Managing your time well is important for anyone. It reduces stress and improves your overall sense of well-being. Good time-management becomes even more necessary when you are caring for an aging parent. The obligations and demands of being a caregiver can be more than just stressful… they can be emotionally and physically draining as well.

 

After all, there are only 24 hours in each day. Yet those are likely already filled with working, caring for your own family, trying to fit in all the things, and then you’re adding caregiving duties for elderly loved ones. So how do you keep it together and be what you need to be for all of the important people in your life?

Here are 7 time-management tips for the busiest of caregivers. Try to implement just one a week and soon you’ll find you have enough time to get to all of your important tasks each week.

Plan Ahead and Get a High-Level View

There are quite a few business books out there that tout the virtues of making a plan for your week. This same principle can also be valuable for caregivers.

Sit down with your calendar on Sunday night for just ten minutes. Look at your upcoming week as a whole and see what’s on the agenda. Are there any phone numbers or addresses you can fill into your calendar now so that you don’t have to find them on the fly? Where might you need some extra hands to help out this week? Are there any obvious conflicts that you can reschedule now?

This simple step, if done routinely, will help you breathe easier every Monday morning.

Prioritize your To Do List

It’s very easy to lose precious minutes of your day when you aren’t organized. Making a list helps keep you on track. Take the time to prioritize the items lined up for each day.

Start by writing in items that are hard-scheduled, like your parent’s doctor appointments. Once you have the immovable appointments locked into your calendar, it becomes easier to schedule other tasks around these.

Are there any task/errands that you just dread? Knock those out first to give a little lift to the rest of your week. I do this religiously whenever there’s a task I’m not looking forward to, and it’s such a relief when I’ve completed that item and can cross it off my list.

Don’t forget to leave at least one block of time as a “catch-all.” Use this time to tackle administrative tasks and make necessary phone calls. I find it best to  schedule this block of time mid-week, so start with that. If another day ends up working better for you, then you can always move that time slot next week.

Divide and Conquer

While you are prioritizing your list, look out for larger tasks that aren’t urgent but still need to get done. Can you break these into smaller pieces? If so, try scheduling pieces of these tasks on consecutive weeks.

For example, if your parent needs help cleaning out the closets or decluttering their home, spend an hour each week on smaller pieces – coat closets, winter closet, main closet, garage. This is easier than it sounds and will also still give you that sense of accomplishment when you complete the current week’s activity.

Enlist Help or Hire it

Shedding even some of the smallest tasks can be a welcome relief and sometimes those little things can add up to a lot. What things can your spouse, children or other siblings take on regularly? Perhaps someone can pick up the monthly prescriptions for your loved one or drive your parent to a weekly hair appointment. Often your parent’s neighbors might want to help so have ideas on what they can do.

Likewise, if a good friend offers help, accept it graciously and assign them a task from your list.  All too often we say no to this because we hate to inconvenience others, but your friends wouldn’t offer if they didn’t truly want to help. Take them up on it.

Hired help will also often lift some of your burdens. Consider a housekeeper twice a month to do the deep cleaning while you tidy up in between. Find a neighborhood kid to walk the dog three times a week or mow the lawn. Check into grocery delivery or buy meals from food preparation companies like Snap Kitchen. The internet has made it easier than ever to find reliable people or services to help you with these tasks, so take advantage of that.

Banish Perfectionism

With so many things on your plate, sometimes you’ve got to give yourself a break. No one expects you to cook Martha Stewart-quality meals when you’ve got your own job, your own family and you are caring for one or more other people.

Learn some simple crockpot recipes and don’t freak out if the baseboards have a bit of dust on them. You aren’t superwoman, and no one expects you to be.

Don’t Forget Yourself

Along those lines, it’s also all too common for caregivers to consider themselves last, but you are the only one who can make sure that you have enough gas in your tank, so to say.

Build in some “me time” every week, whether it be a 30-minute stress-buster massage, a coffee date with a dear friend or just some quiet time with a good book. Schedule it on your calendar in writing as your own personal mental-health break so that you don’t overlook it.

Be Ready to Roll with It

Emergencies occur sometimes and it’s easy to sink into a pit of stress when they blow up your carefully planned schedule. However, these things happen, so learn to expect them and they’ll feel less stressful to you when they actually occur. Acknowledge them, take a deep breath and face them down.

You’ve got this.

Danielle K Roberts is the co-founder of Boomer Benefits where her team helps baby boomers navigate Medicare.

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And if you want more time saving tips, don’t forget you can get all sorts of tips in the Mompowerment book, available on Amazon (These are affiliate links where I will get compensated at no additional cost to you).