How to Make Time to Be an Elder Care Organizer

When I first started looking after my elderly mother and father, it was the emotional aspects of the situation that felt overwhelming. The roles I had grown used to my entire life were reversed – all of a sudden it was my turn to be the one who was responsible.

As the months passed, though, what surprised me most was the amount of time it took to manage my own life and the lives of others. All the bills, dentist appointments, tax filings, and other minutia were still there for me. Now I was just handling them for multiple people. And, not only did two of those people have more needs and possessions than I did, but they were terrible with tools like the internet.

I realized pretty quickly that I needed to generate more time if I was going to stop my life (or theirs) from crumbling to pieces. Here are some tips I can pass along in case you find yourself in the same position…

Decide What to Cut (and Keep) From Your Life

I’ll get the bad news out of the way first: you’re probably going to have to give up something from your life in order to serve as a care organizer for someone else. It’s just not possible to add several new hours to each day. Believe me, I’ve tried.

While you might give up some TV shows or random hobbies, I recommend you don’t lose things like exercise or social contact with those you love. The things you have in your life that alleviate stress are about to become even more important than they were in the past.

Automate and Digitize

To the degree that it’s possible, you’re going to want to automate things like bill paying, policy renewals, and other monthly details. The less time you can spend looking at statements or processing transactions on a bank website, the better.

For the record, this goes for both sets of lives that you are managing. In the same way that you want to automate finances and record-keeping for your parents, you should do the same for yourself.

Get Lots of Help From Others

Remember that you don’t have to manage care for an elder all on your own. There are other people and outside organizations who can pitch in.

Once I realized the enormity of the task in front of me, I got together with neighbors, caseworkers, professionals, and even a volunteer who could visit my mother a couple of times per week. Some of the assistance I found carries financial cost, of course, but the investments were well worth it for the fact that they save my time and sanity. Plus, in many situations grants and other forms of public assistance may be available.

Elder Care Advice You Can Use

While I was settling into the role of an elder care organizer, most of what I found was academic, impersonal, or impractical. That’s why I decided to share what I learned with the rest of the world.

If you’re looking for advice and solutions you can actually use to help yourself and your aging loved one ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY.

Since you’re here…

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