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Archive for category: Solutions For Living

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The Rehabilitation of Organization

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

Previously on our blog I outlined the importance of organization in helping people with limited energy reserves to make sure their energy is spent on enjoyable or purposeful tasks and is not wasted looking for things that should be easy to find.

Helping clients to become more organized can take many forms, depending on the client, the nature of their problems, and how they previously organized their stuff and their time.  What I tend to witness is the time lost and sheer frustration that clients experience looking for cell phones, wallets and keys.  Often, cell phones become used as a “second brain” assisting people to maintain a schedule and make appointments (calendar), remember things (task lists), have access to support systems (contacts, calls, text, email), and negotiate their environment (maps and GPS).  If this gadget is so important, it is even more important that people know where it is.  Having a catch tray by the front door, in their room, or a standard docking station can be helpful.  Wallets and keys should also be left in a consistent location.  I am sure we can all relate to that feeling of looking for our keys in their usual spot to find they are missing.  But if you lack the ability to efficiently look for these, or the energy, it could completely derail your plans.

After the day to day items have a place, then as a therapist we can work with our clients to simplify other spaces that are barriers to function.  Perhaps the kitchen has become too cluttered to allow for efficient meal preparation, or the bills are piling up because these become forgotten in a stack of papers.  In the world of insurance I find that clients become overwhelmed by the paperwork and this results in them missing appointments, not responding to time sensitive material, or failing to submit for expense reimbursement.

Slowly, over time and with suggestions and tools (filing cabinets, labels, folders) clients will be able to more efficiently spend their units of energy on things that are more important, or more fun.

 

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You Can’t Afford to be Disorganized

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

We all have different levels of energy, tolerance and mental attention.  If suffering from chronic pain, brain injury, or another chronic condition, chances are the DD battery that you used to have has been replaced with some AAA’s.  This means that daily activities will take more time, more energy, and you will need to recharge sooner.  So, considering this, do you really want to spend your valuable energy looking for stuff? 

Consider that you have 10 units of energy when you wake in the morning.  Every activity you have on your “to do” list takes one unit.  Going for a walk, preparing supper, managing the laundry, responding to emails, attending an appointment, completing personal care, and having coffee with a friend all drain your battery.  Some of these activities are necessary, some can be put off, and others are enjoyable.  So what if you spend one unit of energy looking for your phone, that bill that needs to be paid, your agenda, or those new runners you bought yesterday?  What activity will come off your list when you have spent your energy to find something that with some organization would have taken you no time at all?  Maybe you will call your friend to cancel, or order supper in again.  Maybe the laundry will wait to tomorrow, or those emails will just keep accumulating. But this is unnecessary because you had the energy, it just became misdirected.

Often the focus of occupational therapy becomes helping people to organize their activities, their stuff or their time.  Schedules and consistency are keys to helping people to understand the size of their battery and the amount of units each activity takes.  This can be difficult when working with clients who did not need to be organized before an injury or illness, but the necessity of this following cannot be ignored.   Even small steps to help people to be more organized can have a huge impact.

 

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Forgiveness

Forgiveness is vital to mental health.  Perhaps you remember what it feels like to forgive and to be forgiven.  The result is often a reduction in worry, anger, stress, anxiety and upset.  Check out this article from Real Simple Magazine on the scientific importance of forgiveness.  The article also shares some amazing stories of those who have been able to let go.

Bury the hatchet. Let bygones be bygones. Kiss and make up. We have so many ways of describing forgiveness—but so few strategies for actually achieving it. The key to letting go for good is understanding the psychology and the science behind your feelings. The grudge stops here.”  by Kim Tingley for Real Simple Magazine.

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The Five Whys as a Practical Tool for Problem Solving

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

Being fully aware of a situation requires reflection and inquiry.  Yet, often what we see and feel on the surface is not necessarily what is truly going on.  Think of those times where you have become upset at your spouse, child, or parent to later realize that what you thought were upset about was really grounded in something else.  I know personally, I use long walks with my dog and music to try and understand any sources of discontent.  I find my walks enlightening and always try to ensure that I don’t speak too soon about a problem until I have taken that time to reflect.

At a recent seminar, we discussed the value of using the Five Whys to develop awareness.  This technique is grounded in the manufacturing industry to find the root cause of a problem.  For example, a conversation might go something like this:

 

 

 

 

 

Question

 

 

Answer

 

 

1

 

 

Why did a screw get missed on that tire?

 

 

That was missed by John.

 

 

2

 

 

Why did John miss that?

 

 

The line is moving too fast and he is missing every 15th tire.

 

 

3

 

 

Why is the line moving too fast?

 

 

We have deadlines that we are not sure we will make.

 

 

4

 

 

Why can’t we meet the deadlines?

 

 

We have three staff off right now.

 

 

5

 

 

Why are they off?

 

 

They are injured and have not been replaced.

 

 

By the fifth why, the relationship between the current problem and the root problem is determined.  Now, consider the use of that in daily life.  Why am I angry?  Because the kitchen is a mess.  Why is the kitchen a mess?  Because the kids ate and didn’t clean up.  Why didn’t they clean up?  Because they were going to be late for practice.  Why were they going to be late for practice?  Because they forgot about the practice.  Why?  Because it was not written on the calendar.  So, we can get angry at our kids for not cleaning the kitchen, or realize the root cause was our fault when we failed to use the strategy (the calendar) that helps them to manage their time.

Try using the Five Whys in practice when trying to solve a problem.  See if that helps you to truly succeed in understanding situations, getting to the root cause, and being able to make change to prevent the problem from reoccurring.

 

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What’s Your Real Age?

Can you really consider your age to be just a number when that number is a prime determinant in many things such as laws, insurance rates, and even access to treatment in a health care system?  Yet, there is a difference between how old you are and how old you feel.  So, beyond your birthday, check out this fantastic “real age” quiz that takes into consideration your actual age, current health, family medical history and lifestyle factors to tell you how many years younger or older you actually are based on your answers.  It also gives you custom tips to reduce your real age and feel your best.

Real Age Calculator

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Know Thyself – The Importance of Self-Awareness

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

At a recent seminar on self-awareness we spoke about the importance of “knowing thyself” and the fact that is much easier to see the faults of others.  We discussed the cycle of self-awareness as follows:

  1. Become aware – be open to feedback.
  2. Reflect on the feedback provided.  If you can’t see it, you can’t change it.
  3. Understand your feelings about the feedback.  Use the Five Whys to reflect.
  4. Allow yourself the freedom to change.
  5. Master your mind.  Use mindfulness to accept yourself, to learn and to grow.

Consider that enlightenment is a journey and that the outcome of our lives will be based on the choices we make.  The focus should always be on control of self, and not the control of others.  This is especially difficult with parenting when we often mistake control for caring and by doing things for our children to ensure they are successful can hinder their own development when they will learn significantly more from trying on their own (even if they fail).
Consider that it is easier to deflect and avoid, but it is harder to be vulnerable.  However, vulnerability, and being exposed from a “heart space” is where growth can happen.  In fact, it is believed that by only by exposing our own vulnerability can meaningful conversations and relationships happen.