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To-do list got you down? Understanding the psychology of goals can help tick things off – and keep you on track

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kim-m-caudwell-1258935">Kim M Caudwell</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-darwin-university-1066">Charles Darwin University</a> It feels like we are living in busy times. According to the <a href="https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/work-life-balance/">OECD Better Life Index</a>, 12.5% of Australians report working at least 50 hours a week, higher than the OECD average. Many Australians are also <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-03/multiple-job-holders-hit-record-high-abs/102679190">working more than one job to buffer against cost-of-living pressures</a>. Psychology has long been interested in our goals – our mental representations of desirable outcomes. Much of this research is on how we form, pursue and attain goals, plus how goals make us feel. Across studies, we see a consistent pattern of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-013-9493-0#Sec34">successful goal pursuit and wellbeing</a>. So, having time to work toward our goals is important. With this in mind, what is the best way to get things done – and how can we get better at achieving our goals, especially when we feel time poor? <h2>Make a list</h2> Most of us approach multiple goals with the age-old “to-do” list. First, you write down everything you need to do. Then you “check” or tick things off as you do them. One reason to-do lists are useful is because we are more likely to remember things we haven’t completed, rather than things we have. This is known as the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-F1U4bV2m8">Zeigarnik effect</a>. While to-do lists are easy to write, they don’t always work. There are however <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/01/i-tried-4-to-do-list-methods-heres-what-worked">various approaches for to-do lists</a> that may improve their effectiveness. Another thing to consider is the wide range of apps, tools and platforms that can make tasks more fun and outsource mental load. Adding elements of game play like point scoring or competition – called “<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-gamification-could-revolutionise-creative-thinking-in-the-workplace-122852">gamification</a>” – can <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563221002867">help people work toward goals in educational and work settings</a>. Similarly, app-based reminders can help people reach <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2047487320905717">physical rehabilitation goals and form good exercise habits</a>. <h2>Finding your why</h2> Researchers have focused a lot on the psychology of why people pursue goals – and how this affects their approach to tasks. For example, some people want to complete a university degree because they want to get a job. Others may be more interested in developing skills or knowledge. In both cases, there is a desired outcome – albeit with differing reasons. Our goals can be differentiated by who or what is driving them. Goals that feel like our own, and for which we experience a sense of intrinsic motivation, are known as “self-concordant”. These goals represent enduring personal interests, are aligned with values and are positively <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-020-01156-7">linked to wellbeing</a>. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-006-9012-5">Goal orientation theory</a> offers a similar perspective. Using the same example, you may study so you score well on a test (a performance goal) or because you want to be sure you develop your knowledge (a mastery goal). Mastery goals tend to lead to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10869-010-9201-6">better results and self-regulation</a>. <h2>Juggling goals – 4 to-do tips</h2> So, what happens when we have multiple – perhaps even competing – goals, or goals that aren’t so enjoyable? We might want to finish writing a report or assignment, then read a few chapters of a textbook – but also go to the gym and binge a few episodes of our favourite TV show. In such scenarios, psychological science offers some insights into how we might stay task-focused, and on track to tick more items off our to-do list. 1. Beware the <a href="https://www.pwc.pl/en/articles/planning-fallacy-part-I-cognitive-traps.html">planning fallacy</a>. This happens when we underestimate the amount of resources (such as time) it will take to reach a goal. As writer and religious thinker William Penn put it: “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst”. Think through the all the steps and time required to complete your goal. 2. Monitor your progress. <a href="https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/91437/8/3_PDFsam_Does%20monitoring%20goal.pdf">Incorporating goal monitoring</a> into an activity can boost progress. And reviewing your estimations and expectations against your actual times and achievements can be used to calculate a “<a href="https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/estimating-time-for-tasks">fudge ratio</a>” to aid future planning. For instance, you could multiply your expected time on tasks by 1.5 to help buffer against the planning fallacy. 3. Focus on mastery. Self-concordant goals and tasks feel easier, and their underlying tasks may be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0146167215575730">less subject to forgetting</a>. Tedious but necessary goals (such as doing the dishes or filling out forms) are less intrinsically motivating. This means <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EBHRM-04-2014-0013/full/html#idm45933122746592">planning, reminders and support become more important to goal progress</a>. 4. Plan for derailments. People vary in their ability to plan and might forget to take a goal-directed action at an appropriate time (this could be one reason the <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-streaming-services-winning-the-battle-for-attention-and-the-feature-australians-want/9crrpafgd">average Australian streams 27 hours of video each week</a>). <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10463283.2024.2334563">Implementation intentions</a> bring our attention back toward our goals by linking them to an environmental marker. These simple “if-then” plans are shown to <a href="https://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/brp/research/constructs/implementation-intentions#:%7E:text=Implementation%20intentions%20are%20formed%20for,might%20otherwise%20undermine%20goal%20striving.">help overcome issues with self-regulation</a>. Such a statement might be “if I see the ‘next episode’ icon appear, I will get up and turn off the TV so I can read a chapter of my textbook”. With time being frustratingly finite, it is inevitable we will run out of time to do all of the things on our to-do list. Finding an approach that works for us will take time and effort. But it’s probably a worthy goal in itself.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/230399/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kim-m-caudwell-1258935">Kim M Caudwell</a>, Senior Lecturer - Psychology | Chair, Researchers in Behavioural Addictions, Alcohol and Drugs (BAAD), <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-darwin-university-1066">Charles Darwin University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-do-list-got-you-down-understanding-the-psychology-of-goals-can-help-tick-things-off-and-keep-you-on-track-230399">original article</a>. </div>

