing managing energy levels, but a lot of that we're going to talk about learning to form new and better habits.
STACY: I think we have to remember that we have unique energy dynamics. Living with autoimmune disease means that some days we have a lot of energy and other days we have very little. We can't really always know how it's going to be from day to day, so we have to learn to navigate the ups and downs that are inevitable with autoimmunity. We're going to explore the concept of energy conservation and efficiency and how we can conserve our energy and not just conserve it, but effectively use what we do have, and how we can prioritize tasks and maximize our energy output so that we can accomplish things we need to.
We're also going to look at. The art of habit stacking and I do consider it an art. It's something that you learn over time and you refine it over time. How the technique of habit stacking can help you accomplish more without really draining your energy reserve. So let's look at the secrets of a more energized life and reclaim our power.
ALYSIA: So before we jump into our discussion on habit stacking, we wanted to touch on multitasking because when you think of, um, conserving energy or being more efficient doing things, we are often told That we should multitask, right? There, there's science behind this and there are negative effects of multitasking.
So we're going to talk a little bit about that. The brain has limitations, right? We, our brains are not designed to multitask, because when we switch back and forth between tasks, our brains have to refocus and that can be mentally taxing. So the impact on focus and productivity is real. When you are trying to multitask that can actually reduce your focus that can actually increase the number of errors that are occurring, and it can decrease your overall productivity.
I don't know if you guys have noticed that it's definitely that case for me. I, when I was younger and before I had autoimmune issues, I was a pretty darn good multitasker. I would say that was a feather in my cap. That was something I was very good at. I can't do that anymore. And I, I don't know why that is exactly, but learning what we've, what we're sharing today was, was helpful to me personally.
Multitasking can just drain your energy. You're constantly switching between tasks and it, it causes mental fatigue and that can reduce your energy levels. So for some people, multitasking might not be that difficult. I know, like I just said, it wasn't difficult for me when I was younger, and I did find it helpful. If that is the case for you, good for you. We're so happy for you. It's often not the case for people with autoimmune issues, right? Our cognitive abilities are very, very much affected by our autoimmune issues. It is most likely the inflammation in our bodies that affects our brain. We're going to have sometimes memory problems we might have, definitely, we're going to have difficulty concentrating, slowed processing speed, confusion, trouble with our executive functions.
These things that I always say when they're affecting me, I'm like, oh my gosh, I feel so old. I'm not old, guys. I'm not old, but when I am struggling to focus on something or just to understand something, I'm like, I know I'm not a stupid person, but I am really struggling with this right now. That is something I have to be kind to myself about. That is the effect of autoimmune disease on our cognitive function.
BECKY: And I was going to say, I think there's different levels of multitasking. And like Alysia said, if you can still multitask, yay for you. That's awesome. And I think even with autoimmunity, there's probably the minor kinds of multitasking.
You can listen to a podcast or listen to music while you're doing work. And that might even help motivate you, you know, or when you're exercising. Generally, we're talking about things where you really need to have concentration and focus on multiple things at once. And, and that can be a challenge. And there are, like Alysia said, there are some days where even stuff that's pretty simple.
I had a perfect example the other day, my husband was trying to talk to me and I was trying to send a text to somebody. And normally, those are two things I can do at the same time, but I was just having a day where that wasn't an option. And he started talking, and he realized that I kept pausing every time I was trying to listen to him. And he said, "Hey, do you want me to wait until you finish that text, and then I can talk to you, because it seems like you're kind of having a hard time."
And I said, "Yes, please do, because I'm honestly genuinely struggling. I cannot do both of these things right now." I think it's a very real thing, and sometimes it might come and go, but we need to recognize that, especially when we're suffering from autoimmune disease, that multitasking is quite often not the most effective way to get things done.
