Knowledge Hub

What happens if I die alone at home?

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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‘What happens if I die alone at home?” is a question that was posed in our Facebook group, Before I Go: End of Life Conversations. Sadly, if you haven’t thought about this in advance, then what happened to Grace’s Dad could happen to you or someone you know. He was…

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What IS a living funeral?

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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Look at this clip of Kris Hellenga, who had a living funeral and Jane Duncan Rogers who speaks about them afterwards A living funeral is just like you might imagine your own funeral to be.  But instead of you being dead in a coffin you are still fully alive and…

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The Before I Go Method DiY end of life planning course

What Happens (To My Work) When You Die?

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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When you are self-employed, or have a small business, what happens to your work when you die is a bit more complex than if you are an employee. For instance, if you are a health practitioner, or a professional who has clients, what would happen to those clients if you…

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Courage, Context and a Chat

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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Top tips from Jane in the latest podcast out with Tessa Apkepi, are all about how to have a conversation about death and end of life planning. Having a death chat allows people to focus on the practicalities; to talk about death without going into drama. “Somebody has to have…

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Getting Unstuck With Jeff Ikler

Getting Unstuck With Jeff Ikler

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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Jeff Ikler Jeff Ikler has dedicated his career to helping others – as an educator, executive and career coach. Today, Jeff helps others gain insight about themselves to develop engaging, satisfying and rewarding lives. This commitment to helping others, he said, is rooted in his childhood.   Jeff’s first experience with…

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A Gift This Valentines Day

A Gift This Valentines Day

By Sean Grant
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This Valentines Day  Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to show your partner how much you care, so why not make this year extra special by getting them something meaningful and also practical?  End of life planning is something that many don’t think about, but it’s an important conversation to…

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Dealing With Bereavement

Dealing With Bereavement

By Sean Grant
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Coping With Bereavement  Coping with bereavement can be a difficult and overwhelming experience.  Everyone reacts differently, and there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to grieve. It’s important to remember that grief is a natural process, and to take the time to honour the life of the person who has…

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Ask What Their Understanding Of The Situation Is This is an obvious question when you think about it, but it is very often overlooked in these days of the medicalization of dying and death. The more common situation is that someone is told what is wrong with them, and assumptions are made as to what this means. In particular, the assumption that the patient wants to be kept alive (sometimes at seemingly all costs) can often get in the way of what that person may actually want. As a relative or friend, you may be in a better position to simply ask ‘what do you understand is happening to you?’ When I asked that of a friend who was dying in 2014, she said she knew she was coming to the end, and she accepted that. But she wanted her body to get a move on – she was finding the slowly drawn out nature of her death to be quite a challenge. She was also quite clear she wanted a certain medication to be stopped, and another started. Finally, she told me she had said all that needed to be said, and that she was ready to go. This conversation helped me to be with her during this time. Be Willing To Accept What Is Happening To Them It can often be the case that family members are the ones who are most distressed about their loved one dying. Hence the ironic situation sometimes heard of when the one who is dying ends up comforting the one being left behind. It can really help a dying person if you are able to simply acknowledge anything they want to say, accepting it without denial. This means you will have to come to terms with it yourself, putting their needs ahead of yours. It’s not uncommon for those who are closest to the dying person to actively want them to die, so that their suffering is ended. I remember simply wanting my late husband to be out of pain, and free from a body that just was not working any longer. I knew it would be difficult for me without him, but when you love someone, you don’t want them to be suffering, even if it means it will be harder for you. Listen For The Metaphors Often a dying person will ‘give a message’ to a close loved one, in such a way that only that person can understand it. Iit is often a message demonstrating their understanding of what is happening. Because I had read lots of stories of this happening, I was very aware when Philip told me he wanted to watch what had been his favourite TV show, Countdown. By this time he had been in hospital for 6 weeks, and had been told there was nothing more that could be done. He was too ill to be moved, so we knew the end was coming soon. He said he wanted to watch Countdown, a popular British programme focusing on numbers and word games. Wanting to watch TV at all was very unusual as he hadn’t requested this for the whole of the previous weeks. But when I heard that he wanted to watch ‘Countdown’, I knew he was telling me that he was ‘counting down’. I found this to be very comforting – the fact that I knew he knew what was happening helped me to be calm for the next couple of days as he became weaker and weaker, less awake and unable to speak. This is a time for tenderness, open hearts and respect shown to all concerned; and it is made easier when we are able to talk honestly and openly about dying, about death and about grief. It is only when those topics are forbidden in some way, or that we are frightened of them, that problems arise. Naturally conversing in this way is part of a good end of life, and part of any plan that is made for that end. I go into this in much more depth in my book, Before I Go, inviting you to start conversations now about this subject, regardless of whether you are caring for someone who is dying or not. The more we become comfortable with this kind of conversation, the easier it will be to accept what is the one thing that will happen to us all. Learn More If you’d like to learn more, and get your End Of Life Plan completed (If you haven't already) check out the Before I Go Method here. Also, if you’d like to check out my book Before I Go, you can do so by clicking here.

