1. Plan each day.
2. Prioritize your tasks.
3. Say no to unessential tasks.
4. Delegate.
5. START – the hardest and most important step.
6. Avoid the getting trapped in the social networking time-sucks.
7. Take frequent, short breaks.
8. Be accountable. Reach out to friends or coworkers to hold you to a commitment.
9. Discover the real purpose behind your tasks.
10. Eliminate tasks that don’t have a real purpose.
11. Find a scheduling tool you love and can update frequently (Day Planner, smartphone calendar, notebook, etc.)
12. Take on fewer things and do better work.
13. Turn off your phone or use the do not disturb button when you need to focus.
14. Create a team mentality. Make it okay to trade tasks and/or help out when someone falls behind.
15. SLEEP – Taking the time to rest your body will help you be much more effective when you’re awake.
16. Exercise – You can naturally reduce tension and improve focus by moving your body.
17. Eat well – Eating quality food will help you avoid the afternoon slump and will give you increased energy.
18. Track how you spend your time during the day. Keeping a log will quickly show you where you can improve.
19. Take a vacation day. Sometimes a day away from the office can really help you refocus and reenergize.
20. Do what excites you the most first. Crossing things off your to-do list will give you motivation to do the things that are less exciting.
21. Choose the 3 most important things on your to-do list and work on those today.
22. Find your most productive time. It’s different for everyone. Make the most of that time.
23. Work in a clutter free zone.
24. If you have a lot of clutter, spend 15 minutes every day clearing it out. No more, no less.
25. Unplug. Internet access is a double edged sword. Stay away unless it’s necessary to the task at hand.
26. Turn off your email and instant messaging notifications. Staying focused is impossible when distractions continually take us away. Turn off your notifications and check email every 30 minutes to an hour.
27. No Multitasking! Doing more than one thing at a time erodes productivity.
28. Keep meetings to a minimum. If it can be discussed or handled through another (quicker) medium, do that.
29. Set clear goals and spend your valuable time working toward those goals.
30. Don’t get overwhelmed by big projects. Break them into smaller projects or phases.
31. Don’t let email accumulate. Even though you’re disabling notifications, it’s still important to reply to all your messages when you do check your email. This will help you avoid getting overwhelmed by your inbox. It’s okay to unsubscribe to mail that isn’t relevant.
32. Respect deadlines.
33. Be honest with yourself about how long a task will take to complete.
34. Once you’ve delegated, let it go. Then follow a reporting plan.
35. Love what you do, and you’ll find yourself getting it done.

Mariah Hill!!

Congratulations Mariah! We at A-Plus really hope you enjoy your weekend away to the Homestead Resort and really use this opportunity to unwind. Caregivers, like you, deserve a little break!

Rachel Thomas was nominated by Rachel Thomas who is also a winner and will receive a $100 Gift Card to the University Mall in Orem, UT. Congratulations to you too Rachel!

The “Unwind This Spring” Giveaway has been a wonderful way for A-Plus Home Care and Hospice to show gratitude for all of the amazing and sometimes underappreciated caregivers. It was also a way to meet more incredible people that give so much of their time for someone in need.

There were many deserving entries into our giveaway but there was one specific person that stuck out to us. Brooke Cowden was nominated numerous times, by many different people, for all of the wonderful care that she gives. We decided that she seemed very deserving so decided to throw in a little something extra for her as well. A-Plus Home Care & Hospice is going to give Brooke and all those that nominated her a night out on us. We will be giving them a gift card for dinner and also be providing 2 hours of care for her loved one so she can truly unwind for a few hours.

We at A-Plus Home Care & Hospice are truly grateful for all of the amazing and giving people that we come in contact with each and every day.  One example of an amazing person that we love and admire is Suzy.

Suzy was a long-time patient of A-Plus Home Care & Hospice. Our wonderful staff, over time, was able to help her fully recover and fell in love with her in the process. And luckily for us, she also fell in love with A-Plus Home Care. We have a wonderful hospice service program and have dozens of volunteers. Suzy heard about this program and wanted to give back. At 86 years of age, she became an A-Plus Home Care and Hospice Volunteer.

