How to get end of life planning actually done

How to get end of life planning actually done.

You know end of life planning is important. And you know you want to get your end of life plan actually done. You can put a few things in place first, to set yourself up for success.

I was on holiday last week doing a jigsaw. I realised, that experience of piecing together a jigsaw puzzle was very similar to getting your end of life plan done.

Taking the analogy of the jigsaw, here’s what I did to help myself be successful.

Decide to do it

I decided I wanted to do a jigsaw. Very important! You have to make a decision that what you want to get done is actually what you want to do!)

Get prepared

I bought one from a charity shop that I liked the look of (this is the preparation – I could have just waited until we got to where we were going to see if there was a jigsaw there, but then it wouldn’t have been so easy to do)

With your end of life plan, you can set yourself up for success by having a template to help you create your plan (Like my Before I Go Workbook).

Set the intention

I had the intention to do it on holiday where there was little internet to distract me. Meaning I set aside some time to do it.

With your end of life plan, you can do the same. Some people have taken it with them on holiday; others have set aside an hour each Sunday morning; yet others have committed to answering one question each day.

Give yourself a quick win

When I started I got a quick win, because the outer pieces of the jigsaw had already been separated. You can give yourself a quick win with your end of life plan by simply going through the workbook and completing the bits you already know the answers to (even your name, address and NH or social security number are a start!)

Start with the easy bits

Then I began on the main bits that seemed to be easiest. Another tip – do the easier bits first so you have a sense of satisfaction early on in the main project of getting your plan done.

Keep going!

And finally kept on going until the last bit was in place, ta da!

Sometimes your end of life plan can be a case of keeping on keeping on, let’s be honest. There’s quite a few pieces to it after all (if you’re not sure what they all are, read this article here – 8 essentials for creating a good end of life plan)

And by the way, the ‘keeping on going’ took a glass of wine and a bit of persistence, both highly recommended!

Make an appointment with yourself

Final hint: With a jigsaw, it will likely stay out until you have finished it. So make sure your Workbook and cards stay out where you can see them too.

How this translates with an end of life plan is to make an appointment in the diary with yourself to spend half an hour (max) answering questions in your workbook. Or noting down an action you need to take. Or doing that action.

And that’s it!

Reward yourself

Then you get to reward yourself, in whatever way floats your boat (although I also highly recommend mini-rewards along the way too…)

Next Steps

If you’ve been inspired by this, and want to make it even easier for yourself to get your end of life planning actually done, we have several different ways to support you:

Play with our End of Life Planning Card Deck alongside your print Workbook to make it an entertaining game with your friends/family Get the Bundle

Take our self-study Before I Go Method® online course, and have me cheering you along all the way!

Get the personalised help of one of our amazing licensed Facilitators