Mind

Ticked off trekker exposes family’s selfish act

Australian bushwalkers are bristling at one family’s claim over an entire viewing platform in Victoria. A picture, shared to Reddit, shows a family - of at least four - taking over at Wilsons Promontory National Park with their set up. Camp chairs, bags, and meal trays can be seen around them, blocking access to the viewing point for anyone else who might like to enjoy what the park has to offer. The area - well known for its stunning vistas and bountiful wildlife - is a popular weekend retreat for tourists and locals alike, and Parks Victoria have revealed that it gets “extremely busy over summer”. “This family [is] taking up an entire sightseeing platform so nobody else can take photos,” the poster stated. “It’s a long weekend,” he continued below, “so Wilsons Promontory was very busy. A lot of people missed out on great photos and views because these people wanted it for themselves.” One had a simple, if not entirely beneficial solution, declaring that “confrontation is not always wrong.” “As I walked past, a guy said ‘that's just f***ing rude’,” the individual behind the post responded. “Especially in the case of entitled twats, I feel sorry for the kids though, they have parents who convince them shit like this is ok,” agreed another. “This park have rangers?” enquired one. “I'd be getting them to get those a***oles outta there.” “Despite being 2hrs from civilisation, it was packed because it's a long weekend here,” the original poster responded. “There's a huge campground nearby that was completely full. “But I didn't see any rangers all day, just a bus driver shuttling people up a mountain because the car park at the top would have been overflowing if everyone drove up.” Another shared their past experience with the spot, noting that they’d seen the same thing happen before, and that they’d just gone over and taken pictures anyway. “They then realised they were in the way,” they said of their encounter, “apologised, moved a little, and we had a chat about the weather. People do dumb s*** all the time without taking into consideration other people.” “I’m wondering this too if maybe they didn’t connect that it was a specific overlook platform at the time of the pic,” mused one responder. Meanwhile, another only had “never assume malice when stupidity will suffice” to say. Some, however, had a little more compassion for the family in the picture, writing that there were a lot of people “describing how they'd solve this problem. How about ‘excuse me, can I take some photos here?’ like a normal person?” “Exactly. I cringed. Like what if they just thought they stumbled upon the spot and were like ‘let’s picnic real quick’ and didn’t know people were going out of their way to find that spot or just that it’s a viewpoint spot,” another offered in agreement. “I have to sympathise, we’re all humans and hopefully it was not malicious. Just parents trying to have fun with their children?” “Duuuude, seriously,” one more wrote. “The ‘perpetrators’ might not even know [that] what they’re doing isn’t cool. It looks like they hiked out there and saw a decent spot to chill.” Images: Reddit