3 Tips On Talking To Someone Who Is Dying

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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How Do You Talk To Someone Who Is Dying? How on earth do we talk with someone who is dying? Selena was becoming more and more frail. It was clear that, though in good spirits, her body was nearing the end of her life. She kept having visits to hospital,…

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Start Your End Of Life Plan In 2023

Start Your End Of Life Plan In 2023

By Sean Grant
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What is an End Of Life Plan? An end of life plan can help ensure that your wishes are respected and that they receive the care that aligns with your values and beliefs. It can also help ease the burden on loved ones who may be unsure of what the…

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6 unusual ways to have a more enjoyable Christmas and festive season

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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6 unusual ways to have a more enjoyable Christmas and festive season Traditionally, it is a time when, according to the media, life is good, filled with blessings, and enjoyment is had by all. But the actuality, as you well know, may be a little different, and for some people…

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Why National Grief Awareness Week Is Important

Why National Grief Awareness Week Is Important

By Sean Grant
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National Grief Awareness  National Grief Awareness Week, held annually from December 2nd – 8th, is an important time to recognize and honour the grief that can come with the death of a loved one.  This week gives those who have experienced loss the opportunity to recognize their grief and to…

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What Happens If You Don't Have A Will

What Happens If You Don’t Have A Will?

By Sean Grant
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A Story Of Someone Who Didn’t Leave A Will Rock star Aretha Franklin didn’t leave a last will and testament.  What was she thinking?   Well, I assume she wasn’t thinking.  Her lawyer is reported saying he spoke to her repeatedly about having a last will and testament or a trust. …

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How To Start Your End Of Life Plan

How To Start Your End Of Life Plan

By Sean Grant
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What Is An End Of Life Plan? An End of life plan is a document which allows you to organise your affairs in the approach to and after death.  It allows you to take control of how you’ll be cared for, your finances, important documents, funeral matters, legacy and much…

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3 Benefits Of Having A End Of Life Plan

3 Benefits Of Having An End Of Life Plan

By Sean Grant
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What Is An End Of Life Plan? An End Of Life plan is a document which illustrates how you’d like your affairs to be arranged in the lead up to, near to, and after your death.  It’s a common misconception that an end of life plan is primarily about creating a…

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What Is End Of Life Planning

What Is End Of Life Planning?

By Sean Grant
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How Do You Define End Of Life Planning? What exactly does end of life planning mean?  It’s a straightforward question and it’s one most people would be able to answer partially to begin with.  The usual suspects would crop up first, creating a will, power of attorney, appointing an executor.…

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Get Your Will Written For Your End Of Life Plan

Get Your Will Written For Your End Of Life Plan

By Sean Grant
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What is Will Aid 2022? Will Aid is a campaign that occurs every November in which volunteering solicitors waiver their fees for writing basic wills.  Solicitors up and down the UK invite their clients to make donations of around £100 and in return they will get a fully written, professional…

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The Growing through Grief Podcast

The Growing Through Grief Podcast

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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Diana Curtis We make a conscious effort to learn how to grieve a loved one. We are aware of the challenges we might be forced to face, the pain we must endure, and the growth we should seek. But what about our own transition? How prepared are we to talk…

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End Of Life Planning Is Like Growing A Seed

End Of Life Planning Is Like Growing Seed

By Sean Grant
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What is Seed Gathering Season? Seed Gathering Season is a campaign which inspires everyone to gather seeds, nuts and fruits to grow into trees for the future.  The festival starts each year on the 23rd of September (the autumn equinox, considered the first day of autumn) till the 23rd of…

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Securing training funding – Interview with Emma Satchell

By Karen Luedtke
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Imagine receiving funding for your BIGS Facilitator Training? That’s exactly what happened to one of our licenced facilitators! Emma Satchell was successful securing training funding for her place on our BIGS End of Life Plan Facilitator Training. Emma is now one of our certified and licenced facilitators. Read our Interview…

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What Happens After A Funeral

What Happens After A Funeral?

