Forget the Friday Happy Dance

Remember in your old life when you did a happy dance on Friday morning? That bum wiggle you did as soon as you got into the office and smiled at your colleagues? Bad news, as a carer there is no Friday feeling. Every day is just another day.  Once you are on duty it is work time. You will get your scheduled breaks as agreed but strictly speaking the deal is that you are on duty 24/7.

Remember why you are there

If the thought of having no weekend upsets you, remember that each day you will be earning your agreed rate. You can make it really exciting for yourself by writing the cumulative total you have earned each day in your own private diary. Then depending on your circumstances, give yourself a decent break before taking up your next assignment. Then you can do a happy dance for your time off even if it happens to start on a Monday.

Longer bookings

As I write this I have done a solid month with no break in between. I was supposed to end after three and a half weeks but was asked to extend by a fortnight as the returning carer had a family emergency. I have ten more nights to go and I know I can hold out because I have such a wonderful client. But my feet are starting to twitch and I know they  are looking forward to doing a happy dance.

A perfect two weeks

The industry standard seems to be two weeks. I can really see why. It makes so much sense. It is enough time to tune in to a changed environment. Most people can get along well for two weeks. If either of you has a small problem with the other that doesn't warrant early termination, you can usually hold out for the remaining period and still leave on good terms. Even if you are getting along well, conversation might start drying up after more than a fortnight.  Make sure your agent knows what work pattern will suit you but remember to allow for plenty happy dances.  Any day can be Happy Dance day when you are a carer.