Become an Organized Caregiver: Master the Art of Herding Cats

Guest post by: Barbara E. Friesner
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Elder Caregiving: How to Help Family Members with Denial - By Barbara E. Friesner

Recently I received a call from a woman who attended my Balancing Work & Eldercare Needs seminar about a year ago asking if I would email or fax to her the information on "Mastering the Master Schedule". Apparently, with 2 kids entering middle school, she was feeling overwhelmed - much the same way she did when taking care of her father - like she was herding cats! She said she remembered how much the master schedule had helped her and her sister organize their father's care and thought it would be perfect to get her children's schedule under control, too!! I happen to prefer the good old-fashioned hanging calendars because I like being able to see a whole month at a time. I use the holiday calendar my sister sends every year because, in addition to family pictures, the pages have a matte finish so I can write in pencil and make changes as needed.

However, you may prefer to go the electronic route, especially if you are sharing caregiving duties with others. Many computer and PDA programs have calendar templates and you can access from anywhere, making it easier for siblings and other family members, other caregivers, and if appropriate, your aging parent to view and/or add.

To set it up:

Start by blocking out any large non-recurring time commitments

Personal - such as vacations, holidays, weddings, etc.

Work - such as the annual meeting, budget prep and review, special projects, etc.

Then add recurring events such as:

FAMILY ACTIVITIES such as your kid's sports events, car pool commitments, etc
PERSONAL TIME FOR YOURSELF such as exercising, a "date" with your spouse, kids, and friends, etc.

Too often we get so wrapped up in caregiving that we see time with our elderly parent(s) only in terms of responsibilities. Therefore, block time for pleasant things with your elderly parent such as a weekly/monthly non-caregiving "dates" with mom.

CAREGIVING COMMITMENTS

1 dedicated day a week/month for caregiving-related commitments such as doctor

appointments, etc.

dedicated hour a day to address caregiving issues such as phone calls to doctors, etc.

WORK COMMITMENTS such as weekly staff meetings, etc.

Once your master schedule is set up, keep in mind that YOU are the master of your master schedule! The great thing about pencils and computers is that they come with erasers and delete buttons!

Barbara Friesner

AgeWiseLiving LLC

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Elder Caregiving: How to Help Family Members with Denial - By Barbara E. Friesner

About the Author: Barbara E. Friesner

RSS for Barbara E.'s articles - Visit Barbara E.'s website
Senior Care Consultant, Barbara E. Friesner, creator of The Ultimate Caregiver's Success System, is an expert on issues affecting Seniors and their families. Barbara hosted her own radio talk show - Age Wise Living - on VoiceAmerica/Variety.com, and has been featured on NY1 TV's "Focus on Seniors", "Coping With Care giving" and on radio shows regarding senior care across the country.
In addition to her FREE weekly Senior care newsletter filled with tips for taking care of the elderly, Barbara is the Eldercare Expert and writes a monthly senior care guide column for the National Association of Baby Boomer Women. In addition, Barbara has been quoted in newspapers and magazines throughout the US.

For over 25 years as a senior care manager, first for her grandmother and for the past 17 years for her mother (with dementia), Barbara learned firsthand how overwhelming, stressful, and time consuming senior care can be. As a result, Barbara started AgeWiseLiving to help others navigate through this challenging time, and avoid the emotional and frustrating task of finding the answers themselves and trial-and-error implementation.

Barbara has collaborated with hundreds of family members who are providing senior care, professionals with Senior clients, and employees of Assisted Living communities to help them successfully build relationships and address critical senior care issues.

As an adjunct professor at Cornell University, Barbara created and taught "Seniors Housing Management" at the School of Hotel Administration. Prior to starting AgeWiseLiving, Barbara was the Director of Education & Development for Loews Corporation and Dean of Loews University. She received her Master of Business Administration from Boston University.

Click here to visit Barbara E.'s website.

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