Caregiver Connections

Good morning, Cadre family. Happy Thursday. Happy caregiver Thursday. I hope. I hope this live finds you guys well, and if not, I hope that you guys are seeking out some Cadre for your mind and soul today. So I am coming to you from Savannah, Georgia, and it is starting to get a little cooler outside. By cooler, I mean, you know, in the seventies in the morning. So that's, that's a lovely change. I'm excited for fall to be coming and for it to be a little cooler and crisp here. Good morning, Audrey.

I see you there. So, yes, looking forward to fall and all the things and being outside a little more now that it's a not as hot. So I have my hug in a mug with me this morning. Do you guys have yours? My little coffee treat. My coffee self care in the morning. I did a little workout this morning, which was good. It was short lived, but it's what I could squeeze in before my kids went to school. So. Good morning, Jules. Good to see you. So I want to, for those of you guys who I have not met yet, my name is Steph Irwin.

I live in Savannah. I'm a mom to two wonderful neurodivergent children, one of whom is on the autism spectrum. And in my work life, I work with kids with cancer in their families. Good morning. And I wanted to talk to you guys about a to do list, because as caregivers, we often, our to do list isn't just taking care of ourselves, it's also including the to do list, taking care of other people. So whether that is doctor's appointments or bills or, you know, paperwork, work to dos home to do's, therapy appointments, all the things, and it all adds up.

So whether you're just caring for yourself or a spouse or a child or a parenthood or a friend, you know it all. As beautiful as it is, it can be exhausting to have all that on your plate. So I'm telling you this because you guys were on my heart yesterday. I took Annamarie to school yesterday and then picked her up 2 hours later. We went to speech therapy, occupational therapy, back to school. I squeezed some work in at the hospital, and then I picked her back up from school, and we went out of town to her aba therapy appointment.

So it was just, it was wild. And Wednesdays are wild days for me. So y'all were on my heart because it is just a lot for caregivers to do. And I just want you guys to know that you are doing important work. You are doing important work. And even, even when it's hard, it is still really important what you are doing. And I just want you guys to know that the work you're doing is enough. And it's okay if you don't get it all done. It is okay. I'm telling that to myself, too, because I tend to get stressed out if I don't get my whole to do list finished.

But you know what? It's not humanly possible to do all the things every day. And some days the priority just has to be ourselves, rest. And some days, you know, when things get to be too much, that that's important for us to realize, too. Hey, let's take a little step back. Let's take a break. Take care of ourselves. Do something for ourselves. Whether it be, you know, a small increment in the day or a whole day off, whatever it needs to be, you guys have to know to take care of yourselves, too.

So I just want to share with you guys some tips that have worked for me with my to do list. And then I want to hear from y'all what works for you guys. So I try to do, like, a brain dump every week. I mean, well, I try every week, but it doesn't always happen every week. At least once a month, where I just think of all the things I have to do and I write it all down so it gets out of my brain onto paper. So it's less that, you know, is swirling around in there. So I do that, and then I take the most important things I need to do, either that day or that week, and then I move them to a separate to do list.

I'm a pen and paper girl, so I like to write in my little. My planner. It works better for me than doing digital, but, yeah, so that's what I do. I do a brain dump as to just clear everything that's swirling around in there. And then sometimes I just take three or four things, like main things that I want to tackle. And until I get those done, I just focus on those things. And then when that's done, I may pick some more off the brain dump list. So I will also sometimes use a technique called the one, three and five method.

And that's when you take good morning, TB Davis. That's when you take your first priority. You have one thing that you absolutely have to get done that day. Jules. It is good to rest, restart, and repeat. Yes. Amen. Yes, it is. And we need to remind ourselves of that, because sometimes as caregivers, we forget these things and we forget about ourselves. So we have to remind one another and remind ourselves to do that. So, yeah, I will do the one three five method sometimes where I pick the most important priority of the day and then three important priorities, but they're not as crucial as the one.

And then five things to do that are, like, simple, easy tasks that you can get done that aren't as pressing, I guess. So that works for me. I like to utilize that, or I'll just do the main three or four things. It just depends on what my list is of that day. Another technique I like to use is the Pomodoro technique, and that's where you set a timer for about 25 minutes, and then you take a five minute break, and then do another 25 minutes. Take another 25 minutes break. That works for me for certain things, not everything, but for certain things, it can be helpful.

So, y'all tell me, what helps you guys with your to do list as a person and as a. Or as a caregiver? Um, what helps you guys? I know the rest. Restart, repeat. I'm telling you, I've had to take some days where I'm like, I just need to take care of myself today and squeezing some, something for myself, whatever that may be. Oh, yeah. Audrey use, is it the pomodoro use? Yeah, that's what helps me with my, my office work too. Not as much, like when I'm running around town, but, yeah, my office work.

I love the pomodoro. It is really helpful. And then sometimes I just need to go. I know we've talked about this before. Go outside, take a walk, and just, like, reset and refocus when my brain gets all crazy all over the place. That's been really helpful for me. You know, there's all kinds of different techniques out there, like time blocking and whatnot. So just figure out what works for you, and just know that you guys are doing enough. And if you don't tackle all of that to do list, it's okay.

It's. It's okay. Get the, you know, crucial things done, and, you know, just being present with the person you're caring for is really the most important thing you could be doing and taking care of yourself. All right, you guys. Oh, yes. Walking and talking with friends helps me gain perspective. Yeah, I did that yesterday too. I grabbed my neighbor, and I was like, let's go. We need some walk therapy. Use it for studying. Yes. Audrey, I'm so proud of you getting this fitness professional certification.

You are inspiring us all. Oh, I meant to mention one day somebody was talking about to do lists on the, on the Cadre lives. And I think it was speak wonder Kathy. I think she said she does a Tada list because it makes her, it was either her or miss Shannon Paul. It makes her feel good when you cross off, when you can check off something. So if you've done something, just add it and check it off because that feels good. That feels good. I know it's my fault. I'm just trying to inspire you, friend, to reach all of our goals.

All right, you guys, I hope you have a great Thursday. Cheers from my hugging and mug to yours. I'll see you guys next week. Bye.