28/10/2016
Probably one of the most daunting things you face when you head off to a new client is the thought of how you are going to manage your day. Not only are you faced with a new client and whatever that might bring, but you are also going to need to deal with a whole new routine – someone else’s routine. More than likely it is going to be completely different from your previous client. The kitchen will be completely different as will the entire house. Where the clean towels were in the hall closet, now they may be in the back bedroom. All this adds to making your day a whole lot longer.
The first thing you may want to do in a new setting is to familiarise yourself with the kitchen as this is where a large part of your day is going to take place. If you compartmentalise things, your brain will be able to associate this later in the day. First, locate everything you need for breakfast, egg cup, teaspoons, coffee cups, porridge, frying pans and so on. After that check out lunch and supper things. Casserole dishes, soup bowls and spoons, find everything you would need for an evening meal. Leave the rest to your brain, it is a wonderful organ and it will pretty much remember by association, what you need for these meals. If you focus on one meal at a time you will find yourself less inclined to panic.
It’s a good idea to give yourself plenty of time to complete any task. Remember that in your previous placement you knew exactly where the extra kitchen paper was kept. Now everything is different. Give yourself time, it will put less pressure on you. So, if you can normally prepare breakfast in ten minutes, give yourself fifteen. This will mean you can slow down, take your time and still be done on time.
Set the breakfast table the night before. You may not be able to put everything out, but you can get most of it done the night before.
Set your alarm ten minutes earlier to give yourself a good start in the morning. After a few days you may find that you can change the time as you are more relaxed and familiar with your new placement. If you know that your break is exactly at 2 pm and lunch is at 1pm, encourage your client to make their way to the table at 12.50 if they are very slow. That way they will be sitting down ready to begin at 1pm instead of 1.15pm.
There is a lot to be said for pre-empting the situation. You will find out right away on your arrival just how fast or slowly your client moves, and you should let this dictate your management of the day. Plan everything just a few minutes earlier. If you know that you must catch a taxi at 10am, then have your client ready and waiting by 9.40. I know this sounds like ‘teaching your grandmother to suck eggs’ but you will be amazed at how many clients seem to have to use the toilet right before the taxi pulls up! Pre-emt this! It will happen!
In a new environment, everything you do will take just that little bit longer, you will be under pressure to get a meal on the table at a certain time and in unfamiliar surroundings. The key is to start a little earlier on everything you need to do. Even a small job can take more time than you think, when things are new.
After a few days you will find that everything has become second nature and you are faster, but in the beginning it is better to give yourself more time. You are under enough pressure as it is without adding to it. Start everything earlier!
