It’s not uncommon at all for caregivers to get so wrapped up in the daily doings of caregiving that they forget what it’s like to have fun with life. If you’ve forgotten about fun, some of these ideas might help.
Schedule in Free Time
The biggest problem that you’re likely to face as a caregiver is that you’re booked solid, every day, all day long. That shouldn’t be the case, though. You have to leave time for you and for regular down time. The next time you’re planning out your day or your week, make sure that you consciously schedule in free time in which you can do anything that strikes you. If you don’t open up time for it, conscious fun is going to be more difficult to have.
Pick Something You Enjoy and Do It
What do you enjoy doing? Do you like to read? Make crafts? Whatever you like to do, that’s what you should be doing to have fun. If you’re still stumped, try making a list of what you enjoy doing. From there, you can start picking ideas from the list when your free time comes around and you don’t know what to do. Anything counts, too. You don’t have to restrict yourself to traditionally fun ideas.
Find Ways to Laugh
Laughter does so much for your brain and for your body. The more that you laugh, the more relaxed you become. So it’s important to find ways to laugh every single day. If there are television shows, movies, or even podcasts that you find amusing, make sure that you’ve got access to them. Then, when you have the time, enjoy something that makes you laugh for a little while.
Look for Ways to Relax Every Day
It’s tough to do this at first, but eventually you should be working something fun and relaxing into every single day. You need to make sure that you’re allowing this for yourself. It’s not a luxury. Having fun and enjoying your life is something that is vital in order for you to be able to continue being a caregiver. Neglecting this aspect of yourself puts you in danger of becoming depressed and that’s a fast track to burnout.
It’s easy to forget how to have fun, especially when you’re busy all the time with caregiving duties. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be able to have fun as a caregiver. Adding more fun into your life helps you and it helps your elderly family member as well.