By Sean Grant
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The Aftermath Of a Funeral What happens after a funeral? Not a lot – unless you were very close to the person who died. For example, those who didn’t know the Queen well will have returned to their own lives after her death, and that’s what most other people did…

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The Health In The Real World Podcast

The Health In The Real World Podcast

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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Chris Janke Chris Janke has been a personal trainer and group fitness instructor since 2004. Welcome to Health in the Real World. Health in the Real World Podcast brings together personal trainers, doctors, motivational speakers, massage therapists, chiropractors, weight loss gurus and clients, acupuncturists, and inspirational and healthy people of…

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How To Deal With Grief

By Sean Grant
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Feeling Grief Is A Part Of Being Human  Humans have the unique ability of being aware of life’s mortality, yet we are still surprised when grief shocks the system.  Often when you are grieving a loved one, you find yourself taken off track, your routine destroyed and your sense of…

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3 Reasons To Help Others Create Their End Of Life Plan

3 Reasons to Help Others Create Their End Of Life Plan

By Sean Grant
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Why is End Of Life Planning Important? Most people view end of life planning as something of a reaction.  Thus, end of life planning is seen as something that has to be done in relation to a good or bad event.  Won the lottery and want to make sure your…

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How to get creative with funding your BIGS Facilitator Training

By Karen Luedtke
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Are you keen to do the BIGS End of Life Planning Facilitator Training but don’t have the means to pay right now? Here’s what to do…

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The Queen's Funeral, Excellent Planning

The Queen’s Funeral, Excellent Planning

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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The Queen’s Last Message Huw Edwards on BBC TV was speaking about the Queen having approved everything that was happening yesterday with her funeral. Obviously, for such a huge occasion, planning is essential, and it has been in place for decades (known under the code name London Bridge). It impacts…

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Lessons From The Queens Death Plan

Lessons From The Queen’s Death Plan

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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Learning From The Queen’s Death The lessons we can learn from our Queen’s death and apply to our own mini-realms of family, friends and property. During her reign, the Queen has given us examples of many kinds of things that remind us we are all human. Even in her final…

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Elizabeth II has died - what happens now

Elizabeth II has died – what happens now?

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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A Plan Nobody Wanted But Was Always Necessary Queen Elizabeth has died – what happens now is something that has been known about for many, many years. The Queen’s funeral plans, nicknamed ‘London Bridge’ now comes into operation. This well-thought through plan will be followed by all those involved in…

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Who should I have as executor of my will

Who should I have as executor of my will?

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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Who should I have as the executor of my will? The answer to ‘who should I have as executor of my will?’ is often ‘someone in your family’.  But what if there isn’t an obvious person in your family to take on this role?  What do you do then?  In…

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The Women On A Mission Podcast

The Women On A Mission Podcast

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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Sue Revell  Sue Revell wants to make a difference in this world. With over 30 years of coaching and leadership experience, Sue is on a mission to encourage strong women around the world to think big and become the best versions of themselves.  Coaching internationally, Sue’s clients are primarily world…

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Why It’s Important To Talk About Death

Why It’s Important To Talk About Death

By Sean Grant
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Why Talking About Death Matters  Talking about death isn’t exactly the best ice breaker in the world, but it’s certainly great at helping people open up and talk about issues not normally brought up in everyday conversation.  Human beings are self-aware in knowing life is finite, but surprisingly little time…

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What Is Afternoon Tea Week

What Is Afternoon Tea Week?

