.png)
The 8 Areas of Life – Activities is the 4th Area
- Alanthea Clarkson
- May 4
- 7 min read
Intro:
We are halfway through the 8 Areas of Life, at #4! To review, we’ve covered the 1st Area of Life, which is Health, the 2nd is Comfort, and we’ve covered #3 Safety. Now we’ll move on to the 4th Area of Life –Activities.
By the way, if you want to revisit the Main Blog that introduces all 8 Areas of Life When Caregiving for Your Aging Loved One -Taking A Closer Look
This 4th area of life is Activities.
Desired activities can expand across so many areas and interests, but rather than providing simply a list of activities that may or may not relate to your aging loved one, we are going to narrow this to two topics: Traits of Activities and what Well-Designed Activities can look like.
Traits of Activities can include their overall uniqueness, how meaningful and purposeful the activities are to your aging loved one. Does your loved one recognize the value and enjoyment of the activity? Do the activities produce outcomes your aging loved one truly cares about? These are important traits that can directly and positively influence the overall health and well-being of your aging loved one. How great is that?!
There are many different ways we will go deeper into the topic of Well-Designed Activities. You will find ideas, tips, stories and suggestions to try. Your aging loved one can be more active – both physically and mentally.
Well-Designed Activities create opportunities for you and your aging loved one to feel more included and fulfilled, meeting the needs of the 4th Area of Life.
If you haven’t already, here are all our past blog posts:
Statistics Worth Knowing
Older adults who participate in purposeful activities report a 30% improvement in self-rated quality of life compared with those with limited engagement.
Source: British Journal of Occupational Therapy
Activities aligned with personal interests help seniors maintain identity and self-worth, reducing stress and fostering joy. Source: Senior Community Services & McKinsey Health Institute
Engaging in varied cognitive, social, and physical activities builds cognitive reserve, reducing dementia risk and supporting mental agility.
Source: Frontiers in Psychology
Tips To Help You
How do you know if your aging loved one’s activities are well-designed?
1) First of all, is she doing them?
Is she excited about them?
Does she talk about them with you?
2) Secondly, Well-Designed activities are easy to follow. Instructions and the desired outcomes are easily understood and agreed upon. Even if the activity is broken into segments or steps, they are understandable for the intended participants to be successful.
3) Lastly, is there an element of play or creativity in the activity? Activities that are so rigid are not as enjoyable or successful as those that have some built-in flexibility aimed to bring in your aging loved one’s preferences and personality.
Tips You Can Act On
When it comes to your aging loved one living in a care facility, you hear the words: “He is busy during the day”. It sounds good –right?! Or do you need to have a closer look at HOW he spends his time?
He can be busy with tasks that take up the time in his day, but if they are very low value to him, what is he really getting from them? What to do?
Check in with him –not by phone, but in person if you can.
Be with him in his space. You will pick up on how he is actually doing and what he has been up to. Look around his space. Is there anything out of the ordinary? Papers or magazines stacking up, or an overall disorganization? Expired food yet to be discarded? Do things seem stagnant?
Next, how does he seem overall? Happy? Content? Uncertain? Anxious? Is he talking openly and excitedly about projects or tasks that are progressing? Does he speak about “next steps” or anything future-based –even if it is as soon as tomorrow or next week? Does there seem to be a sense of something more than just today?
Speak with the staff to learn if he attends activities, and if so, which ones. Some group activities are harder for people with hearing loss or cognitive challenges. After all, attending doesn’t necessarily mean value is received.
If the quality of activities OR the variety of activities needs to be improved, consider reaching out to have a chat with Robyn at A Friend Indeed. She will consider your loved one’s past history of how he spent his time and what was most meaningful. Working with you to uncover “the Gold” – those special ideas that can bring back meaning and enjoyment to his life, even if just the essence of them.
A Resource For You
One of the best resources you can look to for finding inspiration for Meaningful Activities is…right in your own back yard (so to speak!)