ALYSIA: Right. It's not always in our best interest, and knowing that makes it easier for us to forgive ourselves of that. First of all, for me, when I say I don't need to multitask, I'm going to take one thing at a time. It makes me feel less overwhelmed. It makes me feel more in control of all the things that I have to do. And when I do forget that and try to multitask almost inevitably, I feel like I'm overwhelmed.
STACY: I think it's important that we also remember that when we give up that opinion that multitasking is the only way to go, and we embrace the idea of singular tasks, when we do that, we do pretty much what people with ADHD do.
We hyper-focus on one thing at one time, and we get a lot more done. And if there's anything I've learned from all of my ADHD pals, It's that their hyper-focus actually leads to higher productivity, which is not a bad thing, because we only have so much energy to give. So if we can boost our productivity by simply focusing on one thing at a time, that's a win-win. We get more done and we have the energy to get what little we can get done, done.
ALYSIA: Just thinking how bizarre it is that just the simple act of switching tasks is so exhausting. For my brain. And that in turn is exhausting for my body too, which sounds crazy, but I've watched it and I've tracked it, right?
BECKY: And I would say one of the things that's really awesome about this idea of taking a single task at a time, I think it allows you to better prioritize your tasks. Cause I think a lot of times when we're multitasking, we end up doing maybe one thing that's really important. And the other thing is just maybe minimally important.
And then you're really not giving the focus you need to the really important thing. So, taking single tasks, especially for those of us that have limited amounts of energy allows us to better prioritize. That way you can identify the most important things that you need to get done on any given day and make sure that you put them at the top of your to do list. That by doing things one at a time and not trying to mishmash everything together, it gives you some flexibility with your scheduling. It helps you adjust your schedule to accommodate your fluctuation and energy levels,.
Take a rest, and then I can work on the others, but you're doing multiple things at once. And I know I have been totally guilty of this. I'm doing, you know, half a dozen things in the kitchen and I'm trying to get some stuff done in my bedroom and without a doubt, something is going to blow up in my face, figuratively or literally. I just can't do that, and I have to allow myself time to rest.
And if you are not doing a hundred things at once, being able to put those breaks into your schedule, so that you can recharge makes it a little bit easier. Breaking down tasks is also a really important thing. You can take those larger tasks, because I think we all know some of those really larger tasks we don't have the energy to do all in one go. It's a great idea to say, "I'll sit and focus on this." but if it's a very large task, you might have to break it out into smaller, more manageable steps. This can help reduce your feeling of being overwhelmed and makes the tasks feel a little less daunting, like easier to do.
But if you've already broken it out into smaller tasks, it makes it easier to say, "Okay, I might not have the energy to clean my entire front room, but you know what? I can go in there and I can vacuum the floor and then take a break if I need to." And do things one at a time. However you need to, breaking it into smaller steps makes it a little bit easier.
STACY: I think it is an act of mindfulness that we have to have. We have to practice the idea of looking at what we have to do, assigning a level of importance to it, and if it doesn't hit in the important bucket, it can just be tossed aside some days. And on other days we can drive through and get it done, but we have to be mindful.
We have to think about what we are supposed to accomplish and then from there build a plan for the day based on our energy levels. It helps if we're also practicing actual mindfulness techniques where we can stay present and focused on the task at hand, but also present and focused on our energy levels.
Instead of going into the kitchen and looking at it and going, "Oh my heck, this is a complete pig sty." You can go in and say, "Okay, I've got 10 minutes in me." And you can use time blocking and block out a 10 or 15 minute period of time to clean and then take a break. Have a snack, sit and do a breathing, do yoga, if you have the energy for it, but you have to be mindful of what your body needs and then to meditate or to spend time being mindful and paying attention to the world around us, because our cognitive function is always impaired. We are always inflamed as people with autoimmune disease.
So we have to be able to know that if we want our brain to do the most work for us, we have to train our brain to focus so that we can do that one task at a time. Because it's so hard when you're in the kitchen and you've set a timer for 10 minutes, you're supposed to be cleaning for 10 minutes. In the middle of it, your phone rings or in the middle of it, you think, "Oh yeah, I was going to do that." And then you just leave. And you go into that thing and then the kitchen never does get clean, then you run out of energy. You have to have mindfulness and awareness and kind of focus in. And you can train your brain to help you do that.
