If today’s to-dos look like significantly more than you are able to possibly fit into 24 short hours, you are not alone! Family caregivers are often inundated with daily care tasks: Planning activities that are purposeful and enjoyable for the senior. Shopping and other errands. Planning and preparing meals. Medical appointments. Housework and laundry. Personal care and hygiene. And all of this is in addition to meeting the requirements of your own household, children, spouse, and if there’s any time left over, yourself!
We invite you to hit the pause button for just an instant, take a good deep breath, and implement these tried-and-true time management tricks to help family caregivers run each day more smoothly.
Prioritize
Start the day off by prioritizing responsibilities into categories, for example, what must be done today, what you would like to do today, and exactly what can wait until another day. This enables you to dedicate your full focus on the most pressing needs and set aside the rest.
Define
With your list of responsibilities for the day at your fingertips, choose who is best suited to take care of them. You may well be the very best person to help a senior loved one with showering and getting ready for the day, while a friend may be able to take the older adult to the physician and out for lunch afterwards.
Implement
The temptation to put things off can be a powerful one to overcome! Now that you have a plan in place for the day, jump in and accomplish the tasks that need your attention. Nevertheless, don’t forget that self-care should always be a top priority. Surround yourself with a good support system that enables you the time away necessary to make sure your own health is never being compromised.
Through it all, remind yourself that the work you are doing is exceptionally important. It’s very easy to get swept up in the daily details and lose sight of the big picture and the fact that everything you do for the senior you love is generating a positive and lasting impact.
With that in mind, allow yourself some grace on the days when things do not go as planned, as will certainly be the case every so often! When a setback or crisis arises and your to-dos are left undone, understand that tomorrow is a new day and the tasks are going to be there whenever you’re prepared to tackle them again.
Serenity Home Care’s care providers are fully trained, experienced, and ready to help you in meeting all of a senior family member’s needs – allowing you the time away you’ll need for a healthy and balanced life. Reach out to us at 250-590-8098 for a free of cost in-home consultation to learn more about how our award-winning in-home help for seniors in Langford and the surrounding communities can help family caregivers.