There’s a lot you need to get done as a caregiver and at first, it might seem easier to do everything yourself. But then when you’re overwhelmed, you start to realize that it’s impossible to do everything on your own.
Get a Comprehensive List Together
If you’re going to stop being the only one doing it all, you need to know what it “all” entails. That means sitting down and doing a quick brain dump of all the tasks you handle. This might feel more intimidating than you expect, especially at first. It turns out that as your senior’s caregiver there’s an awful lot you’re in charge of handling. You handle the big stuff, little stuff, and everything in between. When it’s all on paper, you can determine how to prioritize it.
Put the Tasks You Have to Do on Your Schedule
Go through your list and determine what tasks are ones you have to handle personally. There are lots of reasons why you might need to handle something specific, too. Don’t worry as much about whether your answers are right or wrong, what you’re doing is adding your specific tasks to your schedule. If these tasks don’t fit on your calendar, you might be claiming too much as yours.
Ask for Some Help
Friends and family members may be able to take some of the remaining tasks off your hands, especially if they’re smaller tasks. But that’s not your only source of help. As a caregiver, it’s easy to buy into the belief that you have to handle everything on your own, but there are agencies that can help. Even better, you can hire elder care providers to help, too. They’ve got experience in all of the areas that might still have you feeling like a fish out of water.
Reassess What’s Working and What Isn’t
Give your new plan a little time to really fire up. As you allow other people to help you, you may find that there are even more tasks that you can delegate, freeing up more of your time and energy. Make it a point to periodically reassess what’s working well with this plan and what still isn’t doing what you and your senior need. You can always adjust.
Getting a handle on your growing task list is definitely possible, especially if you learn how to delegate to some other folks. There’s nothing wrong with handling only what you truly feel capable of handling and leaving the rest to people who are more qualified to handle those tasks.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Elder Care in Buckeye, AZ, please contact the caring staff at Home Care Resources at (602) 443-4700
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