When you reduce caregiver stress, you stand a good chance of also reducing multi-tasker disasters like locking your keys in the car, missing important appointments, and frantically running from one room to the next looking for your phone, while completely forgetting that dinner is burning on the stove.

It happens when you occupy our hands with one task while at the same time occupying your mind with thoughts of everything else you need to do.

This time of year pressures increase, and if you are feeling stressed, take a deep breath. And then take another one. Give yourself a little time-out and then prioritize what needs to be done. Make a list. Put the most important thing at the top and then number the remaining tasks in order of significance. In order to care for someone over an extended period of time, you must be willing to let some things on the list go unfinished.

Focus on doing what has to be done, and let the rest go. If you can keep your hands, heart and mind all working together through the holidays, you’ll be more likely to focus on the things that really matter, and in the end you’ll probably have fewer multi-tasker disasters and be less likely to experience caregiver burnout during the holidays.

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