"Oh, no!" Where did the year go? Did it feel like it flew by for anyone else?! I swear it was just July a moment ago. Are you regretting the loss of time? Rather than making the last weeks of the year a reflection of "Oh no" moments, let's make it an "Ah, yes" opportunity to look ahead for things to accomplish in the coming year.
How are you going to welcome the new year? Will you tackle some of your bucket list or home improvement items, or perhaps start that new hobby you've been thinking about? What are you looking forward to?
For me, writing things down gets things I want to remember to do off my mind; however, I am a perpetual list maker. Taking action is my downfall. Can you relate? So, starting with my new lists, I am adding 'an action step' for each task I write down. For instance, if closet purging goes on my list, my first step to move the task forward is purchasing bins for organizing and scheduling a charity truck pickup. I hope that adding an action step with the goal will propel me to close a task. Ah, yes! I will try to add at least one step to all the items on my list of to-dos.
Now, let's look at December as an "ah, yes" month for planning to accomplish things. You'll have 12 fresh new months to get things done come January.
A welcome perpetual item on my January list is connecting with more companies to help employees easily transition to Medicare. My first step to accomplishing this is asking you if you know of a company that we can help make Medicare 123 easy.
Your testimonials are a perfect way to tell folks at work how our team helped you, and you can help others with their Medicare planning needs by making it 123Easy for them too!
By American Retirement Advisors
American Retirement Advisors helps retirees and pre-retirees navigate Medicare, estate planning, and retirement income — so you can enjoy the retirement you've earned.
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Easy Eddie's Take
The approach of adding action steps to goals is especially smart when it comes to retirement planning tasks. A lot of people tell me, "I know I need to review my Medicare plan during Open Enrollment, but I keep putting it off." Here's what I tell them: don't just write "review Medicare" on your list. Instead, write "call ARA on Monday to schedule Medicare review" or "gather my current Medicare Summary of Benefits by Friday." That specific first step makes all the difference.
The same goes for other year-end retirement tasks. Instead of "check my 401k," try "log into my 401k account and confirm I'm contributing enough to get the full company match." For 2026, that 401k contribution limit is $23,500 (or $31,000 if you're 50 or older). Rather than "think about Social Security," make it "request my Social Security statement at ssa.gov to see my projected benefits." Most people are surprised when they learn this takes just five minutes online.
A little planning today makes January much less overwhelming, and that's what makes getting organized 123easy.