Panic Day is one of the strangest, yet most cathartic holidays you’ve probably never heard of. When’s the last time you were under an impossible deadline? Or had a particularly frustrating time dealing with family? Panic Day is the day you get to press the panic button. Scream, jump onto your desk, or just laugh it off. Do whatever will help you let it all out!
Once you’ve gotten over your panic, first acknowledge that emotion then evaluate what caused it. Stress and anxiety comes from any part of your daily life. At LifeSite, a common cause of stress for our users is an illness or death in the family. In fact, it’s one of most common “life stresses” you can find.
So while LifeSite is meant for any stage in your life, you’ll benefit the most when you make plans ahead of time. Whether it’s for you or a loved one, here’s 5 things you can do after Panic Day to stay prepared.
- Start the conversation Let’s face it, talking about disaster or end-of-life planning with loved ones can be difficult even in the best of times. Our advice: take it one question at a time. It’s natural to get frustrated when forced to confront uncomfortable subjects, so if things get heated break up the conversation into sessions to lessen the stress for everyone. It also gives everyone a chance to think through the questions on their own. When you’re ready to begin the conversation, check out 5 digital preparation questions you should ask.
- Files, files, and more files Once you’ve had the conversation, it’s time to get to work. Start collecting everything you can, from paper documents to passwords to online files. Make sure you pull everything together at once. You can’t take stock of what’s missing and what you’ll need to ask someone for unless you can see the whole picture.
- Get organized Not everything is going to be necessary to hold onto. For most families, you’ll have collected a manageable amount of physical docs, but the same won’t be true for digital files. By 2020, we’ll have produced 40 zettabytes of digital data. That’s comes out to nearly 5,200 GB of data per person on Earth! Digital clutter can be daunting, but just like the conversation, tackle this one area at a time. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, here’s some suggestions on how to best organize your digital and online clutter.
- Digitize Don’t forget about your physical docs. Once you have a handle on what you’re dealing with, get those documents scanned. There are any number of scanner apps that will allow you to quickly scan documents with your phone, so make use of them! LifeSite’s free mobile app comes with a simple but powerful mobile scanner.
- Store everything Congratulations! You’ve asked the tough questions, done the hard work of collecting your loved one’s most important information, and then organized it all. The last thing you want to do is make sure it’s all stored somewhere safe and accessible. Remember, you’re protecting this information not only from fire and other natural disasters, but also online thieves. Choose wisely! Here’s 5 reasons our 78 year old super user moved his information online.