If you’re near retirement, there’s a good chance you are in active information-gathering mode, combing the Wild West of the internet for the best advice on how to prepare yourself for such a huge life transition. And there is great information available. You can find endless commentary on things like Roth conversion strategies, investment allocation, qualified charitable distributions, safe withdrawal rates, and so forth. Before you know it, if you aren’t careful, you’ll find yourself on information overload, feeling like a confused, muddled MESS.

If you want to rock retirement (and of course you do), you’ll want to focus on the right things. To put it bluntly, you’ve got just one shot at getting this right, so your choices here matter. Don’t let the cacophony of information and advice distract you from creating a retirement plan you can have confidence in. Even worse, don’t let the onslaught of information shut you down or cause you to focus on the wrong things.

Last month on the Retirement Answer Man podcast, we asked listeners that were already retired what piece of advice they’d share with those approaching retirement. Peter’s advice is spot on,  “I am glad that before I started my retirement journey, I took the time and effort to organize my thoughts and finances. Knowledge is power. Knowing where you want to go in the future and how you will afford to get there creates the proper mindset to move forward with confidence and without regrets.”

BUT HOW?! You ask.

You need focus. You need concentration. You need a planner mindset vs. a comprehensive, all-inclusive plan. You need to get a little W.H.A.A.M. in your retirement planning. 

So roll up your sleeves, stop humming “Careless Whisper” (caught you, didn’t I!), and we’ll figure out how to channel this unwieldy giant called retirement planning into a mindset you can use to remain confident and in control.

W: What

“What?” in its many, many forms is where you should always start. Asking yourself, “what do I want to accomplish?” or “what should I do next?” can tactically determine what you are trying to solve and what needs to be done. What opportunity should you be taking action on? What risks should you consider mitigating? 

Answering your what will remind you of where you want to go and determine the next step on your journey.  That sounds simple enough, but it’s not. All too often, tactical decisions leap in front of the core thing you’re trying to accomplish. Then before you know it, you’ve wasted hours crafting or implementing a strategy that fails to move you closer to your goal.

Recently, I spoke to a couple within one year of retirement. As part of their transition, they plan to move from the west coast, where work took them, back to Virginia for retirement. They spent 20 minutes detailing what they’re considering doing with their investments in order to prepare for the transition.  They’ve been brainstorming on creating a bucket strategy, individual investments they should change, and how to factor in market conditions.  It was clear to me that they found the situation confusing. It was also clear that they weren’t sure exactly where to start. 

I asked them one question: How much will it cost you to live once you’re in Virginia?  They looked at each other, then back at me, and said, “We’re not sure.”  That answered the what. The first thing they needed to do was create a model budget of their living expenses in Virginia.

As you’re thinking through your own what, you can easily become distracted or spiral into other considerations. Keep the main thing the main thing. Pick your what, and then we’ll move on to determine the how.

H: How

Now that you’ve determined what your next step is, it’s time to dig down into how to do it. Think about how as your choice of tactics to accomplish the task.

In the case of our example couple, the how was to create a model budget for life in Virginia. Creating the budget involved subtasks, like developing estimates for healthcare, utilities, taxes, and travel. Once they finish, looking at the numbers will give them an understanding of what they’ll need from their assets to rock retirement.

A: Assistance and Accountability

Nothing happens without a bit of assistance and accountability. They’re the lubrication that helps your W.H.A.A.M. move forward.

Assistance can come in many forms. It could be a tool like a spreadsheet or software program. It could be a friend showing you a method. It could be a guide that walks you through the process of accomplishing a task. For example, let’s assume your what is evaluating long-term care options and your how is getting quotes for three types of policies to consider. In this case, your assistance might be a competent insurance broker to guide the process and explain in simple terms the benefits and drawbacks of each policy.

For the couple wanting to retire and move to Virginia, assistance might be a budget spreadsheet and the internet. 

When it comes to accountability, so much depends on your personality – are you the type of person who needs to commit to someone else in order to feel accountable? Is merely setting the expectation for yourself enough to keep you on track? Like many other aspects of retirement (and life) planning, knowing yourself better will help you pick the right course of action to make things stick.

M: Momentum

Accomplishing little tasks incrementally creates momentum. Momentum is a wonderful thing when you’re tackling something big like retirement planning. It makes things manageable. It allows you to see progress. It gives you agency. All of these make the process more exciting (which it should be!) and lead you to the logical question: What next?!?

Retirement planning feels huge. The stakes are high, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed or put too much emphasis on the numbers. Mindset matters! Keep your focus on the W.H.A.A.M. and start building that forward momentum, so you won’t miss your one shot at truly rocking retirement.