Sunday Planning

Today we’re talking about being prepared and proactive in this challenging and crazy life you’re living right now.  I want to share my tips based on what has worked for me and what has crashed and burned too. 

You're juggling your work hours, schedule and its demands plus caring for your Loved One.  

Then add the normal every day responsibilities like house chores, meals, errands, etc

Then you have your own personal time (essential plus your personal time)

Picture this:  

• My work calendar is online - on my work laptop - on an outlook calendar

• My Mom’s appointments are on her paper calendar on her bulletin board

• My spouse’s appointments are on his phone and through his doctor’s app and when he or I remember, they are put on the calendar on our refrig

• My business is on my Google calendar

• Then my personal appointments are on post it notes, in your wallet, maybe the refrig calendar and if I am feeling organized, I add them to the refrig calendar.  

Can you relate.  Prior to caregiving, I thought I was organized and actually when I was raising my 3 boys, I used to refer to myself as the project master and knew exactly what was going on at any time.  

Times have changed.  I could psycho- analyze myself,  but I believe it takes a heck of a lot of energy, emotions, patience and time to care for a Loved One.  

So in this episode I want to talk about what you can control and what you can do to be as prepared and organized with your time as possible.  

Disclaimer here - my way is not always the right way for you.   It took me months and months to find what worked for me.  Then…  when I got it right.  The situation changed again.  

You may be saying, why plan and why organize?   

Planning is important because it helps you use your time in the most efficient way. You can realistically gauge how much you can get done and how much time you have to do it. That way, you can feel accomplished knowing that you did what you set out to do.

When caregiving, you're actually 

• setting expectations for your Loved Ones, 

• keeping your life somewhat organized, and 

• most importantly setting boundaries for yourself and making yourself a priority  

Think long and hard on what boundaries you NEED to set for yourself.  Notice I didn’t say what you want - it’s what you NEED.  

You need to put yourself first so you don’t stress and burnout.  You are no good to anyone if you can’t function physically and emotionally.  

So here’s a sneak peek into my Sunday’s night planning time.  I first grab my favorite beverage and block off 1 hour to plan my week’s schedule.    I go into the week feeling much better and have found out that I am somewhat of a planning nerd now.  

Before I share and walk through the steps, I captured everything for you in an easy step by step free document.  Just go to https://www.cathylvan.com/sundayplanning

Look at all your calendars  and put into one calendar

• If you are old school, find yourself a nice planner

• If you like electronic - you can use something like google calendar or i calendar

You now have a visual of what the week holds.  

First :  Schedule YOUR time

• Personal appointments (hair, doctor, dentist, manicure, etc)

• Now block off time for YOU.

• Your morning time

• Your lunch and dinner time

• Your down time for you - Ie walks, relaxing

• Lunch with a friend, date night, etc

• Do you take a day off this week.   

NOTE:  you may say this time comes last but it has to come first to function

Which leads us into your caregiver time

Second:   You now have to figure out the Caregiving and your work schedule

• What are my top 3 priorities for caregiving this week?

• Do you have to take time off for caregiving?  

• Or, do you have to find coverage and ask for help?

• What are my top 3 priorities do I have at work this week?

• What challenges or conflicts do I have at work? 

• Do I need to delegate any tasks or projects?  

• Do I have any time off?  

Last:  What other personal obligations or essential responsibilities do I have this week

• Family or friend events

• House cleaning, laundry, etc

• Home repairs, deliveries, etc

• Errands:  groceries, pharmacy, etc

Now you should be ready to go into your week knowing what is one your schedule.   Obviously you can’t control the unexpected.  But I want to give you some strong advice.  

Notice I put these in order of importance.  

PROTECT YOUR  “YOU” OR “ME” TIME.   Seriously set boundaries now.  It took me a long time to do this.  

At work I block my calendar from 7-9 am.  I start at 8am and don’t want my calendar booked early and want an hour to work on my priorities before the meetings start.

I block lunch time and dinner time

You can control your Loved Ones appointment times

Just start communicating with your Loved Ones.  You deserve time to recharge.  

Notice that your personal obligations and essential responsibilities are last   You may not have time for all of these.   Can you say NO?  Yes, you can.  Maybe it’s asking for help with cleaning, or someone waiting for the repairman.   Can you order online?  Maybe you send a baby shower gift with a note saying that you are thinking of them that day and apologize for not attending.    It’s ok.  

As a caregiver, you may have to make sacrifices.  But one thing you can’t sacrifice is your health and well-being.   You have to recognize the importance of YOU.  Look in the mirror at you and tell yourself that you will take care of her.