I’m sure you have a box of memories or a trunk of treasures or a cabinet of (unfinished) creatives that are kicking around your home. Why not revisit them and pick out one or two special trinkets that you can bring to your next visit with your aging loved one? Imagine what can come from that?
A Story Worth Telling
Finding the GOLD! That is what I call it when having a phone call with a family caregiver who reaches out for companion visits for their aging loved one with A Friend Indeed.
I recall speaking with a daughter whose father lived in a care facility in Calgary. She reached out because he was spending a lot of time in his room and didn’t know how to occupy his time. He was living with dementia and found it challenging to remember when group activities were happening or where to find them. The daughter reached out to A Friend Indeed in search of a responsive Friend for him.
After she submitted the Client Intake form, a form that asks a bunch of questions about her father, A Friend Indeed gave her a call to discuss further. I learned that in his professional life, he was an engineer. He also really enjoyed being of service to others. I learned that his overall physical health was good, and he had good dexterity in his hands.
The daughter and I talked about many different activities that he and his Friend and he could do together, and I also took time to think through a creative process I often do that can bring about interesting and impactful Well-Designed Activities.
The process started as such: I thought to myself, “What do I know about engineers?”
They are methodical –they like a sequence of steps, and they like to work towards clearly defined end results.
Hmmmm, I wonder... What about simple Origami? When you think about origami, it is all about a sequence of steps towards a clearly defined end result.
We did a quick assessment to ensure her father would be set up for success. I shared the idea to his assigned Friend. She picked out some colourful paper and practiced ahead of time to prepare for the visit.
During the Friend’s next visit, she brought in the supplies, and they set up in the common area of the care facility. Step by step, they worked alongside one another, and sure enough, they reached the desired end result! A funny little frog that bounced when you pushed down on its backside! The gentleman was delighted!
“Let’s do this again!” he said. They made several and, in the process of doing so, other residents of the facility and visitors came over to inspect what they were up to. A small crowd gathered, and a few of the ladies gave compliments on their talent.
Then the words hit the air, “Can you make me one?”
What started out as an inquisitive adventure turned into an act of service that fulfilled yet another trait of value in this gentleman – the gift of giving and making others happy!
His Friend and he happily made several more frogs to give away to their admirers. What a joyful experience that was, truly meaningful for him and for those around him! That is truly “Finding the GOLD”!
Quotes Worth Sharing
“Physical activity turns out to be one of the absolute best ways to maintain and even improve cognitive health.” — Dr. Rahul Jandial
“Your mental and physical health are inseparable. You cannot work to strengthen one without having a positive effect on the other.” — Napoleon Hill
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” — Confucius
A Testimonial
This extra support definitely adds to the quality of my Dad's life. While my Dad is well cared for in a great dementia facility, I see the difference that some extra one-on-one and TLC make in his day.
It also takes pressure off of me knowing that he has another regular visitor, a "Friend" who gives her full undivided attention while visiting.
Whether they look at photos, read cards and letters, play with his car collection or take some fresh air in the courtyard, the visit is catered to his mood and benefits him greatly. The smiles, laughs, and handholding shared with his "Friend" reminds him how much he is loved and what a special man he is.
Thank you, Robyn, and staff, for your care.
--Tracy, daughter
A Compliment To The Care Giver
Do you know what is really cool? After speaking with families over the almost 16 years in business, it is cool to hear the stories about their aging loved ones! How they spent their earlier years –work, challenges, hobbies and interests. What a joy to hear! My imagination brings the stories to life in my mind’s eye and stimulates creativity as to what can be possible today!
Compliments to the families who share such stories!
Your willingness to share story details ensures your aging loved one will still have access to adventures and enjoyable times ahead. Your story details infuse a creativity into Well Designed Activities specific to your aging loved one!
What Would It Be?
If you had a Magic Wand?
And had one wish that would bring to life something really meaningful in your aging loved one’s life currently, when it comes to Meaningful Activities --What would you wish for?
Write it in the comments and see how many other families say the same thing or something different.
Comments