Ok. Let’s get this off our chest and out in the open right now…
If you have always been a little ADHD or a little high-strung, it really doesn’t change with age!
So, how do we manage our time and energy?
First, figure out at least 10 things you love or would love to learn.
Put these fun things into your life slowly. As seniors, it's important that we learn new things on a regular basis. It also helps that as we look forward to the things we hope to do or learn someday. This gives us a positive attitude.
For example, let's say you'd like to learn golf. but you don't want to get out there on your own and you don't know where to begin. Just call your public golf course and ask for a PGA golf instructor. They will take care of the rest. They usually have clubs you can borrow and they can set you up with other people who play at your level. Everyone starts out on the same level - pretty bad. And don't forget - golfing is great for being outdoors, walking, moving, stretching, and enjoying new friends.
Pace yourself and put in “me-time” first.
Pacing yourself is more than just deciding on the things you want to do and not do. For example, let's say certain things require an urgency or a priority in your life. You can choose to get them done immediately so you don't have to think about them anymore but the next thing you want to do in your life should be relatively easy.
If you are a person that makes a list enough to choke a horse you want to pick one hard thing and then after completion, always pick one easy thing to get done. This gives you a true sense of satisfaction.
Develop a schedule of the things you do every day.
Most folks like routine and seniors are no different. This is why the holidays and travel bring such stress to so many people. It disrupts the normal routines we have set in our lives and we take on more than we're used so it wipes us out.
See the Super-Ager's Starter Guide, Chapter 4 on balancing your life so you get in complete control of what you want to do and what you cannot do.
Keep your routine so you have some kind of stability and predictability every day. Schedules also reduce the likelihood that you're going to be overwhelmed. If you find that people require too much of your attention you might consider talking to these folks about your boundaries.
If you just have too much stuff in your life that you have to take care of, then you might consider living a maintenance-free lifestyle. (see below)
Introduce new activities only after you have set up your daily schedule.
We talked about taking on new activities but it is important that you do this only after you have your daily routines and schedules are set up. The reason we encourage this is because new activities always take longer than we think they're going to.
For example, you are going to a new doctor. You don't know where this doctor's office building is so you're going to use our GPS to find them. You don't know what the traffic is going to look like nor do you know where the office is within the office building. Not only does this add a little more stress to our lives but in order to reduce that stress we leave earlier and we take extra time so we can cope with our new surroundings.
Know that you can change your mind and bow out of social events if it is too much for you.
If you are a people pleaser you might tend to say yes to things you don't want to do. One of the things we teach in the Senior Freedom Club is to have our members say, “Let me think about it”. This way they don't tend to say "yes" immediately.
Now they have time to go back and say, “I've looked at my schedule and this is something I cannot do, thank you for asking and thinking of me however it's not going to be a good fit for me right now.”
This is a nice way of getting out of something you don't want to add to your schedule.
There are also times when you schedule something with friends and family and they’re late or they change your plans. This makes it difficult for folks who are better planners. Set clear boundaries for others so they respect your time. Let them know up front that you're on a strict schedule and if they can't make it within the agreed upon time then you'll have to reschedule.
Keep up with your chores or delegate them to others.
We all have chores that we do daily. Just because we turn 65 it doesn't mean we slow down. We can be 95 and still get up on those ladders even though we probably shouldn't. But if there are things that you don't like doing, find a high school student or college student to do them for you.
What's especially important here is the amount of work family members take on when they see their parents doing less and less. They tend to jump in to help. And rightfully so, but this can cause a sense of dependance. The adult children are then the first us seniors look to when we need help. As a family member in this position, it's important to maintain your schedule and protect it. See the FREE Caregiver's Starter Guide, Chapter 3 on how to handle this. You are not a bad person for not helping. There is always help to be found somewhere else.
If you want to stay in your home and you prefer not to move into a senior facility but the maintenance is getting too hard then consider having a handyman who can come out and do the things for you you don't want to do on your own. Can this get expensive? Yes,but there are quite a few retired folks who folks are happy to do a few jobs here and there. If gives them a chance to get out of the house, stay busy, and would love to help you out, and the best part…they charge next to nothing and know how to fix it!
If you are thinking about moving to a senior facility, then always do the cost analysis first and see if the new place will work for your budget. We’ve seen too many people move into condos and find the HOA fees and “special assessment” fees, especially after a hurricane has left them wishing they kept their home.
