Organization Tips for Family Caregivers of Loved Ones with Dementia

It is normal for family caregivers of parents or spouses with Dementia to feel overwhelmed at times. If you wonder how to fit everything in and provide the best support and care, this guide is for you.

How to Organize Your Day and Week to Get Everything Done

Planning is key to caring for an individual with a cognitive disorder. When you feel so exhausted that the last thing you want to do is to create a schedule, that is when you need it most of all.

Family caregivers often feel enormous pressure. It’s one thing to miss a load of laundry. It’s a completely different thing to feel you didn’t spend enough time engaging with your loved one with Dementia.

How can you do it all? You can’t - not by yourself, at least. What follows are some recommended strategies to help you accomplish more for your loved one while not losing track of the other parts of your life.

It is critical to encourage cognitive and social activities for your senior. When you’re pressed for time, however, it may be challenging to fit everything in without a plan of action.

Here are suggestions to develop a checklist - a simple plan of action so you know at a moment’s notice what to do for the day and the week ahead. First, create a safe living environment for your family member with Alzheimer’s or Dementia. Look around your home, remove loose rugs, pick up objects that your loved one could trip over, and declutter. Creating a safe space can prevent many common injuries.

What Contributes to Family Caregivers Feeling Overwhelmed?

Most caregivers struggle with managing their time. There never seems to be enough time to care for the loved one struggling with Dementia, and also spend time with family and friends.

Many family caregivers feel they are spread very thin. This contributes to feelings of being stressed. Caring for an individual with Dementia can be unpredictable.

Sleep deprivation is common among family caregivers. When there is not enough time to do everything, sleep is one of the first things impacted.

Family caregivers may feel inadequate for the responsibility placed on their shoulders. They may want to do everything for their senior family member or spouse but feel they fall short of expectations.

Best Solutions for Family Caregivers of Individuals with Dementia

Practice kindness toward yourself. You feel an enormous responsibility because Dementia is one of the most complex and intensive conditions seniors and family members face.

Get help. Realistically, you cannot do everything yourself. You cannot be everywhere at once. Ask family members for help and divide responsibilities. Many family members feel guilty and uncomfortable when they aren’t able to contribute in some way.

Sleep. You must get adequate sleep. If anything, as a caregiver you need more sleep, not less. Did you know that studies suggest inadequate sleep increases your risk of developing Dementia?

Ask a family member to take over for you so you can get a full night of sleep. Try to schedule reasonable breaks during the day, even if only short ones. You may need to retrain your body to sleep all night. You will feel healthier, more relaxed, and ready to care for your loved one when you are adequately rested and refreshed.

Consider professional support. Care Bundles are flexible caregiver support services provided by the Bay Area’s senior in-home care experts at Care Indeed. Care Bundles provide time-saving support and give you much-needed breaks.

You can customize a Care Bundle to best meet your family’s needs.

Sign up for help with errands, meal delivery, and home care. Give yourself time to take care of other things.

If you want to understand what to expect as your loved one faces Dementia, Care Indeed offers a VR (Virtual Reality) Dementia Training course. CI-VR offers practical information and instruction for caregivers of seniors with Dementia.

You gain valuable insight into best practices for anticipating needs and avoiding triggers and situations. With CI-VR training, you can experience situations you’ll likely face as a caregiver and explore solutions in the safety of the virtual reality environment.

Organize a Schedule of Activities and Create a Simple Daily Checklist

Your family member suffering from Dementia or Alzheimer’s will benefit from cognitive and social activities. If you plan in advance, each day you will have a framework.

The schedule isn’t set in stone. You can change activities as needed. A lot of stress is lifted when you have a plan that you can consult. When you check off completed items, you’ll discover you accomplished a lot more than you realized.

Your senior will be engaged and not bored. Cognitive, physical, and social activities may slow the progression of Dementia.

By planning ahead, you can have all supplies ready. This saves valuable time and can be useful to encourage positive behaviors when your family member becomes aggressive or needs distraction. It is important to plan activities that are aligned with the stage of dementia the individual is experiencing.

Here is a short list of cognitive and social activities:

- Cognitive Activities: Board games, puzzles, card games.

- Physical Activities: Walks, dancing, planting flowers.

- Social Activities: Visits with friends, watching movies together, looking through photo albums, and reminiscing.

On any given day, a family caregiver needs to help with activities of daily living, such as dressing, eating, bathing, toileting, and dressing. Decisions must be made and normal household tasks must be taken care of. Fitting in cognitive activities, social activities, and physical activities plus relaxation time and sleeping requires advance planning.

Planning structured activities not only increases the likelihood that you will consistently find time to do them, but the routine also reduces negative Dementia behaviors. You can create a daily checklist and a weekly or monthly schedule or chart.

The Daily Checklist

The daily checklist may change depending upon moods, weather, things that must be done, and other factors. The daily checklist is very flexible. If you schedule brain exercise activities every day at 10 AM, the daily checklist may include puzzles one day and a different brain exercise activity the next.

You can divide the daily checklist into morning, afternoon, and evening. Hang the checklist up so you and your family member can mark off the tasks as you complete them.

Weekly or Monthly Checklist

The weekly or monthly checklist is the routine. You can chart out a reasonable schedule, allowing time for cognitive activities, plenty of physical activity, social time, meal preparation and eating times, hobbies, household cleaning, and the ADLs, the activities of daily living.

Also, schedule some open time for flexibility. The schedule helps each day flow smoothly and ensures there is a little time for everything. It also creates a framework that is usually comforting to those with Dementia.

Organizing Your Day into Bite-Size Pieces

The role of a family caregiver is enormous. To avoid becoming overwhelmed, organize each day and plan a schedule of activities. A checklist helps you stay focused and ensures your family member with Dementia keeps active in mind, body, and socially.

Care Indeed helps seniors and caregivers by providing a variety of services. Call Care Indeed at (650) 352-4007 for Dementia and Alzheimer’s resources and care services.