Travel Trouble

New deadly tick-borne dog disease is on the move

While we continue to be occupied with the COVID pandemic, another life-threatening disease has emerged in northern Australia, one that's cause for considerable alarm for the millions of dog owners around the country. This disease — canine ehrlichiosis — is transmitted through the bite of a bacterium-carrying parasite called the "brown dog tick". This vector parasite is widespread in warm and humid areas of Australia, and its bite can be potentially fatal for dogs. Until the first cases were recently discovered <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/ehrlichiosis">last May</a>, Australia was considered free of the disease. However, <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-responses-to-outbreaks/ehrlichiosis-dogs">more than 300 dogs</a> in Western Australian and the Northern Territory have now <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-12-22/northern-territory-exotic-tick-borne-disease-ehrlichiosis-dogs/12997140">tested positive</a> for it. There have also been reports, from veterinary workers in the field, of dogs dying without being tested or treated. And it's spreading — infected ticks that carry the deadly bacteria have been detected in South Australia, according to Mark Schipp, Australia's chief veterinary officer. If you own a dog, it's vital you take precautions to protect it, as the outbreak is unlikely to be controlled any time soon. Fever, lethargy and uncontrollable bleeding Canine ehrlichiosis is caused by a bacterium called Ehrlichia canis (E. canis) carried by the tick. It first came to the attention of veterinary scientists in the 1960-1970s after affecting scores of military working dogs, often German Shepherds, in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. In Australia today, the disease appears most prevalent in regional areas and remote communities in WA and NT, where the ability to test dogs is restricted for logistical reasons. In some areas, such as communities in the Roper Gulf Shire, testing and treating dogs can be impossible during the wet season as <a href="https://ropergulf.nt.gov.au/our-communities/ngukurr/">severe flooding</a> can prevent veterinarians from accessing the region. However, with the detection of ticks in South Australia, veterinarians are concerned they could travel to more populous areas. When an infected tick bites a dog, the bacterium enters white blood cells and multiplies rapidly, causing signs of illness the owner will only first notice about two weeks after transmission. The disease is characterised by fever, decreased appetite, lethargy and bleeding (such as nose bleeds). Some dogs develop severe and rapid weight loss, swollen limbs, difficulty in breathing and blindness. One of the most serious effects of this disease is on the bone marrow, which can be fatal. Some dogs die of septicaemia as they can no longer fight off even the most innocuous of infections, or they bleed uncontrollably, which can also lead to death. Ticks expanding southward Every pet owner who has travelled into Australia with their dogs would know about the stringent testing procedures in place to ensure their canine companions do not bring canine ehrlichiosis into the country. This is especially important since the brown dog tick (the vector) has been in northern Australia for many years, but not with this particular infection. As with other serious animal diseases screened by biosecurity authorities, such as <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/pests-diseases-weeds/animal/asf">African Swine Fever</a> and <a href="https://www.animalhealthaustralia.com.au/what-we-do/disease-surveillance/screw-worm-fly/">Screw Worm Fly</a>, the bacterium E. canis is highly prevalent in tropical regions, including our closest northern neighbours (Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea) and