Offer a menu, not an open question
'Let me know if you need anything' puts the work of asking onto the person with least capacity to ask.
The BeingKind editorsPublished How this is written
Why it lands
Open offers fail because accepting one requires the carer to identify a task, judge whether it is too big to ask, and then articulate it — three jobs on top of the one they already have. A short list of things you are definitely willing to do removes all three. People take up concrete offers at dramatically higher rates than open ones, which is the whole finding.
How
Send three specific things with times attached: “I can do a supermarket run Saturday, sit with your mum Tuesday afternoon, or take the bins out every week. Any of those useful?” Repeat the list every few weeks, because needs change.
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