And then if you do that time blocking, that allows you to get more things done. It also helps you avoid burnout because you're not sitting in a kitchen for 35 minutes trying to clean. You do it for 10, then you go do something else for a little while. And if you have another 10 minutes in you later in the day, you go back and work on it again.
One of the other things we can do that really helps us is to minimize the distractions around us by having a dedicated workspace. And that allows us to optimize our focus. So whether it's getting a comfortable office chair or a better pair of shoes to stand in, think about what would make a big difference in your work life. And in your life in general, that would help you to be more effective and get the things done that you need to get done.
We all have things we have to do, whether we want to do them or not is irrelevant. We all have things we have to do. And if we have to do them, then doing them in the most productive or effective way possible is the best way to go about things. And the way we can assure that is by setting ourselves up for success. Get that nice comfy chair, get that good pair of shoes, get whatever is going to help you retain as much energy as you possibly can on any given day. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to have a productive, enjoyable life. One of the other things you can also do is group similar tasks together. And I love this because it improves your efficiency and it reduces your mental fatigue. If you're not having to bounce around from, Oh, I'm in the kitchen. Now I'm going to go and water the plants outside in my garden. Oh, now I'm going to go feed the dog. Instead, if it's I'm in the kitchen. And I need to get dinner in the oven, and while I'm here, now that I've got dinner in the oven, maybe I should switch out the dishes really quick in the dishwasher. Why? Because it's right there. You're in that same space and there is less energy spent. So task batch, it is a great way of responding to things quickly and effectively.
So one of the ways that we can help ourselves to task batch is to is to take our emails throughout the day and instead of sitting down every time we get something and opening up our phone, there's a better option. Becky, can you share with us what that is?
BECKY: Yeah, this was actually something that one of my managers shared several years ago, and I thought it was really great because it's very easy if you're checking an email here and an email there throughout the day - I don't know about you guys, but a lot of times I'll check an email and then suddenly I find myself on Facebook or Instagram or whatever as I'm doing all that too, and I end up wasting more time than I had intended when I was just going to check an email. Well, this manager he said - and he was a very, very successful business person - and he said that he took about An hour to two hours a day depending on how much time he needed that he responded to emails in the day. And he said, "So just so you know, if you're emailing me I'm, not going to be the person that emails you back two seconds later. You're going to get an email from me, you know at this time this every day because that's when I check my emails." He found that this was a very successful way for him to have the energy to focus on the emails and not get distracted And not waste time doing other things as often happens when we do, you know, I'm, I'm going to check my email 50 times in a single day. I figured that that was...
STACY: I would agree that having a specific time of day that you deal with different things that you have to do for work is a good idea because like we said, if you want to create a productive environment, you need to learn how to task batch.
ALYSIA: Love the idea of task batching, but I am going to just play devil's advocate here. And I'm going to say, there are some jobs - one of them being motherhood - this is not possible. You know what I'm saying? At home and in work life, there are some jobs where you, you can't really do that. You have to, to respond to something as it's happening. You deal with it as it's happening, which causes you to be bouncing around.
Those kinds of jobs are taxing on us mentally, and usually taxing on us physically. So do the best you can. We know you don't really have all the control that you would like to have over your time and your energy and your bandwidth, but the big one we want to share is habit stacking. You've probably heard of it before.
I know we have mentioned it before on the podcast. It is a. hugely powerful tool. The concept of habit stacking is that you add a new habit to an existing routine in order to make it easier for you to stick to that new habit. There are a lot of benefits of this. It can help you to build these new habits without feeling too overwhelmed when you're taking it on, and it can help you to stay consistent with those habits to help you meet your goals.
