Elder Care essentials are discussed by Lauren Smith, a gerontologist, and nursing home administrator. Topics cover navigating care for aging parents, including conversations, memory loss, legal documentation, and financial preparedness. Podcast also includes promos for other podcasts on various topics.
Break down unappealing tasks into smaller steps for easier completion.
Schedule one task at a time to tackle non-urgent tasks effectively.
Deep dives
Motivating Yourself for Unappealing Tasks
When faced with unappealing, non-urgent tasks on your to-do list, consider breaking them down into smaller, less intimidating steps. By creating manageable subtasks, such as sending an email or making a phone call, you can make progress without feeling overwhelmed. Try to set specific times for these smaller tasks to hold yourself accountable. Additionally, consider the benefits of completing the task versus the consequences of not doing it to motivate yourself to take action.
Scheduling One Task at a Time
To tackle these non-urgent tasks, consider implementing a strategy of scheduling one task at a time, focusing on one task per week. By creating a list of tasks and prioritizing them, you can work on one task each week, spreading them out to make them more manageable. By assigning specific times for these tasks on your calendar, treating them as appointments, you increase the likelihood of completing them.
Patience and Consistency in Task Completion
Approach your to-do list with patience and consistency, aiming to complete tasks consistently over time rather than attempting to finish them all at once. Focus on accomplishing one task each week to avoid feeling overwhelmed by the entire list. By spreading out these tasks and dedicating specific time slots for each, you can maintain a steady progress towards completion.
Balancing Task Completion and Reward
Balance completing unappealing tasks with rewarding yourself for each accomplishment, whether it's treating yourself to something you enjoy or fulfilling a pleasant activity after finishing a task. By integrating rewards into your task completion process, you can create positive incentives to motivate yourself and make the process more engaging and fulfilling.
This has been a much-requested topic - how do we support our family members who may be growing older and needing more help while still in the busy kid-years?
Lauren Smith is a gerontologist and licensed nursing home administrator, currently working as a consultant working with multiple healthcare entities to plan for emergencies; she is also a mother of 3 (ages 3, 6, & 8). Lauren shares lots of wisdom from what she has observed in families over the years, and discusses strategies for navigating this difficult life stage.
In the Q&A, a listener writes in asking for guidance in dealing with "non-work, non-urgent unappealing tasks" -- she struggles and ends up putting them off week after week.