By Sean Grant
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What Makes Afternoon Tea Week Special? Afternoon Tea Week is celebrated between August 8th and August 14th, so if you’re looking for an excuse to go out for a treat, you’re in luck.  The week-long activity celebrates socialising with loved ones, trying out local businesses and (most importantly) indulging in…

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3 Tips on How To Practice Mindfulness

3 Tips on How To Practice Mindfulness

By Sean Grant
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Practising Mindfulness  After a busy day at the office, hectic social life or a large family gathering, to practice mindfulness is a skill which can bring you closer to the present and make you feel much more at ease with your thoughts.    Have you ever been through periods of your…

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to organise your belongings is a problem everybody faces at some point in their lives. Let’s take a look at ways of tackling the dilemma together. 

How Should I Organise Belongings?

By Sean Grant
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How Do I Start Organising My Belongings?  Have you ever felt drained at the thought of emptying your garage?  Or is the idea of sorting out stacks of paperwork starting to make your stomach turn?  Often enough you ignore objects because they can remind you of a time that’s no…

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Do You Need An End Of Life Plan? Yes! The best way to understand why an end of life plan is important is to picture what your life would be like without one. What would your finances look like if you hadn’t prepared a will? Do your family members know how you'd like your funeral to look like? Is there any way of securing your legacy for future generations to know what your life was like? Without an end of life plan these questions, amongst others, will all be up in the air. For finances, it’s likely your partner, family or the state would take control; is that something you’d like? Without a plan for your funeral, others would choose details for you; would you be happy with that? They say a person dies twice, once when they die and second, when their name is mentioned for the last time, are you happy with your legacy? The question of having an end of life plan essentially comes down to how much uncertainty you want to leave behind after death. If you’re someone who doesn’t care, then this isn't for you. But if you’re someone who wants to make things easier for yourself and loved ones after your death, then an end of life plan is right for you. The Advantages of An End Of Life Plan Save Heartache After the loss of a loved one it can be a difficult time for all, but especially those who are responsible for taking care of the duties afterwards. An end of life plan will leave instructions for loved ones, so that no arguments, regrets or decisions will need to be made for after your death. This will bring peace of mind for everyone involved, making it easier for loved ones when grieving. Save Money By having a plan in place, it allows you to prepare for what the cost burden will be. You’ll be able to work out the costs for funeral services or dealing with possessions, meaning that no hidden costs show up for family members to pay. This helps avoid any unnecessary financial burdens which may hit families at an unwelcome time and which may take years to pay off. Avoid Upset Talking about death helps bring families together. Not often will everybody agree, but having the important conversations now and getting them out in the open will be a great exercise in bringing people together. It also means that no surprise pieces of information are brought up after death, which may hurt previous memories and experiences. Talking to loved ones about your intentions in creating an end of life plan will be a big step forward in having a more honest and realistic picture of what life will look like after you’ve died. How have you got on with doing anything about your own end of life plan? Let us know in the comments. Create Your Own The Before I Go Method is a fantastic resource to get you started (and finished!) with your end of life plan. It has all the resources and materials you need and does a fantastic job in taking you through each step. Check it out here.

What Is An End Of Life Plan?

By Sean Grant
Posted in

Is an End Of Life Plan Important?  An End of life plan is a document which allows you to organise your affairs in the approach to, and after, death.  It allows you to take control of how you’ll be cared for, your finances, important documents, funeral matters, legacy and many…

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Why Talking About Death With Family Members Is Important

Why Talking About Death With Family Members Is Important

By Sean Grant
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How Do You Plan On Talking About Death With Family Members? Talking to family members about death can be a daunting prospect, but leaving it till a later date can make things even worse.  Has there ever been a conversation which has been shut down because you’ve been told ‘not…

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3 Reasons to Choose Green Embalming for Your Burial

3 Reasons To Choose Green Embalming For Your Burial

By Sean Grant
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Why Green Embalming is the Future for the Burial Industry  The process of green embalming has the power to change the burial industry forever. As eco-conscious families around the world look for a more earth-friendly way of embalming bodies, this article looks into the reasons why green embalming for your…

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3 Tips on Making End of Life Planning Easier

3 Tips on Making End of Life Planning Easier

By Sean Grant
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How to make end of life planning less difficult  Making your end of life plan easier can be more enjoyable than you think. From brainstorming ideas, finding support, and finding knowledge, in this article you will be able to discover all kinds of good gems to help you make your…

