That thing on your to-do list that you really *should* do

Oct 16
I am the poster-child for procrastination.

For a solid 20 years, “write a will” appeared on my to-do list. I think it first appeared after I got married, we had a few small assets, and were moving overseas. At first it was just a mental note, “I really should do this”, and over time it migrated from one to-do list to another - in notebooks, on scraps of paper, in my phone. It would have appeared alongside other to-do items over the years…
  • Buy ticket to Beijing
  • Purchase pram off Gumtree
  • Sign up to Reading Eggs
  • Buy school shoes for the boys
  • Apply to Deakin for DPsych course
  • Pick up the high-school textbook order 

Time passed. Still no Will. And then, somewhat embarrassingly, my eldest child turned 18.

Okay, Sarah. This is getting ridiculous.
What finally got me over the line? An advertisement from SafeWill pointing out just how simple the process could be. Everything was prepared for me. I just had to fill it in, download it and print it.

Turns out I didn't need more motivation. I needed less friction.

So when I read about our obligations in the new Code of Conduct (“4.7 Maintaining Continuity of Services”), I decided I needed a friction-free plan.

Introducing the Continuity of Services Template

As Australian Psychologists we are obligated to have a plan for what happens to our clients if we die or are unable to practice.

This isn't the kind of task most psychologists wake up excited to tackle - “how about I ponder my mortality this morning?!”. It's confronting, it's easy to put off, and there are plenty of other things competing for our attention.

But it is important.

So I decided to make the process as easy as I possibly could. 

… and I discovered that it’s not very simple to make things simple! Psychologists work in many different capacities - in a hospital multi-disciplinary team; as a subcontractor at a group practice; a director with employees; or perhaps a telehealth-only sole trader. There is so much information we automatically know, or know where to find - but would be a mystery to anyone trying to “pick up the pieces” if we are not around. A plan needs to include access to all the essential information that we have at our fingertips, such as our AHPRA registration number, home address, contact details for our Executor / Power of Attorney… but also those details that relate to our clinical practice - the location of where we work, how to access client files, passwords… but more than that, there needs to be a plan for what happens next.

I created a Continuity of Services Template that is designed to be completed in one sitting. It walks you through the practical information and decisions you need to consider, with suggestions on how you might respond, so you don't have to start with a blank page wondering, “Where on earth do I begin?”

You can sit down with a cup of coffee, work through it, save it somewhere sensible, and then briefly review it once a year to make sure it is still current.

Done.

One small job that you can finally take off the list. Because we know that psychologists care about our clients and being Code-compliant - it’s just that sometimes we need a plan that is easy enough to actually do.

And, speaking as someone who waited until her child was 18 to write a will…

…I am very much in favour of making things easier.
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