If you just stepped into the role of caregiver, it probably wasn’t planned.
Most of us don’t get training. We don’t get a schedule. We just get the responsibility—and it feels like being dropped into the deep end of a pool with weights strapped to your ankles.
That’s why I created The Caregiver’s Starter Guide. It’s the resource I wish I had when I was learning how to manage medications, juggle appointments, calm emotional outbursts, and still get through the day without crying in the car. Download it here and let’s walk through what to do first when caregiving overwhelms you.
You’re Not a Bad Caregiver—You’re a New One
Let’s start with this truth: You’re not doing anything wrong. You’re just learning a job that’s incredibly demanding, deeply personal, and constantly changing.
Caregivers often try to “do it all” from day one. That’s a recipe for burnout.
The most successful caregivers I’ve worked with over the years all had one thing in common: they learned how to prioritize and pace themselves.
The Caregiver’s Starter Guide gives you a framework to get organized fast—without drowning in Google searches or panicking every time something goes wrong.
Step 1: Get the Medical Basics Organized
Start with health. Not everything—just the basics:
Create a medication list (include doses and times)
Write down the primary care doctor and specialists
Keep a recent summary of health conditions or diagnoses
This info will save you hours. Bring it to every appointment. Hand it to EMTs if needed. Use it when you feel flustered.
The Starter Guide includes a printable Health Snapshot Sheet—perfect for your purse, your car, or next to the bed.
Step 2: Figure Out What Matters This Week (Not This Year)
One of the most overwhelming parts of caregiving is feeling like you have to solve everything now.
You don’t.
Here’s what to ask instead:
What’s most urgent?
What’s most unsafe?
What’s creating the most stress?
That might mean getting a fall mat for the bathroom before calling about a will. It might mean setting up grocery delivery before researching long-term care.
The guide includes a Weekly Planning Worksheet that helps you focus only on the essentials.
Step 3: Build a Basic Routine (Even if It Changes)
Caregiving is unpredictable—but your brain still needs rhythm.
Use the Daily Care Template from the Starter Guide to:
Block time for medications, meals, and rest
Identify when help might be needed
Plan one “you” moment (even if it’s 10 minutes)
This doesn’t have to be rigid. But even a loose outline makes your day feel less like chaos.
Step 4: Know What to Say When People Ask “How Can I Help?”
This is a big one. When someone offers to help, don’t freeze or say, “I’m fine.”
Have a ready-made Help List you can send or show:
Can you pick up a prescription this week?
Can you sit with Mom while I go to the dentist?
Can you handle one bill or make a phone call?
The Starter Guide includes a sample Help Request Script and Task Delegation Sheet.
You are allowed to ask. You’re supposed to.
Step 5: Give Yourself Permission to Feel Everything
Caregiving is emotional whiplash. You might feel love, resentment, sadness, joy, confusion, and guilt all in the same afternoon.
None of it means you’re doing it wrong. It just means you’re human.
The final section of the Starter Guide includes a Reflection Journal with space to:
Name what you’re feeling
Note what’s working
Acknowledge what’s hard
This isn’t fluff. It’s how you stay connected to yourself in the middle of a role that tends to consume you.
Real Family Wisdom: What 1,000 Caregivers Told Me
Over the years, I’ve worked with thousands of families—and this is what they all say in some form:
“I wish I hadn’t tried to do it all alone.”
“I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”
“This guide helped me breathe.”
So if you’re standing in the kitchen with tears in your eyes and a calendar full of appointments—please know this: you don’t have to figure it out today. You just have to take one next step.
Let The Caregiver’s Starter Guide be that step.
Download it here and give yourself the support real caregivers swear by.
