A Management Perspective on Caregiving

A family caregiver’s job description is extensive.  Caregivers must have the tact and persuasiveness of a diplomat, the strength and endurance of a marathon runner, and an encyclopedic knowledge of such fields as estate planning, health insurance, and geriatric health care. 

Equally important, caregivers must have the managerial skills of a senior executive.  Unless you set priorities, develop action plans, and execute those plans faithfully, you’ll find yourself perpetually scrambling to keep up, always half a step behind where you need to be and feeling somehow that there never seems to be enough time in the day to do the things—for your loved one, your family, and your job—that you would like to do.

Organize and Order
Paradoxically, making time means taking time.  If you are going to perform with managerial efficiency, you have to devote time to getting organized.  A good place to start is your local office supply store, where you can find things like folders, drawer dividers, loose-leaf notebooks, day planners, and shredders.  Now go through all your piles of paper and start sorting. 

At the same time you organize your physical surroundings, you must impose order on your routine.  Establish days when you go shopping, do laundry, and pay bills—and stick to your schedule.  Set aside time each day to take care of e-mail and phone calls and, at the end of the day, think through tomorrow’s activities and make the necessary preparations.

Set Priorities and Delegate
Once you’ve dispelled the chaos, you’re ready to set priorities.  Your goals might include finding time to take your loved one shopping, making sure their estate plan is in order, or even saving money for your own vacation.  Break each goal into a series of tasks and then consult your calendar, setting realistic due dates for each one.  If necessary, focus on one goal at a time and work through it methodically.

And finally, do what the best managers do: delegate, delegate, delegate.  Since the laws of physics prevent you from being in two places at once, it’s the only way you can get twice as much accomplished.

Ultimately, exercising your managerial skills makes it possible for you to substitute satisfaction for stress and, in the process, free up additional emotional and physical energy to accomplish more for your loved one than you might have thought possible.