“If you could go back in time, what would you tell your 20-year-old self?” is a fun self-reflection question. At the heart of the question is what do you know now, that you wish you knew then?

While backwards time travel isn’t currently available, forwards time travel is. I can communicate with Todd 20 years in the future. The 43 folder Tickler system was a tool I valued early in my career for talking to future Todd. It helped me remember key information I needed anytime from tomorrow up to a year away. Then the Franklin Covey planner showed me a similar “note to future self” system.

I even used that methodology at home. One year after spending more time than I needed to string and restringing Christmas lights down the banister, I created a just-in-time Christmas light job aid. I wrote myself a note with a hand-drawn diagram and placed it in the storage box with the lights. When I opened the box the next year, I had instructions from last year that saved me a ton of time.

Giving blood last week, I learned a few tips that I want to share with future Todd that will make his next donation appointment faster. The Community Blood Center was the busiest I’d seen it. Everyone working was hustling, but I had been there 45 minutes and I still didn’t have a needle in my arm.

The double red blood cell process usually takes 45-60 minutes, and I was getting close to my hard stop. When I checked with my phlebotomist, he said not a problem. I’ll get you out of here on time.

Him: Have you donated on this machine before?

Me: I don’t think so, I’m usually on one of the machines over there.

Him: This one is a little different. Down there it does many pulls and returns. This one does 3 bigger pulls and returns, so you might feel more of a difference.

Me: Does that make this machine faster than the other? Him: Yes. In this machine, I input your height, weight, and hemoglobin, and it calculates how much to pull each time.

After 27 minutes, it’s time for the needle to come out.

Me: So how do I make sure I get one of these machines next time.

Him: It’s called the ALYX.

Me: I’m not sure how I can remember that.

Him: You could ask for the blue machine, or the faster machine.

Me: The other thing I noticed was it was fairly busy when I came. When are the slowest times?

Him: Day of the week is tough to predict. But time of day makes a big difference. The plasma appointments are every 2.5 hours. We open at 8, so 8, 10:30, 1, and 3:30 we often get a huge influx of 8 plasma donors.

Me: Thanks!

Excellent! I now know 2 insider tips that will speed up my next donation:

Ask for the ALYX
Schedule at an off time to the plasma times

I’m eligible to donate again after 112 days. How can I share these insights with future Todd to schedule my next donation more effectively.

My first thought is to send myself an email using the reminders feature in a service I use called sanebox.com. I can send an email to any date or time in the future and sanebox sends me the email at that time. It’s a great way to talk to future Todd.

But I decided to try something more direct. I went to the Community Blood Center website and scheduled my next appointment (for 9 am). When I added the appointment on my calendar, I added a note to ask for the ALYX. Of course, I already need to reschedule that appointment.

I’m looking for more ways to keep in contact with future Todd. He’s much nicer than past Todd who I rarely hear from.