If you are caregiving for an elderly family member, there are some easy changes that you can make to how you help–also called “hacks”–and they can not only make your life easier, but they can make sure that your loved one is getting better care, too.
First, focus on making the day go as smoothly as possible. Mealtime can be hectic, but if you can simplify this process, that will give you time to help with a lot of other tasks, too. One thing that can be done is to make lunches in bulk at the beginning of the week and store them so that mealtime is a lot easier and less stressful. This way, you can just pop a container in the microwave and move forward with your day rather than trying to figure out what can be eaten on that particular day. This is best when the meals are all healthy in nature. The same goes for snacks, too. Make sure that there are plenty of these and that you have a variety of things that your relative enjoys eating. This will help cut down on hunger during the day, alleviate the stress of having to go find something on short notice, and it speeds things up overall. Once you have these things ready, just make sure that you stay organized so that this little hack actually does work for you.
Next, remember that you don’t have to do it alone. This is so obvious, but many people completely forget that they do not have to be the only person helping to provide care for a loved one. You have other family that you can rely on once in a while, you can hire a professional caregiver or respite worker, or you can just have a friend take over once in a while so that you can relax outside the house. There’s a reason why the saying, “it takes a village” came to pop culture. The best way to help someone you love is to do it as a team. By working together, you can make sure that the care provided is top quality and that the care you personally give is much better, too. This is a little thing for sure, but the effect is multiplied as you spread responsibility out. It’s not shirking your duty, rather, it makes sure that the job is done even better than before. This is, after all, someone that you love that is being helped. If getting help can give them a better experience, then you should do it if at all possible. In-home care with a professional caregiver is another way to accomplish this, and it doesn’t even need to be full time care, be completely effective.
Finally, try to automate your day. This requires some tech savvy, but once you get the hang of it, it will save you lots of time. Program the television so that the shows that your loved one wants to watch will turn on automatically. Program the coffee machine to brew at a certain time. There are tons of things like this that you can do, and they all save time and make life a tiny bit simpler.
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