The first week of August is usually the time that I take a holiday with my family. However, 2021 is the first year that everyone in my household is working and could not take the same week off, leaving me with four days (Monday was a holiday) to fill by myself!

I started the week off with a hot air balloon ride, which was exciting, but I was pretty nervous leading up to it.  I do not fear heights, but I do have a fear of crashing to the ground from the sky. So naturally, due to this fear of crashing, I usually do an “I’m gonna die” checklist of my affairs before traveling, and the balloon ride was no different.  I prepared as any errrr regular person would? I planned out my last outfit, updated my Go-Binder, and said my goodbyes to my amused daughters, who, may I add, thought I was being ridiculous.

As some of you may know, I am currently reviewing what happens with social media accounts in blogs through ETP Canada. Evaluating how each major company has set up their pre-planning options for the inevitable death of the user has positioned me in a unique place of having my social media affairs “mostly” organized.  However, several of the social media supergiants do not have pre-planning options, which means while I was organized, I COULD be more prepared.

I decided that I would set up my FREE social media Will using the service on Epilogue over the long weekend (pre-ballon ride) so that I could have my wishes documented for the social media accounts that did not provide any pre-planning options. But, of course, being human and despite my best efforts, procrastination set in, and I enjoyed mimosas and sunshine instead.

I am happy to report that the hot air balloon ride went incredibly well. So, with my feet planted firmly on the ground again, I logged onto Epilogue and, as Mel Robbins says, counted 5,4,3,2,1 to stop the procrastination train and got working on my free social media Will.

First of all, I would like to emphasize how user-friendly Epilogue made the process.  The platform dove me right into questions about what types of social media accounts I held, verified which email address I associated with the particular social media account, and asked what I wanted to be done with the account upon death.  Considering that I wish to delete everything upon my death, the process took me approximately five minutes! I imagine that if I wanted to be memorialized that maybe the process would take seven minutes, but that is it, it was so simple that I thought perhaps I did something incorrectly! Epilogue even offers instructions on using social media pre-planning options for those that apply and a section for additional comments that you would like to leave for your family.

The entire process was painless, informative, and quick.  It makes me wonder why I was procrastinating in the first place when it took less time to set up my free social media Will than it takes to brew my coffee! Another blog topic for another day, I suppose!

As we move further into the digitization of our lives, it is vital to take five minutes to consider what we would want to happen to these accounts.  You may think it doesn’t really matter; it is “just a Facebook account.” But, let me tell you…. it matters.  It matters to your children, family, and friends who end up receiving birthday reminders, photo notifications, and “friendaversary” reminders on those accounts.  I see that salt rubbed into the wounds of grief with every single family I work with at ETP Canada, and I guarantee that yours are bound to be no exception. So set up your social media wishes today; your loved ones will greatly appreciate it one day.