So some examples would be, you know, you brush your teeth every day. So after you brush your teeth, you want to start. meditating for five minutes. You say, I'd like to introduce the habit of meditation into my life. Well, you need to find something in your routine that you would attach that to. In my brain, it doesn't make sense to brush your teeth and then meditate, but it might for you.
I like to meditate first thing in the morning. And I know that sounds crazy. Cause you might just fall back asleep, but first thing in the morning, I will just sit on the edge of my bed, and I will close my eyes, I'll sit straight up and I will meditate and it is. a good way for me to clear my mind to start my day.
So another example would be when you have lunch, you just know that you're going to go for a walk after lunch. That's going to be, you're going to habit stack that eat lunch, go for a walk. So take that, that thing you want to do and attach it to something you're already doing every day anyway, that is the concept of habit stacking.
And if you want to learn A little more in depth about this, strongly, strongly recommend the book "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. If you get online and look at the reviews for this book, it speaks for itself. This book is life changing information.
STACY: I would say that of all the books that I have read, all the self help books I've read, that "Atomic Habits" has been the most life-changing book I've ever read. I feel like I have been able to accomplish things in the last year since reading it that I never would have dreamt possible before and it's baby steps, and I love that because as I always say to you guys, "Baby steps, we have to do things in baby steps." We don't have energy for big sweeping grandiose gestures. Who has energy for that? But baby steps, we've got enough energy for baby steps, so yeah "Atomic Habits" great when you can...
BECKY: You can build on baby steps, which is great. Cause that's what I did when I tried to do habit stacking, as I've mentioned before, I don't get super excited about exercising, even though I know it's really good for me. And so I tried to tie that to, I'm very good at brushing my teeth at night. And when I first started, it was maybe I'm going to do five minutes of exercise.
But after I did that for a few weeks, it was like, okay, I can do a little bit more. Maybe I'm going to do 10 minutes. If you start small because it doesn't overwhelm you, it's really great. It makes it much easier to build on.
ALYSIA: And he talks about that in the book, like he talks about how if you're trying to start a new habit, you want to make it as easy as possible for yourself. And if that means you start out doing something very, very small. Do that thing that's very, very small and exactly what you just said. And then you see that you have success doing that thing,and you add onto it. You add a little bit more. It's like compound interest. Almost over time, those small steps, those small gestures, add up into huge benefits for your health, mental and physical.
BECKY: And the other great thing about starting small and building is I think it's applicable to everyone, but especially for those of us with autoimmune diseases where we always need to be very conscious of our energy levels, our power bar, by starting these habits and doing them in small steps it makes it easier to have a plan for how you're going to personalize your energy management different ways. You can do that as you can track your energy levels, monitoring your energy throughout the day to see if you have patterns or triggers. Maybe it's certain foods that you eat that you find make you more tired. Maybe it's certain activities that are a little more challenging than others that you find tire you out faster. Keeping track of these things so that you have an idea is really good. I know they have recently created a, kind of like a Fitbit only it's for people with chronic illness, basically that kind of helps you track your energy levels throughout the day.
We'll put a link to some of those. I know they're new and I don't personally know how effective they are. I think it's for me, it's just as easy to maybe just make a little note, whether I make it on my phone or on a piece of paper or whatever to say, "Hey, this thing, you know, whether it's food, activity, whatever, this slowed me down. Hey, this really made me feel good." Tracking those that are going to benefit you.
Identify your peak energy times and try to schedule your demanding tasks during those time periods. I think that's a really important one. I used to be an absolute morning person and I could get up insanely early and do so much. And in the last like two years, I would say probably with my lupus and everything else, I just am not that morning person anymore. I wake up at about 7 30, but honestly I can do a few things at 7 30, but I don't really get my body going decently to do anything hard until about 9 30, even if I'm awake, I try to do all my kind of quiet meditation, reading a book, whatever I'm doing first thing in the morning until I'm actually up. So when I have hard things that I need to do, I try to get them done between like 9 30am and either just before lunch or just after lunch.
