Caregiving is one of the most honorable and selfless roles you can take on, but it can also be overwhelming. Balancing work, personal life, and the demands of caregiving can often leave you feeling tired and stressed. However, maintaining a healthy balance is not just a luxury; it’s essential to your effectiveness as a caregiver and your well-being.
The good news is that you can find ways to make it easier. Here are 5 simple tips to help you take care of your loved one and yourself.
1. Make a Plan for Your Time
If you feel like there's not enough time in the day, making a plan can help you feel more in control and reduce stress. Here are some strategies to try:
- Making a daily schedule: Write down when you need to do caregiving tasks, work, and things for yourself. You can use a planner or your phone calendar.
- Trying the "2-2-2 idea": If possible, spend 2 hours helping your loved one, 2 hours focused on work, and 2 hours taking care of yourself each day. Change this based on what works for you.
- Grouping similar tasks together: Do all your errands on the same day to save time and feel less stressed.
It's important to protect your time and energy by setting clear limits for yourself and others. Here are a few examples.
- At work: Tell your boss about your caregiving role. Many companies will help by letting you work from home or helping to adjust your work schedule. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
- At home: Make sure other family members help with caregiving tasks. Having others make meals or drive your loved one to appointments can help free up time for you to take time for yourself.
- Learn to say "no": It's okay to turn down extra tasks that might make you too tired or you don’t have time to complete. Saying "no" to some things means you can say "yes" to what's most important to you.
Being a caregiver doesn’t mean you have to do everything by yourself. Asking and getting help from others will help keep you from getting too tired or feeling overwhelmed.
- Ask family and friends for help: Let people know when you need help and what you need.
- Look for community help: Many places have services that can help caregivers, such as temporary care, transportation or meal delivery. You can look online for caregiving resources, for example Findhelp.org can help you find local resources. You can also ask your doctor or advanced practice provider* (APP) about what's available near you.
- Join a support group: Talking to other caregivers can help you feel less alone and may provide useful caregiving tips and ideas.
When you're caring for someone else, it's easy to forget or skip your own needs. But it is important to remember you need to stay healthy to be able to help others.
- Take time to relax: Spend 10 minutes each day doing deep breathing or meditation. There are apps available that can help you learn how to do this.
- Stay healthy: Eat good food, exercise (even short walks help), and get enough sleep. Don't skip your own doctor appointments.
- Do things you enjoy: Set aside time each week for something you like to do, such as reading, painting, or watching your favorite show.
Taking care of someone means keeping track of many things like doctor visits and medications. Technology can help make this easier.
- Medication reminder apps: Medication apps can help you remember when to give medications and keep track of what's been taken.
- Shared calendars: Using a shared calendar with family members allows everyone to know about appointments and who's helping when.
- Video (virtual) doctor visits: When possible, use video calls for doctor appointments to save time on travel.
Balancing work, your own life and caring for someone is not easy, but you can do it. Follow the tips above and you can make caregiving work better for everyone, including yourself. Remember that when you take care of yourself, you can better care for your loved ones.
*An advanced practice provider includes a nurse practitioner or physician assistant.