Family caregivers come to me because they want to have fulfilling life while they care for an adult with a chronic medical condition. As my mother's health declined, I took on more and more responsibility until one day I couldn't.

Six years in, I was ready for a change. Applying the behavioral and productivity tools that were the mainstay of my professional life, I got my life back on track. My life moved forward as I provided total care for my bed bound mother living with rheumatism and dementia and aphasia.

For 20 years I worked in health care helping individuals and client groups achieve goals and grow personally and professionally. However, as my mother's health declined I failed to apply basic tools for managing change to my own life. My health, my career, my life suffered. The entire trajectory of my life had shifted.

I charted a new direction to achieve the things I wanted, this time including my role as a caregiver, and my mother's well being. Caregiving remained challenging with its ongoing crises and unexpected twists and turns in every area of care management and emotional upheaval. But knowing how I wanted to feel; aligning my life goals with my caregiver role; and incorporating the best in productivity tools to my day to day life, caregiving became a powerful, positive force in my life.

As a caregiver I found it annoying to read articles or be told that I needed to take care of myself. Of course.