Every morning I blend kale and spinach with a little coconut water and chunks of pineapple. That’s how I get my daily greens. It’s good for me to eat my veggies but I could never eat that much raw. It’s just hard. So I blend a mountain of greens into a glass and pound it.

Financial planning is a lot like eating your vegetables. People know they need to do it, but they just don’t want it to be hard. After all––these are vegetables, folks. This isn’t as fun or easy as buying an iPad at the Apple Store. It might be exciting for you and I, but we’re the anomaly here.

The solution is simple

The more we ask clients to do all at once, the less likely it will be for them to stay motivated. In other words; if it’s hard they won’t do it, even though they know they should.

One way we help is by breaking big projects down into simpler tasks that are easier to complete. Our brains like checking things off our todo list. It’s just science. Studies have shown that quick, micro-interactions get done, while larger, multi-step processes are often procrastinated.

A real-world example

Here’s one example of how we do this. Instead of asking our clients to send us a long list of documents during the onboarding process, we have them sign a limited power of attorney which allows us to collect everything we need from their professional team on their behalf. They just provide us the email addresses, sign the POA, and we’re off to the races.

To improve the overall financial health of America, we need to make it easier for people. This is a heavy lift––kind of like eating an entire plate of kale. It’s on us as advisors to blend it up into a smoothie so they can easily consume it. We can help people enjoy the benefits of financial health, without all of the pain.