Cause if it gets too far into the afternoon, I start to hit a wall again. And everybody's different, so you find your time. Where are your peak energy times and make sure you schedule your demanding tasks during those times. Make sure you prioritize rest. I know that that can be tough. Sometimes we kind of get down on ourselves. Rest is important. It's going to keep you healthier. It's going to keep you from flaring. Make sure you get adequate sleep. If you don't get adequate sleep, try and get a nap in there. Even aside from naps and sleep, just make sure you have regular rest breaks throughout the day, because some of us just are not able to keep going for hours on end.
ALYSIA: A well-timed rest break, and I'm not talking a nap, I'm talking, I'm gonna sit my butt down on this couch and take some deep breaths, relax for a good 10 minutes. It does wonders. But if you, instead of doing that, if you push through when your body's telling you, okay, maybe slow down. And you're like, "No, no, no, I'm good. I'm going to keep going." That's when your body's going to say, Nah, okay, I'll let you keep going, but we're going to take all your power bar from tomorrow. You're going to wake up feeling like complete garbage tomorrow.
BECKY: Exactly. And we say this so much, but it is so true. You have to listen to your body. And sometimes, especially if you've been newly diagnosed, sometimes listening to your body is hard.
That's why we say take notes. I would love to say, take them in your head, but if you're like me, they're not going to stay in your head. You're not going to be able to remember them. So write them down somewhere or type them on your phone. Listen to your body, pay attention to the signals that you're getting when you're tired, when you're feeling good, and adjust your activities accordingly.
STACY: And if we adjust our activities, we'll have a more positive day. So I'm going to give you an example, and this is only an example of how you can create positive habits to support energy levels. So I'm going to tell you what I do in the morning. Okay, every morning when I wake up, I drink a glass of water.
Hydration is important to your energy levels. If you're dehydrated, it taxes your immune system. We already have problems there, we don't need to add to that. So, wake up in the morning and drink a glass of water. After you drink your water, that's when I meditate. Much like Alysia, I wake up in the morning, I take my thyroid pill.
And then I meditate. I do not sit at the edge of the bed. I lay back down. I practice my deep breathing for a few minutes and I get my body to realize that I'm awake and I have very specific breathing I do to help with that. And then after I've meditated for about five or six minutes, I get up and if my husband isn't still in bed, which he usually isn't when I get up, then I make the bed.
Why make the bed? Well, it doesn't take a ton of effort. It gives me one thing. if, if I have a total crap day, it gives me one thing that I accomplished well for the day. But also it's been proven by research that people who make their bed every morning are more successful generally. It's one of those things that I do because I want to be.
I want to invest in my success and my moving forward with life. And then in the evening after dinner, I like to take a short walk. And if I'm not up to a short walk, I'll at least do some light stretching to help make my body hurt less because usually by the time I get to evening, I'm sore and I'm hurting pretty badly.
So I try to do something that helps to eliminate some of that pain. And then after I've stretched, I reward myself with music or a book, depending on my day. And then right before bed, I will meditate again. And I usually do more meditation then. I do progressive muscle relaxation where I lay and I tense up my entire body, and then I release that tension. And it's a good way to trigger your vagus nerve and someday we will actually have an episode about vagus nerve stimulation and how that helps us to calm our bodies down that tensing of your muscles and then releasing it very mindfully being aware. Okay, let's loosen up our job. Let's calm those shoulders down and working down your body to your feet and just relaxing your body. And then it prepares your body to sleep and it also tells your body, Oh, we're doing something. One of the best things you can do for sleep, because a lot of us suffer with insomnia, is to give your body a trigger that lets us know, Oh, now it's time to go to bed. Oh, now it's time to go to sleep.