the Pacific Islands. However, our <a href="https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-016-1480-y">2016 research</a> shows a southwards expansion of the brown dog tick's geographical range. The reasons why aren't fully understood, but may include increased pet travel around the country and possibly also climate change. Worse, the tick is also well adapted to indoor living and readily establishes within kennels or homes, and even in cooler climates. These conditions mean E. canis can spread to most parts of Australia. Protecting your best friend Just as our health authorities have been with COVID-19, the response from the state and federal veterinary authorities to this outbreak of canine ehrlichiosis <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-responses-to-outbreaks/ehrlichiosis-dogs">has been swift</a>. Most dogs will improve from treatment with antibiotics and other supportive measures. However, some may develop a chronic infection, which usually has a terminal outcome. The disease isn't contagious; only dogs bitten by the ticks will contract it. So it's vital animal owners are proactive with the application of parasite prevention. Owners should seek advice from their veterinarian about which <a href="https://www.amrric.org/resources/view/tick-prevention-for-dogs-and-cats/">products</a> will protect their dogs from contracting this disease. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23774841/">Research</a> has shown those that repel ticks and stop them attaching in the first place, such as effective tick collars, are the best way to prevent canine ehrlichiosis. <img style="width: 353.77358490566036px; height: 500px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7839675/1-2021-01-29t102743566.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/a0ff0d8d188241d6b197e8f8a2d98624" /> Important questions remain Since the first Australian cases of canine ehrlichiosis were diagnosed, veterinary practitioners have raised questions about how the disease arrived (considering our border controls), as well as how it's likely to play out in the future. Was the infection carried into Australia by a dog travelling from an endemic country, or was there an undetected incursion of the contaminated tick itself? If this were the case, there are implications for other, potentially far more serious diseases, such as rabies, entering the continent in a similar manner. And when exactly did the infection arrive? To be so widespread now would seem to imply its presence for quite some time, possibly several years. Finally, what are the implications of this disease spilling over to other animals — and humans — in Australia? It would seem our native marsupials are in no danger from this disease; however, the potential impact on dingoes is unknown. A similar, rare disease in humans — called "human monocytic ehrlichiosis" (HME) — is caused by a different, closely related bacterium (Ehrlichia chaffeensis) and is characterised by fever, chill, headache, nausea and weight loss. However, one <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17114689/">study</a> in Venezuela revealed 30 per cent of humans with HME were infected with a strain of E. canis. HME isn't known to occur in Australia, and the potential for E. canis to cause illness in humans here is currently unknown. The discovery of E. canis in Australia reminds us of the importance of quarantine measures to protect our pets, just as we take such measures seriously for the protection of humans. Peter Irwin is an emeritus professor, Amanda Barbosa is a post-doctoral research fellow and Charlotte Oskam is a senior lecturer at Murdoch University. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/protect-your-dog-from-this-new-deadly-disease-outbreak-we-still-dont-know-how-it-got-here-153794">The Conversation</a>.

