When these intensive, round-the-clock periods arrive, the physical and emotional toll is immediate. Exhaustion creeps in, turning patience into irritability, listlessness, and discouragement. Recognizing these familiar warning signs, this caregiver has developed an internal alert system that signals when it is time to fundamentally shift gears. Rather than pushing forward harder to maintain an impossible pace, she deliberately chooses to expect less of herself—a practice she refers to as "underwhelm."
Just as a driver needs to downshift to a lower gear to maintain momentum when climbing a steep hill, this caregiver applies the same mechanical logic to her daily life. When the incline of caregiving becomes too steep, pressing harder on the accelerator is not the solution. Instead, she deliberately scales back her obligations, creating a deliberate slowdown to preserve her mental and physical well-being.
The Strategy of Scaling Back
The philosophy of underwhelm is built upon several foundational principles designed to strip away unnecessary stress. The first and most crucial step in this process is completely turning off the internal "guilt" warning system. Regardless of promises made to herself or others, any task that cannot be accomplished without severe frustration or grumbling is immediately removed from the agenda.
Physical rest follows closely as a priority. Micro-naps, lasting just five or ten minutes whenever they can be squeezed into a busy schedule, provide a surprising amount of restoration.
To mentally step away from the demands of caregiving, she turns to reading, a habit supported by her lifelong love of books and reinforced by research highlighting the stress-reducing benefits of reading for even a few minutes at a time. Cozy mysteries are her genre of choice, offering low-key plots, minimal drama, and comforting characters and settings. Whether revisiting familiar titles or discovering new authors, the act of reading provides a reliable escape. Her reading list spans classic series like the Miss Read books, M.C. Beaton, Jacqueline Winspear, and Debbie Macomber, alongside local Clark County author Christy J. Kendall. She also embraces supernatural-tinged cozy mysteries and occasional middle-grade reads that offer a comforting return to childhood nostalgia.
Finally, embracing a small, comforting indulgence rounds out her personal approach to stress relief. A cookie or a piece of chocolate provides a simple, immediate comfort during moments of deep fatigue. While perhaps not receiving formal medical endorsement, this small treat serves as a harmless emotional anchor when she feels out of sorts.
Managing Daily Routines Through a Lens of Simplicity
Beyond these core practices, the caregiver incorporates several mindful routines that help maintain a sense of balance without adding undue pressure. Daily journaling serves as a private, low-stakes outlet. For a few minutes each day, she records random observations—the weather, medical appointments, random ideas, and general musings—without any pressure to craft an inspiring memoir or polished piece of writing.
Housework is managed through strict time limits rather than exhaustive cleaning sessions. By setting a kitchen timer for 30 minutes, she tackles essential chores like making the bed, straightening the bathroom, or tidying the kitchen. Knowing that a hard stop is built into the routine prevents chores from becoming overwhelming, keeping the task mindless and soothing. Anything extending beyond that thirty-minute window is considered counterproductive.
To engage her mind without overstimulating her senses, she turns to simple, classic video games. Completely avoiding the high-stakes, fast-paced digital environments popular today, she prefers old-school distractions such as digital jigsaw puzzles, solitaire, sudoku, and word searches. By turning off the audio entirely, she eliminates unnecessary sensory stimulation, though she admits minor frustrations persist with repetitive or inescapable digital advertisements.
Computer work also serves as a surprisingly relaxing outlet. Managing a weekly radio program provides a structured commitment that she genuinely enjoys, allowing her to lean into creative tasks like editing audio and designing graphics for social media platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.
Embracing the Slow Lane
This deliberate slowdown highlights a broader perspective on modern caregiving and burnout. Rather than viewing a reduced output as a failure or a form of giving up, underwhelm is framed as a necessary adjustment to match the realities of daily life. As this caregiver demonstrates, choosing the slow lane when life demands too much is not a sign of weakness, but a sustainable way to endure. The steep hills and demanding schedules will still be waiting tomorrow, but slowing down today makes the journey possible.
