|

5 Major Elements of a Weekly Plan (when the cancer bomb explodes into the life of someone you love.)

Life doesn’t stop when cancer strikes, things get much more complicated.  A weekly plan will help you stay organized so you can take care of the important stuff.

Update:  If you have no idea how to deal with all this cancer business, we can help you formulate a plan to tackle the immediate issues… finding the best care, talking with your insurance company, finding resources that will actually help, and dealing with the fear, anxiety and overwhelm of this whole situation.

We can’t control the cancer, but we CAN show you how to manage this crisis.   And it’s 100% Free.

You can get the Cancer Combat Plan FREE here…

When you are helping your loved one battle cancer you need tips and ideas to make EVERY SINGLE MINUTE COUNT. So, grab your planner or (a free printable) and start mapping out the week. The more you can plan ahead, the better! #cancerchangeseverything #getorganized #manageyourlifetoo #strategiesthatworkYup, a weekly plan will save you a ton of time.

A quick warning though… Its kind of like the first time you budgeted.  You made a plan and dutifully accounted for every dollar until halfway through the week you realize you forgot about the electric bill and of course…

You’ve got no money left.

It’s going to take some practice before you get good at the weekly plan, but your loved one needs you to step up and be the hero NOW.

No worries, we’ve got you covered!

 Write Your Daily Schedule

The most important element of the weekly plan is your daily schedule.

What’s going on during the week that you have to plan for?  Where do you need to be?

  • Appointments
  • Pharmacy Runs
  • Grocery Shopping
  • Soccer Games
  • Dance Classes
  • Birthday Parties
  • School Concerts
  • School Days Off
  • Scheduled Overtime
  • Errands (Haircuts, oil changes, books from the library)
  • Lunch with a Friend
  • Defrosting meat for dinner

Keep a calendar, a planner or just a weekly page (check out Pinterest) so you know when and where you need to be.  This will help you make sure you don’t miss anything important on those really crazy and hectic days!

 Plan Your Meals

Meal planning saves a ton of time and is a key element of the weekly plan.  You know what you’re making, when you are making it and if you do it right, you’ll have all of the ingredients in the house and you’ll be ready to roll.

Because you have planned in advance (which you can do on the couch watching Netflix), you have a strategy of meals that your family will eat (and like!) ready to go.

When things get hectic, you can relax because you are already ahead of the game.

You can find instructions for meal planning here…

 

Establish Work Times

Depending on your situation and the position your loved one is in, you may need to make some changes at work.

  • Have your hours or days at work changed?
  • What hours will you be working?
  • Are there days you’ll need to take off?
  • Are you scheduled for extra or different hours?
  • Have you reduced to a lighter schedule because of this situation?

If you need some quick ideas to supplement your income FROM HOME we’ve got you covered

 

Schedule Stress Relief

PLAN FOR THIS.  The 21 months that I helped my dad battle cancer was hands down the most stressful time of my life.    It was also one of the most incredible times of my life.   There has to be some scheduled time to relax on your weekly plan.

If you don’t take some time to do the things that matter to you, to rest and relax you are going to burn out quick.  And as you know, you could be running this schedule for the next 10 years.  In fact, I pray that you are.

You are going to have to schedule in some time to take a break and just relax.

If you need ideas to get started you can find them here…

 Strategize Your Bills

Schedule this!  Every month.

When all of this started, it never occurred to me how drastically everything would change.

Things that you naturally do all the time get missed and you won’t even realize it.

When my dad first got diagnosed and we were running around trying to make sure everything was set to start treatment…

Every bill that we owed was either late or completely forgotten.  We spent the next month trying to catch up and figure out what was paid/not paid so we could get back on track.

List Everything You Need to Pay For The Month On One Page

We created this page to help us track everything quickly and easily.

This way we knew what was/wasn’t paid and what was coming up.  This system ensures that as you pay things you can check them off, so you always know where you’re at and can adjust as needed.

 When you’re done, Your Weekly Plan should look something like this…

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
 Dinner:

 *Shannon makes after the game

 Cheese Quesadilla’s

 Dinner:

 Steak, Rice, Salad

 Dinner:

 Crock Pot Chicken, Baked Potatoes and Carrots

 Dinner:

Spaghetti and meatballs, salad

 Dinner:

 Hot dogs, Mac and cheese and green beans.

 Dinner:

English Muffin Pizzas

 Dinner:

Taco Salad

* 7:30am Travel to NYC

 * 10 am  Dad Treatment @ 53rd Street

 * 12pm F/U NeuroOncologist @ 53rd Street

*3pm F/U with Pain Management@ Main Hospital

*7pm Joe Basketball Game (Jenn-Miss game)

 

*Overnight in the City

*8 am CT Scan

*Travel Home

*Work

4 hours

*Laundry

*Dishes

*Pull Chicken out of Freezer

*Work

8 Hours

*Laundry

*Dishes

 *Meeting at 12 pm

 *5 pm Sophia Game

(Jenn miss game)

*Work

 9 Hours

*Laundry

*Dishes

*5 pm p/u Sophia

 *Oil Change

 

*Work

8 Hours

*Laundry

*Dishes

 *4 Pm Dentist

 *5 pm p/u Sophia

*7pm Joe Basketball Game

 

*Work

*10 am Sophia game

*Meal Plan

*Grocery Shop

*Pick up Meds for Mom and Dad

*Pour 2 weeks of Medicine for Dad

NOTHING!?!

 Stay in your PJ’s and watch Netflix

 

Cancer journeys are long.  You have to be able to keep your head in the game for years.  Things will definitely change as you go along, you just need to have a quick basic overall plan.

When it comes to cancer EVERYTHING is subject to change but with a little bit of preplanning (which you can do at night while you’re watching TV), you will feel a lot more in control of the day to day craziness.

P.S. If you’re overwhelmed by all this cancer business, we can relate! 

The Cancer Binder Pack will walk you through the quick and easy system we used for organizing medical information.

Step-by-step instructions, printable forms, and monthly calendar pages so you can ALWAYS find what you need when you need it. And, the best part it’s FREE…

You can get the Cancer Binder Pack here…

When you are helping your loved one battle cancer you need tips and ideas to make EVERY SINGLE MINUTE COUNT. So, grab your planner or (a free printable) and start mapping out the week. The more you can plan ahead, the better! #cancerchangeseverything #getorganized #manageyourlifetoo #strategiesthatwork

 When you are helping your loved one battle cancer you need tips and ideas to make EVERY SINGLE MINUTE COUNT. So, grab your planner or (a free printable) and start mapping out the week. The more you can plan ahead, the better! #cancerchangeseverything #getorganized #manageyourlifetoo #strategiesthatwork

This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. We only recommend products that we use and LOVE. You can see our full disclosure here for further information.

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

About The Author

Similar Posts