Family & Pets

“I spoke about Dreamtime and I ticked a box”: Teachers admit they lack confidence to teach Indigenous perspectives

“I spoke about Dreamtime and I ticked a box”: Teachers admit they lack confidence to teach Indigenous perspectives The Australian government has <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-captain-cook-became-a-contested-national-symbol-96344">allocated tens of millions of dollars</a> to commemorate the anniversary of Cook’s voyage to the South Pacific and Australia in 1770. Though several events have now been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, others will take place online. This could also be an opportunity for teachers to disrupt the same white-washed versions of colonisation (brave, heroic and necessary) taught in Australian schools for centuries. There is a plethora of <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-histories-and-cultures/">education policy</a> mandating teachers incorporate Indigenous perspectives across year levels and subject areas. But in practice, this is much harder to do without Indigenous perspectives becoming trivialised or tokenistic. Policy isn’t enough Many teachers <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286450721_Aboriginal_education_More_than_adding_different_perspectives">don’t feel confident or capable</a> to include Indigenous perspectives in their classrooms. In <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/TVIJZWVUZUIBFH32JMIM/full?target=10.1080/14681366.2019.1704844">our recent study</a> in a cluster of primary and secondary schools, teachers were paired with Aboriginal community members to plan and deliver lessons. Initially, teachers reported feeling ill-equipped to genuinely include an Aboriginal perspective. One teacher said: I’ve always felt that I wasn’t very good at embedding Aboriginal perspectives in my lessons. It was always, for me, seen as a tick-box, and I spoke about Dreamtime, I ticked a box, and that’s it[…] you didn’t want to step on any toes, and you didn’t want to offend anyone, so you just touched – you just skimmed the surface. Teachers involved in the project had the best of intentions and a fierce willingness to learn. Some had been teaching for more than 20 years and openly admitted their ignorance towards Indigenous dispossession and the way schooling was used as a vehicle of colonisation. Another teacher expressed the problem of not having adequate skills to teach Indigenous perspectives: I’m blatantly aware how Anglo the room looks. But I guess I don’t want to do something that is tokenistic […] I don’t agree with tokenistic things. I think you’ve got to do it and do it well and I think to just have an Aboriginal flag in the corner, oh and now we’re going to do dot painting and, oh, right, now we’re going to do – you know? It’s kind of a bit insulting, really. Without Indigenous perspectives in the classroom, or with only tokenistic inclusion, students’ views on Aboriginal peoples, colonialism and “Australian history” are more susceptible to negative media and social attitudes. This leaves many non-Indigenous students ill-equipped to think critically about the world they live in. As one teacher said: If at school we teach it as tokenistic and then the media teaches it as, you know, stereotypical, then how are we going to produce the next generation of people that will work towards reconciliation and recognise the things of the past but move forward without these stereotypes, you know? I’m just following the syllabus Some teachers feel protective of the formal curriculum. In this instance, Indigenous perspectives become a tick-the-box policy, something to add into the lesson, but not so much that it interferes with the “real” learning outcomes. But what are these “real outcomes”? In the NSW curriculum, the stage two (years three and four) unit “First Contacts”, provides the earliest comprehensive glimpse of world exploration and the colonisation of Australia. The <a href="https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/hsie/history-k-10/content/803/!ut/p/z1/tVPLbsIwEPyWHnK0vHZCkh5ToLzLqwHiC3KCAVNwQrCg9Ovr9HWDtEL1wZK1szOz9hgzPMNM8aNccS1TxbfmHDF37rSaADbQbqMzrMKwMR55fr3V7U4cPP0A0IC4pOmQTr_hEw">key questions for inquiry include</a>: <ul> <li>why did the great journeys of exploration occur?</li> <li>what was life like for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples before the arrival of the Europeans?</li> <li>why did Europeans settle in Australia?</li> <li>what was the nature and consequence of contact between Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and early traders, explorers and settlers?</li> </ul> Note the use of presumptive (“great”) and passive (“settle”, “explorers”) language in these questions. The last dot point also raises concerns about how teachers will challenge entrenched whitewashed versions of history. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1440783318794295">Research</a> with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander high school students highlights the frustration Indigenous students feel, particularly during history lessons. As one student said: You always have to learn from a white perspective, especially in history. Why don’t they learn from us for once? Another student described the tension in the classroom as their teacher downloaded information from the internet: Usually half of the class would get into a very heated racial discussion, which we had to sit through. Because the teacher had no idea what he was going on about. Some of the stuff he had on the board, because he just copies it from the Internet, so some of the stuff he has got on the board is racist, and he is teaching us. So it’s like very […] uncomfortable. What will it take? Teachers must critically reflect on their own identity and how it potentially influences their personal bias and worldview. They must also be willing to confront the ongoing effects of colonialism in and outside the classroom and listen to Indigenous people. Teachers must aspire to adequately and systemically overturn the harm schooling continues to inflict on many Indigenous people. A critical dialogue of Cook’s arrival that familiarises students with topics like racial hierarchies and white supremacy is long overdue. Written by Michelle Bishop. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-spoke-about-dreamtime-i-ticked-a-box-teachers-say-they-lack-confidence-to-teach-indigenous-perspectives-129064">The Conversation.</a>

Caring

The amazing chart showing the ticking housing time bomb caused by Australians delaying major decisions

