Time Management Times Two
During our caregiving experience, we manage two experiences in each moment.
A reporter recently reached out with this question: Why is time management such a challenge for family caregivers?
I shared this answer with him:
Time management is a challenge because we never quite know what the next moment will bring. We will plan our day knowing that a situation or crisis could derail the plan. We’re constantly pivoting, trying to stay on track while trying to keep all the trains from going off track.
We’re integrating what often can’t be integrated. Our caregiving experience and our career responsibilities happen separately but at the same time. Even if we’re not providing the care, we’re managing others who are. It’s impossible to be two places as the same time and yet we must. We must be present at work and in our caregiving responsibilities.
It’s why time management is so hard. We regularly manage two moments — one that’s ours and another that’s our caregiving experience.
I’d love to know: What makes time management a challenge for you? What helps you manage?
(Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.)
Resources
We met for a Soul Break from Takers last week.
Download our free resource, A Workbook for Your Workplace Wellness.
Our next Caregiving Listener Project will happen on October 10. Join me on June 24 at 1 p.m. ET to learn how to get involved as a Story-Teller and volunteer Listener.
Our Fifth Annual Beginning Again Retreat, a virtual event, will happen on Saturday, October 26. Submit a proposal to present.
Imagine connecting to a Caregiving Mentor when caregiving began for you. Your experience may have been much better with the support from a volunteer Caregiving Mentor who understands your stress and challenges. You can make the difference you wish you had received; become a volunteer Certified Caregiving Mentor. You can Pay What You Want for this 15-hour training.
We have one more Nomo Smart Care to give away. Reach out if you’d like to test this product.
One of my time management challenges is that, just like everyone else, my mother has needs beyond the immediate and physical. She needs lunch and physical therapy, but she also needs social interaction and company. I often find myself so busy providing the former that I feel I have neglected the latter, and that makes me feel bad.