These habits are great for remembering things and helping us to get all those little things in during the day, but they also help our body to understand that we have a certain expectation at any given time. For me, The muscle relaxation I do leads me to having a better night's sleep because my body, my brain turns on and says, Hey, she's doing that thing we do before we go to bed. And so now suddenly I've triggered my brain and my body to have a successful night of sleep, which is important.
ALYSIA: I wanted to really quick before we wrap up, I wanted to talk about. Using technology to assist us with our habit tracking and with managing our energy levels. Some of us are going to be a little bit more old school and really enjoy a pen and a paper method. And that is okay. I have zero judgment for that because I have a lot of pen and paper notes. It lists, um, things that I am tracking, things that I'm trying to remember. I find great satisfaction in writing things down and it does help me remember things. There's scientific evidence that writing something down, physically writing it down with a pen and paper helps you retain that information better.
If you're like me, my brain does not have the capacity any longer to remember all the million little things. So I depend heavily on technology to help me do that. I have mixed emotions about that. Sometimes I'm like, you know, I just miss the days where I could remember to do things, and I could remember when something was coming up and I can't do that anymore, and so I depend on my Google calendar.
There are apps like Todoist, where you can create tasks, you can set up reminders, you can have to do lists, you can share those with other people you are working with. There are habit tracking apps. I know that James Clear, he does have a habit tracking app, and I believe that there's a free version and a paid version of that.
But those are going to help you track your progress. They, they might help you stay motivated. My all time most used app of all time. ever is my Notes app. I have a note taking app. I happen to use Color Note, but I know there are many good ones Evernote and notion. They're good to capture ideas. They are good when you're brainstorming and when you need to just organize information.
And I certainly utilize that probably more than anything I use on my phone. And then the last ones that I would say consider looking into Automation tools, things that would automate repetitive tasks that could save you time and energy. And there's even more exciting things that we can, like, we can use AI for stuff now that we never were able to before things that are mindless, brainless work, things that are just busy work, oftentimes we can give AI a task that can handle that kind of thing. If you're tech savvy, absolutely jump in on using those kind of applications for yourself. But if you're not, if you're more of a pen and paper person, that's, that's totally fine. Just know that there's nothing wrong with looking into technology as something to help you manage your, your habits, your time, the things that your brain is, is overloaded with, put it down. And if you have an Alexa, she is a busy girl at my house. I am constantly saying, "Alexa, remind me to take the garbage cans out on Sunday night. Alexa, remind me to feed the cats or set a timer for such and such. I'm doing this or that. I am always asking Alexa to assist me."
Okay. Thank you so much for joining us guys. I hope we gave you some tips. I hope we gave you some good information. I hope we motivated you to empower yourself to take control of your energy levels, your ability to get the things done that you need to get done.
I know it's overwhelming. We know it. We know it, we feel it, and, and that's why we're doing an episode on this, because it can feel like a lot when you've got all the things in your life, all the different roles that you play in your life, and you have to take into account how your autoimmune disease affects every single one of those.
Get organized, get your stuff together. That is easier said than done, but We hope that we gave you some things to think about and remember that everybody's journey is unique. You've got to experiment with different strategies to find what works best for you, and don't be afraid to adjust your approach as your energy levels wax and wane and you need to change.
Like Becky said, you know, she used to be a morning person. You might not be in two years, who knows, but be flexible, be forgiving. Don't forget that you really do hold the power here. Thank you for joining us today. And please let us know what episodes you would like to see from us in the future. Like and subscribe, and you can find us on autoimmuneadventures.com.
Remember you are worthy of joy. Your disease does not define your life. You do.
HELPFUL LINKS:
"Atomic Habits" by James Clear - https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits
Cleveland Clinic on why Multi-tasking Isn't Effective - https://health.clevelandclinic.org/science-clear-multitasking-doesnt-work
Benefits of Making Your Bed - https://neurolaunch.com/making-your-bed-psychology/
Health Trackers for People with Chronic Illness:
Writing things down can help you remember - https://www.popsci.com/diy/typing-vs-writing-by-hand-memory/
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