As my father's health worsens, I am finding myself spending more time in emergency rooms, at out-patient testing facilities or at one of a myriad of physician's offices. If you are a care giver, then you have undoubtedly spent many hours in the physicians office with your care recipient too. Even if you AREN'T a caregiver, you will find these suggestions helpful during your own office visit waits. Some of them require a little advance preparation but are well worth the effort and will help you to accomplish more in your day.
1. Delete photos from your digital camera
Browse through all the photos on your digital camera and delete the ones that you aren't going to print or add to your computer photoshop. If you have already uploaded them, then delete all of them.
2. Write notecards, Birthday Cards or Thank You notes
I always keep a few notecards and thank you notes in my organizer so that when I have a few moments, I can hand write a quick greeting. People love receiving them and hand written notes have almost become a lost art.
3. Catch up on your To Do Lists
This is a good time to go through your organizer and......organize. Cross off the things on your To Do list that you have accomplished, add new ones, check to see that you've not forgotten anything. Go through the address portion of your organizer to make sure that you've deleted any old addresses.
If you have an organizer for your care recipient, update that one as well. Are the medication lists current? Do you need to document any recent behavior changes? These are all things that take time and can be done while waiting.
4. Bring a magazine from home
The magazines that you find in waiting rooms are never the ones that you truly want to browse through and I KNOW that you have unviewed issues of your favorite magazines at home (because there is never time to read them). Why not bring one or two with you? It will almost seem like an accomplishment to get through one.
5. Clip coupons
Bring along the Sunday or Wednesday coupon inserts from your newspaper and clip the coupons that you can use on your next shopping trip. (An added bonus is that dementia patients, especially those with Alzheimer's, love to clip coupons. If you bring along a pair of dull scizzors, you can offer the insert to your care recipient after you've chosen the ones you will use yourself.)
6. Bring a paperback book.
A small paperback book will fit easily into most women's purses and most men's briefcases. Bring one that is "easy reading" so that it won't require uninterrupted concentration. Paperback Sodoku or Crossword puzzle books are also good choices. They are easy to "come back to" and also stimulate the brain. One thing I have learned from my father's dementia is that I want to continue to exercise my brain.
7. Check your e-mail.
If you have an iPhone or other e-mail accessible hand-held device, read through your e-mail and delete the items you won't need. It's a fairly mindless activity and one more item that you can check off your "to-do" list.
8. Clean out your purse (or briefcase).
You may want to bring a small trash bag with you for this activity. Get rid of the broken sticks of gum, unnecessary receipts, and expired coupons and old copies of e-mail. It's something that I never seem to get around to doing at home, but am always "meaning to do". People may look at you a little strangely, but who cares? You will have a cleaner carry-all at the finish!
9. Play hand held games.
This is a fairly obvious one and you probably already play the games that came with your cell phone. You might consider investing in a Playstation PSP or a Nintendo DS system as well. Many boomers are doing just that. Again, an added bonus is that your care recipient might be able to play too.
10. Recipe Cards
Do you recall all those recipes that you have ripped out of magazines or scribbled on sheets of paper, always meaning to transcribe them to a REAL recipe card someday? Well, now's your chance to do that. Always carry a few recipe cards in your organizer and grab some of the recipes that you want to transcribe. You'll be able to put them in your recipe box and have less searching to do when you want to prepare that item again.
11. Needlework
If you are one of those talented indivuals who can knit, crochet, cross-stitch, hand-sew, etc., by all means, bring your work with you to the office visits. Remember, a stitch in time saves nine.
12. Journal
In our Beyond Coping Telesummit, Denise Brown talked about the importance of jounaling and how it can help to relieve stress and help to find answers to your care giving questions. Jounaling does not take a long time and can easily be done while waiting for a medical appointment.
13. Meditate
Because you probably don't know anyone sitting along with you in the waiting area, it is not rude to shut your eyes and connect to the wisdom with in you. Start by taking 3 long breaths and concentrate on your breathing. You will be calmer and still alert enough to hear your name when it is called.
14. Listen to a Podcast
I normally don't suggest using a cell phone or listening to music on your iPod (in fact, many offices frown on that sort of thing) but I think that listening to a podcast (with ear phones) keeps you alert enough to hear your name called and seldom will you find yourself singing along to a podcast - at least not the ones to which I've listened.
You could learn a new language, learn more about your care recipient's condition, or even listen to last week's church sermon.
I do think that soft, settling music (without words) may be good for your care recipient though.
15. Write Lists
I have a book called List Yourself (as the way to self-discovery) by Ilene Segalove and Paul Bob Velick. Much like journaling, this book helps to explore your inner thoughts on such things as the components of your perfect day, all the magazines you subscribe to, your favorite food ingredients, etc. For people who love lists, this is a great book!
So there you have it. With a little preparation, you should never go stir crazy while waiting for an appointment again!
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