Suzy has spent the last few months making bookmarks for patients on hospice care, and their families. The thing about Suzy is that she has a bigger heart than most could dream of. She makes hundreds and hundreds of bookmarks every single month. As you would probably guess, we don’t have hundreds and hundreds of hospice patients every month. With all of the extra bookmarks, A-Plus and Suzy have started giving back to the community as well. Suzy’s bookmarks are shared with the children at the Youth Justice Center, local schools and libraries, service agencies, and other senior citizens.

We are so grateful for people like Suzy and feel that we are truly blessed to work in an industry that gives so much back. At A-Plus, we are extremely proud of the care that our staff provides and know that it doesn’t go unnoticed. A current patient recently said to some of our friendly and skilled nurses, “I just don’t know what I would do without you girls…I wouldn’t be able to stay home!” A-Plus Home Care and Hospice is always available for a free consultation and excited to meet your home health and hospice needs.

Always remember, “Don’t stay home without us!”

If you’d like the opportunity to serve as a hospice volunteer, fill out the form below and we’ll follow up with you shortly to discuss which projects would work best for you and your busy schedule!

P.S. Congratulations on making it this far into the post. We want to reward you by letting you know that we were so blown away by the feedback from our first Unwind This Spring promotion, that we’re going to be doing it again! Mark your calendars for June 1st so you can enter to win again if you didn’t win this time.

We all lead stressful lives. That’s something that pretty much all of us can agree on right? With the speed of information and life these days, it’s a miracle that we remain standing at the end of every day.

If you’re anything like me, falling asleep once I finally hit the pillow takes about .045 seconds. Approximately.

In an attempt to help you combat the stresses of life, we’ve put together a short list of 10 easy ways to unwind this spring.

1. Get a Massage – This is one of my personal favorites for obvious reasons. Reducing muscle tension and taking the time to focus on relaxing can be extremely good for your health. If anybody gives you a hard time about spending a little extra money or taking time away from work to get your massage, just tell them it’s recommended by health care pros!
2. Take a Nature Walk – In Utah we’re lucky to be surrounded by some stunning landscapes. Leave your phone in your car and get out and enjoy nature. Don’t allow any other distractions. Go and enjoy your time with Mother Nature.
3. Exercise – The high intensity may seem like the opposite of winding down, but a good workout will help you release any built up negative energy. Do a small amount of exercise daily and you’ll immediately begin to feel more calm during your downtime.
4. Sit up in your Chair – This one may sound strange, but sitting up straight will improve your breathing and then increase oxygen flow throughout your body. Sitting up straight will have you feeling more relaxed in minutes.
5. Laugh – Visit your favorite joke website, share a funny experience, or even watch your favorite funny movie. Few things will have you feeling zen more quickly than a good chuckle.
6. Take a Bubble Bath – You don’t have to ask me twice! Fill a tub with warm water, dim the lights, and enjoy the silence. Be sure not to fall asleep! Oh, and keep your blow dryer as far away from the tub as possible too!
7. Try Yoga – I’ll admit that I haven’t given this one a shot yet. My lack of flexibility makes me a novice contortionist. That said, millions swear by the relaxation that Yoga brings to their lives.
8. Get a Pedicure – As a man, this one was initially hard for me to endorse. That is, until a month ago when I went and got one for myself. After the initial discomfort of having another person handle your feet passes by, the experience can be incredibly relaxing. (And no, I didn’t get my toenails painted).
9. Kill the Clutter – This is obviously easier said than done, but clutter subconsciously — or in some cases VERY consciously — drives up our stress levels. Don’t stress yourself out in the process of de-cluttering. Designate 10 minutes a day to cleaning clutter. You’ll find that you’ll be back and organized in no time.
10. Enter our Unwind This Spring Giveaway – Sure this is a bit of a shameless plug. However, we really want as many stressed out caregivers as possible to get a chance to win our two night retreat to the Homestead Resort in Midway. If you still haven’t heard about it, you can check out the details and enter by clicking the image below. The giveaway ends this Friday (May 13th) at midnight so be sure to enter soon!

It’s pretty funny, and not in a ha-ha sort of way, that just about a year ago we launched the last version of our company website.

As we spring forward we’ve decided it’s time for another site refresh, but more important than a friendly new design, is what this new look represents. This new website will be the centerpiece of an increased effort to improve client satisfaction and overall quality of care, taking full advantage of the amazing technology we have at our fingertips every day.

