Daily routine for someone living with dementia

What is a printed daily schedule?

The Alzheimer's Association suggests that caregivers plan the day and write the plan down. The Center for Brain/Mind Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital calls such a plan "a written or visual guide to the day's engagements and tasks", and says it can be a whiteboard or a large paper calendar.

This guide covers the paper part: what to print, how to word it, where to hang it and how to keep it current. Questions about sleep, mood or behavior, medicines or safety at home belong with the person's own doctor or care team. More large-print pages for home are on our dementia and memory hub.

Our free Today page puts the whole day on one sheet:

• At the top: "Today is" with a line for the day and date, and Morning, Afternoon and Evening to circle.
• Below: six lines, one for each part of the day, top to bottom in order. Each line has a picture, one to three words and a Done box to check.

Plan the day on scratch paper first

The list follows what the Alzheimer's Association asks caregivers to consider before making a plan.

1. Write down how the person has always run their day. Early riser or late?
2. List what they like and what they are good at.
3. Note the times of day they are usually at their best.
4. Pencil in meals, washing and dressing, with plenty of time for each.
5. Add rest. The Alzheimer's Association describes a balance of activity and rest, and says not to worry about filling every minute.
6. Leave gaps for things you did not plan.

For ideas to fill the open parts of the day, see our guide to dementia activities at home.

What goes on the schedule?

• Six lines at most. Our Today page has six. That is a ceiling, not a target. The Center for Brain/Mind Medicine's tip: "Keep your plan as simple as possible."
• Only today. Thursday's haircut goes up on Thursday.
• The fixed points first: washing and dressing, meals, rest.
• Then what is different about today: a visit, a phone call, the day program, an appointment.
• The person's day, not your to-do list. Bills and errands stay on your own list.

The picture squares on page 3 include Medicine, and the blank page has room for any set times the care team has given your family.

A sample day on the Today page

This is an example, not a recommendation. It is page 1 of our free file, and it follows the morning, afternoon and evening shape of the Alzheimer's Association's example plan.

The 20 picture squares on page 3 swap in on other days: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Coffee, Tea, Walk, Outside, Rest, TV, Phone call, Family visit, Visitor, Doctor, Car ride, Medicine, Shower / wash, Home, Music, Garden and Drink. Cut one out, glue it into the picture box of a line on the blank page, and type or write the word beside it.

At the top, the same morning might read: "Today is Tuesday, March 3", with Morning circled.

How to word each line

On the sample page each line has one picture and a label of one to three words in 26 point type. Keep to that pattern when you fill in the blank page.

1. Name the thing. "Lunch", not "It is time to eat your lunch now".
2. One thing per line. "Walk" and "Shopping" are two lines, not one.
3. Use the person's own word. "Supper" if they have always said supper. "Mass" in place of "Church". "Anna visits" in place of "Family visit".
4. Write for an adult. Plain words, nothing cute.
5. Print in large, plain letters. No cursive, no italics, no words on top of the picture.
6. Leave clock times off, unless the time is the point. The sample page has none. For an appointment, write it in: "Doctor's office, 2:00".

Rules 2, 4 and 5 follow the DEEP guide (in Sources), written with people living with dementia: one piece of information at a time, simple language that does not talk down, bigger type, an uncluttered font, pictures beside the text. The same guide says photographs are often preferable to drawings, so a family photo glued onto a line works as well as one of our picture cards.

Where should you hang it?

1. Pick a spot the person passes many times a day. The Alzheimer's Society suggests a place where it will be seen often, such as on the fridge or by the phone.
2. Hang it at the person's eye level, not yours. The NHS says signs at home should sit slightly lower than normal, because older people tend to look downward. If the person mostly sees it from a chair, check it from that chair.
3. Check the light. Stand where they will stand. If a window or lamp shines off the page, move it.
4. Clear the space around it. Take down the magnets and flyers nearby, so the schedule sits on a plain background.
5. Keep it in one place. Same wall, same height, every day.
6. Make it easy to reuse. Slip the page into a sheet protector and check the boxes with a dry-erase marker, so tomorrow starts clean.

How do you keep it current?

1. Set it up at the same time each day, the night before or first thing: the day and date, then today's parts of the day from top to bottom.
2. Go through it together at regular moments. The Alzheimer's Society suggests a habit of checking a calendar or board on waking, at each meal, or each time you make a drink. Point to the line and say the words.
3. Check the Done box when each part is over.
4. Circle the part of the day as it moves: morning, afternoon, evening.
5. When plans change, change the page. In the Center for Brain/Mind Medicine's words, "The routine is there to help you, not to control you."
6. Offer a choice with two pictures. Hold up "Walk" and "TV", and let the person pick which goes on the page.
7. Show everyone who helps. A relative or aide who arrives at noon can see from the checked boxes which parts are done.
8. Look it over once a week. The Alzheimer's Association suggests asking which activities went well, which did not, and whether there were times with too much going on or too little to do.

Labels around the home

The same picture-and-word style can go on doors and cupboards. The NHS describes home signs that are clear, with words and a picture that stand out from the background, placed a little lower than usual.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good daily routine for someone with dementia?

There is no single routine that suits everyone. The Alzheimer's Association suggests starting from how the person has always structured their day, what they like, and the times of day they are at their best. One sample day: shower or wash, breakfast and a walk in the morning, then lunch, rest and a phone call in the afternoon.

How many things should be on a dementia daily schedule?

As few as the day needs. Our free Today page has six lines at most. You can also put up the morning only, then the afternoon after lunch.

Should a daily schedule show clock times?

It does not have to. The Alzheimer's Association's example plan is set out by morning, afternoon and evening, not by the hour, and our sample page carries no times. Where a time matters, such as an appointment or a set time from the care team, write it on the line.

Can I use a whiteboard instead of a printed page?

Yes. The Alzheimer's Society and the NHS both mention a whiteboard for the day's tasks. A whiteboard is quick to change. A printed page adds a picture to every line and looks the same each day. You can use both: the page in a sheet protector, with a dry-erase marker for today's one-off.

What if reading has become hard for them?

Every line on our Today page has a picture beside the word, so it does not rely on reading alone. The Alzheimer Society of Canada suggests color cues or pictures when words are no longer understood. What suits one person is a question for their care team or a speech-language pathologist.