Australians are carrying significant mortgage debt into retirement because they are increasingly delaying major life decisions such as marriage, home purchases and even getting a full-time job. On Monday, 18 November the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) <a href="http://cepar.edu.au/resources-videos/research-briefs/housing-ageing-australia-nest-and-nest-egg">released a new report </a>which seeks to explain why so many Australians are now entering retirement with housing debt. In 2016, about 36% of homeowning households still had a mortgage at the point of retirement (age 60-64), up from 23% a decade earlier. The report finds that the situation can be explained by the fact that Australians are practising bulk procrastination and making practically every major decision later in life. The report finds that, between 1971 and 2011, the median age at which Australians: <ul> <li>Started their first full-time job increased from 16 to 25</li> <li>Finishing education increased from 17 to 22</li> <li>Had their first child increased from 24 to 31</li> <li>Married increased from 23 to 31</li> <li>Bought their first home increased from 27 to 33.</li> </ul> According to the report, these delayed decisions mean that the median age that Australians had paid off their mortgage has increased from 52 in 1971 to 62 in 2011 (and is likely to have increased since 2011). In addition, the delayed decisions are continuing well into retirement. For instance, the median Australian is now leaving the labour force at 64, rather than 61 in 1971, and entering aged care at 85, rather than 81 in 1971. Here's the data in chart form: <img src="https://img.seniorshousingonline.com.au/787cb58b6bac427d7cfab89e067d4a131f172e1b" alt="" width="650" height="298" /> Rafal Chomik, a CEPAR senior research fellow at UNSW Sydney, said that while high house prices and overall reduced affordability was a factor in delayed home purchase decisions, people needed to be wary about taking forever to get into the market. “Lifetime homeownership rates will decline if some people postpone purchasing a home indefinitely,” said Rafal Chomik. “Banks may be reluctant to lend past a certain age given retirement ages are increasing more slowly.” Centre Director John Piggott, Scientia Professor of Economics at UNSW Business School, said that with the Australian retirement system built on the premise of homeownership, excessive or indefinite deferral of home purchase can have consequences. “There is the potential that in the future more older people end up renting, and if so, we need a safety net to support them as the current retirement income system is failing renters,” he said. The Downsizing.com.au view This research brings a different perspective to the national debate about retirement incomes and indicates part of the problem is an emerging national psychology against taking early, hard decisions. As the old saying goes ‘there is no time like the present’. Australians need to be alert to, and wary of, this growing life decision deferral trend. While it’s a bad move to delay buying your first home, it is an equally bad move to delay making a decision to move from the family home into more suitable and more lifestyle-rich downsizing-friendly accommodation. Many Australians delay making a downsizing decision, and then find they are too old to move into a retirement village or land lease community and need to go straight into aged care. In doing this, they have missed the opportunity to live among a supportive community and access great lifestyle features and age-appropriate accommodation. Indeed, research shows that moving into a <a href="https://www.cityam.com/retirement-villages-extend-life-expectancy-women/">retirement village community can extend life by five years.</a> Written by Mark Skelsey. Republished with permission of <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.downsizing.com.au/news/626/The-amazing-chart-showing-the-ticking-housing-time-bomb-caused-by-Australians-delaying-major-decisions" target="_blank">Downsizing.com.au</a>.

Retirement Income

How many of these famous landmarks have you ticked off?

