One thing I’ve learned through my work as a gerontologist, author, and mindful aging strategist is that people often don’t know what they don’t know about aging. And even when they recognize the need to prepare, they aren’t always sure where to begin or whom to call.
That’s a big part of why I created Grand Plans. I believe we can get ahead of much of the GeriDrama that accompanies aging through education, preparation, and honest conversations. But knowing what needs to be done is only half the equation. We also need to know where to find the people, tools, and information that can help us do it.
So I’m excited to introduce a new addition to Grand Plans:
The Grand Plans Resource Library
Tools, Experts & Ideas for Aging Mindfully
You can find it here: The Grand Plans Resource Library – Grand Plans
This growing collection brings together hundreds of helpful resource listings, including professional organizations, planning tools, educational materials, books, podcasts, government programs, and services that can help individuals and families navigate aging more confidently.
And because I believe preparation should be manageable, I’ve organized the library around the 20 Steps of a Grand Plan, the framework outlined in my book, Grand Plans 2.0: How to Mitigate GeriDrama in 20 Easy Steps.
The first 10 steps address the practical essentials: legal documents, financial planning, advance directives, housing, caregiving resources, family communication, and even knowing when it’s time to retire from driving.
The second 10 steps focus on the equally important human side of aging: health, relationships, community, technology, flexibility, resilience, purpose, and legacy.
Each step includes resources to help you move from thinking about aging to actually preparing for it.
Need an elder law attorney? There’s a resource for that.
Wondering how to make your home safer and more accessible as you age? You’ll find organizations that can connect you with occupational therapists and aging-in-place specialists.
Looking for a way to start a difficult conversation with your parents about their future? I’ve included conversation guides and planning tools.
Want to explore volunteer opportunities, learn about transportation alternatives, find a helpful podcast, or read a great book about aging? Those resources are there, too.
My hope is that the library becomes a useful starting point whenever an aging-related question arises.
A New Partnership with APlan2Age
I’m also delighted to share another development that complements this work: I’ve joined forces with APlan2Age and am serving as the Jacksonville Home Team Lead.
APlan2Age is a nationwide initiative focused on helping individuals and families navigate aging through education, proactive planning, and connections with knowledgeable professionals.
Its Home Team approach brings together people working in different areas of aging services, including healthcare, housing, legal and financial planning, caregiving, home modifications, and other essential fields.
This collaborative model makes tremendous sense to me.
Aging decisions rarely fit neatly into one category. A conversation about whether someone can remain safely at home might involve an occupational therapist, a financial planner, a home modification specialist, an elder law attorney, and a caregiving professional.
And families often need help figuring out which professional to contact first.
Through my role as Jacksonville Home Team Lead, I’m helping build connections among local professionals and resources so that individuals and families in Northeast Florida have a stronger network to turn to as they plan for aging.
It’s an exciting opportunity to put preventative gerontology into practice at the community level.
APlan2Age Resources Are Now Part of the Library
One of the first ways I’m bringing these efforts together is by incorporating many of APlan2Age’s educational and planning resources into the Grand Plans Resource Library.
These are particularly useful for some of the most important steps in my framework, including:
Write It Down: Organizing essential information and creating a plan for the future.
Lawyer Up and Bean Count: Understanding the legal and financial considerations that come with aging.
Find Help: Identifying professionals and services that can provide guidance and support.
Real Talk: Starting meaningful conversations with family members about wishes, responsibilities, and expectations.
Contingency Plan: Thinking through possible changes in health, housing, caregiving, and independence before a crisis requires immediate decisions.
APlan2Age’s emphasis on communication, coordination, and collaborative planning aligns beautifully with the Grand Plans philosophy.
I’m especially enthusiastic about resources that help families have important conversations earlier. So much GeriDrama develops when people make assumptions about what their loved ones want, what resources are available, or who will step in when help is needed.
A little planning and communication can make an enormous difference.
A Library That Will Keep Growing
The Grand Plans Resource Library is a work in progress, and that’s exactly how I intend to keep it.
As I discover useful organizations, new planning tools, thoughtful books, podcasts, and innovative services, I’ll continue adding them.
I’ll also be drawing on the expertise and connections of the APlan2Age Home Team and other professionals working to improve the experience of aging.
The library is designed to be useful whether you’re in your 40s and beginning to think about your parents’ futures, in your 60s and preparing for retirement, or in your 80s and reconsidering your living arrangements.
You don’t need to have a problem to begin preparing.
In fact, that’s the whole point.
Start Exploring. Start Planning.
My invitation is simple: Take a look at the Grand Plans Resource Library. Find the chapter or topic that speaks to your current circumstances. Explore a few resources. Share something useful with a friend or family member.
And most importantly, take one small step.
You don’t have to figure out everything about aging today. But you can begin building a plan that will serve you and the people you love for years to come.
Because the best time to get ahead of GeriDrama is before it begins.
Explore the Grand Plans Resource Library: [Insert library page link]
Learn more about APlan2Age: aplan2age.org
Discover the 20 Steps of a Grand Plan: mygrandplans.com
Susanna Barton, MS Gerontology, is the founder of Grand Plans, author of Grand Plans 2.0, a mindful aging strategist, and Jacksonville Home Team Lead for APlan2Age. Through her work in preventative gerontology, she encourages individuals and families to prepare for aging through education, planning, and candid conversation.
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