FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S DESK


The Greatest Investment You Can Make Is Spending Time


By Julie Dyson, LTCA/LNHA, HSE, CDAL


career and help improve resident care and satisfaction. Each day, we have the ability to make a diff erence, but it takes a special investment of something rare and irreplace- able: Time. As humans, we all crave that feeling of


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being special, being important, feeling loved. This doesn’t change as we age. In fact, I


believe we sometimes crave it more as we age. As a society, we focus strongly on the im-


portance of spending time with children. We even have a phrase for it: Quality time. As children, we often feel time is limitless.


But we get away from this as we and those around us age. It’s almost as if the passing time takes the magic of childhood and that sense of wonder with it. In this career, we have the ability to bring that magic back. Take a few minutes each day to engage


with someone in your community, and you’ll see the diff erence time makes.


aying goes: “We give time and atten- tion to what really matters.” Giving time can help you in your


was one of the fi rst female Army nurses, one who was a former professional boxer, one of the fi rst female business owners in the area (she started her own photography studio), a female former physician, former beauty queens, and a family member of an Olympic gold-medal-winning gymnast, and more. I would never have known these histories had I not taken the time to hear them. No matter how much time someone has spent on this earth, they still have something to share.


A few minutes matters Much of our days are scheduled around tasks, activities, and working on what must get done. We tell ourselves and each other that we’re so busy already; how can we fi t in anything more? But people’s feelings can’t be shaped


around a schedule. No activity can be worth as much as simply spending time. And sometimes, taking what seems like extra time actually saves you time in the long run.


“I would never have known these histories had I not taken the time to hear them. No matter how much time someone has spent on this earth, they still have something to share.”


When you rush, you miss out Each resident has lived through a lot of years. With their life experience, they see time diff erently. Many of us have had the feeling of going back in time as we listen to their stories. Over the years in my career, I spent time


with a resident who helped invent the atom- ic bomb for World War II, another who


44 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE JULY/AUGUST 2019 Let’s look at it a diff erent way for a sec-


ond: Wouldn’t your survey go a lot smooth- er, for instance, if you had happy residents and they shared that with your survey team? It's important to encourage all staff to


start looking for such opportunities for short but meaningful interactions. It's not just a matter of having the activities or life enrichment director take time.


Time for yourself


matters, too. A few minutes spent refl ect- ing and re-focusing on the core of why we do what we do can refresh your energy. Take a few minutes


each day to engage with someone in your community, and you’ll see the diff er- ence time makes. The use of time is about building rela- tionships, not simply checking a task off a list. Simply slowing down and fully engaging with others is how to get the maximum re- turn on your investment of time. Make each person feel they are the most


Julie Dyson LTCA/LNHA, HSE, CDAL Resident Director, Legend at Mingo Road Legend Senior Living Tulsa, OK


important person in the room, because at that moment, they are. If you take the time for this, you’ll get a great return—it will help keep you from burning out. Here are some ways to fi t more meaning- ful time with residents into your days: • As you are doing rounds of the building, work in brief conversations with the res- idents you encounter.


• During meal times, work your way around the dining room—really listen- ing to what residents share.


• Create a special recognition time to showcase what you’ve heard and learned.


• There’s often a brief time in the middle of the afternoon when things slow down just enough to give attention to why we do what we do.


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