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Children's Hospice Week

Children’s Hospice Week

By Sean Grant
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What is Children’s Hospice Week? A children’s hospice is an organisation which helps facilitate palliative care for young children. Children’s Hospice Week, which runs from June 20th to June 26th this year, helps spread awareness around the UK for all related child hospice services.  This year, the theme of Children’s…

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3 Tips on Finding Out What your Legacy is

3 Tips on Finding Out What your Legacy is

By Sean Grant
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What will your legacy look like? If you had to choose one thing you’d be remembered for, if you were gone tomorrow, what would it be? In other words, can you identify your legacy?  It can be quite difficult; depending on the life you’ve had until now, you may not…

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The Growing Through Grief Podcast

What is National Growing For Wellbeing Week?

By Sean Grant
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Can Gardening improve emotional wellbeing? Clean cut grass, fresh flowers, birds chirping, there can be a subtle peaceful environment when a garden is looking healthy, can’t there? Similarly in life, to make something great it often needs time and commitment to have it grow into something special.  Today I’ll be…

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How-To-Plan-Effectively

How To Plan Effectively

By Sean Grant
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How will you be celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee this week?  Street parties, family gatherings and a whole host of events, this week’s Jubilee has been planned effectively to get this summer off to a great start!  Like all great things, preparation is key and the Queens platinum jubilee is no…

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How-to-deal-with-Stress

How to deal with Stress

By Sean Grant
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Why is dealing with stress so difficult? By its own definition, stress is your body’s way of telling you to take action.  As students across the country face their final exams, let’s look at what stress is, how to manage it and how it can be used to get your End…

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Have you ever had to play Sherlock Holmes

Finding Documents After Someone Dies

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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Have you ever had to play Sherlock Holmes? Missing garden equipment, important documents, finding passwords, finding documents after someone dies can be a nightmare! It’s often a mystery trying to find these details after a loved one has passed. To celebrate Sherlock Holmes National Day on May 22nd, we’ll be…

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how to talk about death and dying

How to talk about death and dying

By Jane Duncan Rogers
Posted in , , ,

Talking about death and dying can be met with horror especially if the conversation seems out of the blue. A colleague Juli told me she had told her daughter what she wanted for some of her funeral service, and was taken aback when her daughter rounded on her and told…

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Why-is-End-of-Life-Planning-Important

Why is End of Life Planning Important?

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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The Importance of End of Life Planning Why is End of Life Planning so important? Surely at some point it’ll all get taken care of, right?  Wrong! The vast majority of people wait until it’s too late to start their End of Life plan.  It’s not until stress, worry or…

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What-age-should-you-start-end-of-life-planning

What age should you start end of life planning?

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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When is the best time to start end of life planning? It’s a common question and the truthful answer is from age 18, i.e. when you are an adult. However, realistically, this is probably not going to happen – remember when you were 18? It’s most likely you felt that…

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the gratitude guy podcast with Jane DR

The Gratitude Guy Podcast

By Vee Tanner
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Interview on the Gratitude Guy Podcast. David George Brooke, the Gratitude Guy interviews Jane Duncan Rogers and her journey on how she came to do what she does today, training people to become End of Life Planning Facilitators. David wants to know how her journey began, starting with when she…

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Yeukai Business Show podcast

The Yeukai Business Show podcast

By Vee Tanner
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Listen to Jane’s interview on the Yeukai Business Show podcast. Jane and Yeukai spoke about taking care of your own end of life plan first and inspiring others in your business. So, listen in now Welcome to Episode 421 of the Yeukai Business Show. In this episode,  Jane Duncan Rogers…

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How to Have Difficult Conversations

How to Have Difficult Conversations

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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The Challenges of Difficult Conversations  In life, it’s all too easy to avoid difficult conversations until we’re forced to confront them.  When that happens, we find ourselves feeling uncomfortable, out of place and rushed as we’re sprung into making decisions at what can seem to be the worst possible time. So,…

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What-is-National-Reflection-Day

What is UK National Reflection Day?

By Jane Duncan Rogers
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The U.K. reflects on its National Day of Covid-19 This day is UK National Reflection Day. Two years ago, the country was turned upside down in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. Countless lives have been lost, families bruised, and all generations suffered. Today, we come together to reflect over…

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