We have big plans to use social media, this website, and lots of other fun things to communicate better with the people we serve.

Please don’t think for a second that this is an abandonment of the telephone or face to face meetups, we’re just widening our scope so that you can reach us any time of day using your preferred method of communication.

We want to make working with us SIMPLE!

We have staff with specialized training focused on improving the way we talk to you. Please know that we’re always listening and are constantly brainstorming new ideas to make receiving care, or finding care for a loved one, easier on you. If you ever have any ideas or suggestions on how we can do that, please feel free to drop us a line any time.

What You Can Expect From Us

With a new focus on improving communication and improving follow-up, there are some things that we want you to know you can expect from us. We wanted to make sure we put it in writing for everyone to see, just so we’re all on the same page and you know what we’re willing to offer.

1. We will be your Senior Care Resource for Utah County – Whether you’re looking for the best deal on a walker or are curious to know about our experience with an assisted living facility in the area, please know that we will always share with you what we know and give our honest opinion. If we ever find ourselves without the answer you’re looking for, we’ll do the leg work to find it.
2. We will always listen – Whether you decide to contact us via a social network, email, text message, smoke signal, suggestion box (I think you get the idea), we will always take your suggestions very seriously and will reply to any questions you have as quickly as possible. We have staff whose sole responsibility is to keep their ears open and relay your messages to people who can make worthwhile changes.
3. We’ll provide great educational material – At the very least we’ll provide one well thought out and well researched blog post per week. We’ll definitely throw in some posts that show a more human side of our company as well. Ya know, like that one time at the company Christmas party where…. I won’t get it to that just yet. If you want to receive these fun, yet informative updates via email, you can do that by clicking  here. We’re also excited to start using webinars and YouTube videos to help keep people informed and present potentially boring content (*cough* regulation changes *cough*) in an interesting way.
4. We’ll work – One thing that will never change at A-Plus Home Care and Hospice is our understanding of what it takes to make an impact. We will do all that we can to make your life easier, even if that means getting our hands dirty every once in a while.

We’re extremely excited for this next chapter at A-Plus Home Care and Hospice. We couldn’t be happier with how far we’ve come and we know that moving forward we can improve even more and have an amazing time doing it!

Join us on Facebook and Twitter to share in the fun as we embark on this epic journey toward awesome!

1. Schedule appointments to best suit your needs – Find a time where you won’t be rushing to get into the doctor. Being late will cut valuable minutes out of your visit time, not to mention that every time someone is late, the wait times are extended for everyone else. If you can, show up a few minutes early so you can take care of your co-pays or fill out any necessary paperwork beforehand.
2. Write down a list of things that you’d like to tell the doctor – Address any existing problems you’ve had along with any new health issues that you’d like to address. Also, keep a list of your medications and any questions that you may have about them. A-Plus Home Care and Hospice has developed a tool to make writing all of this down quick and easy. Keep the tool on your fridge and make notes whenever a question or concern arises. Then simply take the tool with you to your next doctor visit. Click here (Right Click, Save as…) to download the tool for free. If you would like a hard laminated copy with magnets to attach the tool to your fridge, you can request one via our contact form here.
   Tip: Putting a date next to any new health issues that arise is a good idea because it will help the doctor know how long your problem has been going on.
3. Decide which concerns are most important – If you have a long list of things you’d like to address, it’s a good idea to put the most important things at the top of your list. That way, if the doctor runs out of time or you forget something, the most important things will likely be taken care of.
4. Bring a friend or family member along– Having a caregiver or family member present at the appointment with you is a good move for a few different reasons:
   • The companion can take notes on important details during the visit
   • A companion can be an advocate for you and help ask important questions that you may not feel comfortable asking on your own.
   • A companion can help with comfort should a new disease process be discovered.
5. Feel free to say “I don’t understand”- Physicians have been through extensive training, and concepts that may seem routine to them are foreign to most of us. If you don’t speak up and let the doctor know that you don’t follow what he or she is saying, they’ll likely assume that everything is understood.
6. Use other resources at the doctor’s office – There are many competent health care workers aside from physicians in almost all medical clinics. Be sure to take advantage of speaking with nurses or other assistants for more clarification on your care or for help with other issues. They are a team and have your best interest in mind.

Putting these six simple tips into practice will make sure you get the most out of your next trip to the doctor.