Incredible feats of architecture can be found on every continent. One of the joys of travelling is finally standing at the foot of that famous tower or wandering through the ruins of an ancient site you’d seen on the history channel. These incredible locations will make you want to pack your bags and book a flight ASAP. Feast your eyes on the world’s most famous landmarks. Statue of Liberty Where is it? New York CIty, NY, USA When was it built? 1875 Crunch the numbers: 93 metres tall, weighing a total of 225 tonnes. Fun fact: On a windy day, the Statue of Liberty can sway as much as 6 inches. Eiffel Tower Where is it? Paris, France When was it built? 1875 Crunch the numbers: 324 metres tall, weighing a total of 7.3 million kilograms. Fun fact: The Eiffel Tower was never intended to be permanent. It was due to be demolished in 1909 but was repurposed as a radio antenna. Big Ben Where is it? London, England When was it built? 1884 Crunch the numbers: The clock tower stands at 96 metres tall. The Great Bell inside weighs more than 13 tonnes. Fun fact: Many people refer to Big Ben as the tower that houses London’s most recognisable clock, however, Big Ben was actually the name given to the Great Bell inside. Leaning Tower of Pisa Where is it? Pisa, Italy (85km west of Florence) When was it built? 1173 Crunch the numbers: 57 metres tall, weighing around 12,500 tonnes with a current lean of 3.99 degrees. This means the top of the tower is displaced 3.9 metres from where it would be if it were perfectly vertical. Fun fact: The Leaning Tower of Pisa is actually starting to straighten. It has moved 3 inches in the last decade. Experts predict the tower will stand for at least another 200 years. Colosseum Where is it? Rome, Italy When was it built? Construction began in AD 72 and was finished in AD 80 Crunch the numbers: 189 metres long, 156 metres wide and 48 metres high. It can purportedly hold up to 80,000 spectators. Fun fact: Even though Ridley Scott was granted access to film his hit movie, Gladiator, at the Colosseum, it apparently wasn’t big enough. Instead, he built a replica in Malta at a cost of US$1 million. London Eye Where is it? London, England When was it built? 1998 Crunch the numbers: Standing at 135 metres tall, the London Eye rotates 26cm per second. A full revolution takes around 30 minutes. Fun fact: The London Eye has 32 capsules, one to represent each of the city’s 32 boroughs. However, they are numbered one to 33, skipping number 13 because it’s considered an unlucky number. Written by Bethany Plint. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.mydiscoveries.com.au/stories/famous-landmarks/?slide=all">MyDiscoveries.</a>

Travel Tips

10 items you should tick off your travel checklist before leaving home

No matter where you’re going, there’s some items you need to pack on every trip. But in the rush of getting your stuff together, it’s so easy for one of these often-forgotten but highly crucial items to get misplaced and left behind. So you’re not in a mad rush to figure out what’s missing on your next trip, we’ve put together 10 items you should tick off your checklist before leaving home. To see them all, scroll through the gallery above.

Travel Tips

Dutch woman in her 90s ticks “getting arrested” off bucket list

What’s on your bucket list? For most people, it’s travelling the world, spending time with loved ones and maybe doing something a little adrenaline-pumping like going skydiving. For one Dutch woman, however, that wish was simply to get arrested. <img width="500" height="500" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/33695/image__500x500.jpg" alt="arrested" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/> Pushing 100 years old, Annie’s unusual dream to be “booked” and “experience a police cell from within” came true last week, when officers at her local police station in Nijmegen-Zuid, Netherlands handcuffed the nonagenarian and placed her in jail. See her special moment in the gallery above and tell us in the comments, what’s the strangest item on your bucket list? Credit: Facebook/Politie Nijmegen-Zuid via Storyful Related links: <a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/02/elderly-man-dancing-in-street/">Sweet elderly man dancing in the street will make your day</a> <a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/02/grandma-paints-from-hospital-bed/">83-year-old gran creates stunning paintings from hospital bed</a> <a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2017/02/bride-asks-92-year-old-grandmother-to-be-her-bridesmaid/">Bride asks 92-year-old grandmother to be her bridesmaid</a>

Retirement Life

Planning ahead checklist: have you ticked all of the boxes?

