We all know we should write a will, to ensure our loved ones are taken care when we die.

The event (death) is inevitable, and yet few of us (including me*) have gotten around to writing our will.

For many of us, we probably won’t do anything about it until we have reason to believe the event is closer than we thought.

It’s interesting that we don’t always act in our own best interest, or in the best interests of our loved ones.

Why is that?

I can only talk about the reasons (aka excuses) for my own inaction:

  1. There’s always something more urgent to do. A will is important, but seldom perceived as urgent (until it’s too late).
  2. There’s always something easier to do. The act of writing is simple. But after recently helping someone else get their wishes down on paper, I can see how figuring out what to write is not easy.
  3. There’s always something more straightforward to do. For example, to get this right, you should find a legal advisor. But it takes time and effort to find one you like but also respect / that’s near but also not too near / that’s human but also not too friendly!

If there’s no will, what’s the way?

I need to find a way to make this:

  1. More urgent and/or more important, perhaps by following Eisenhower’s Urgent / Important Principle.
  2. Easier, by keeping it simple and just focusing on the most important basics
  3. More straightforward, by just picking an advisor who I already know and trust, or an advisor who is trusted by someone that I trust.

What the hell has this got to do with cybersecurity?

Nothing. It’s a reminder that you need to write your will. Do as I say, not as I do!

But.. If improving something is in your best interests but you have not acted, maybe there’s something here to consider.

Can you do anything to make it more urgent or important, easier, or more straightforward, so you can make some progress?

PS I can help make it easier or more straightforward. I’ve done this many times before, and probably with organisations that have the same challenges as you do.

* Am I ashamed that I have not written a will? No. It’s certainly far from ideal, but I am human and in the real world, there’s always something we should do that we have not yet done. It’s still not an excuse to let this situation persist though, so I will sort this out. I suggest you do the same.