There can be a lot of things to consider when getting your affairs in order, so here’s a handy checklist to make the process easy.Planning ahead can be an intensive exercise. Not only do you have to try and unearth all of your financial documents, but you have to sign a handful of legal documents and make some important decisions. Many people like to put it off for another day but the danger in doing this is if something was to happen to you, your family could be tied up in legal and financial costs trying to find a way to secure your assets. As with anything we’d rather put off, the sooner it’s done, the better. To help make the process as smooth (and painless) as possible, here’s a checklist of what you need to have in order.1. Prepare a will. If you’ve already done this, great! If not, it’s time to get it sorted. This legal document will clearly set out where to distribute your assets when you’re no longer here. It is usually best to get professional assistance to prepare your will. Some public trustee services, which are found in each State and Territory, may not charge a fee to prepare or update a will but only if and when they act as the executor of your will. If you’re over 60 or a pensioner, you may be exempt from charges when going through a public trustee. Double check with the public trustee in your State or Territory.2. Nominate your superannuation beneficiaries. One of the things that a will does not cover is your superannuation. If you don’t nominate who you’d like your super to go to, your fund’s trustee will do it for you. While they are obliged to act in your best interests, who they think should receive your super may be different to who you want to give it to. There are a couple of different ways to make a nomination but if you want to make sure, complete a binding death benefit nomination. This will tell the super fund trustee exactly which of your dependants you want your super to go or you can allocate it to your estate, in which case your executors will distribute your super according to your will.3. Appoint trustworthy people to make decisions on your behalf. It can be very handy to appoint an enduring attorney and an enduring guardian. While you may be fit and healthy now, it’s important to plan for whatever the future may bring – good or bad. Be prepared, put your plans in place and your mind will rest easier knowing someone has your back if things go pear-shaped.4. Funeral plans. Have you been paying funeral bonds or insurance that your family should know about? Many people purchase pre-paid funeral plans but if their family doesn’t know about it, how can they use it? When you sit down with your family to discuss your future plans, let them know about any funeral preparations that you have made. And, remember to keep any documentation for any pre-paid plan or insurance in an important documents folder.5. Get your finances sorted. Do you have bank accounts all over the place? What about investments in shares and property? Take the opportunity now to get all of your finances in order. Not only is this a great thing for you in the short term, it’s even better in the long term. Think about consolidating accounts, minimising any assets outside of super and put the structures in place now to ensure your beneficiaries don’t see most of their inheritance in the tax man’s hands.6. Housing options and where to live. Will you decide to downsize to be closer to family or the beach? Or will you move into a retirement village to socialise with other retirees? While there’s a trend towards retirees staying in their family home, many still consider moving to small residences to reduce the costs of maintenance or to simply be closer to their grandchildren. Talk with your family and discuss what will be the best option for you.7. Round up all of your important documents and put them in the one spot. Together with the documents mentioned so far, your folder should also contain any identification documents, such as your birth certificate and passport. Some of the other key documents to put in your folder include: marriage certificate, advance healthcare directive or living will, personal insurance policies, home and contents insurance, bank account details, superannuation papers, investment documents and medical insurance papers. By storing this all in the one place, perhaps in a home safe, your family will be prepared and organised.8. Have a conversation with your partner and family. Call the family over and let them know what you’ve planned. Inform them of your decisions about what you would like to happen in the future. This is the best way to ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to fulfilling your wishes. Also, remember to tell them where you store all of your documents! Many families have gone through unnecessary legal costs or stress because they weren’t told about what preparations their family member made.  9. Consider seeing a professional to make sure everything is in order. It’s a good idea to make sure everything is in order now, not later when you may not be able to do anything about it. While you’ll need a lawyer for some of the finer details of your estate planning, particularly if you have extensive assets, or assets held in other businesses and trust, or you are considering setting up one or more testamentary trusts in your will, don’t hesitate to see them again should you be concerned or unsure of anything. This article is for general information only and cannot be relied on as legal advice. You should seek formal legal advice on your specific circumstances.

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Planning ahead checklist: have you ticked all of the boxes?

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Dutch woman in her 90s ticks “getting arrested” off bucket list

Planning ahead checklist: have you ticked all of the boxes?

Planning ahead checklist: have you ticked all of the boxes?

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