How do you approach major decisions or life changes? Are you a planner who maps everything out in advance? A procrastinator who puts things off until the last minute? Or a crasher who dives into changes abruptly, without much planning?
Colleen Ryan Mallon, vice president of marketing and advancement at Frasier Meadows, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Boulder, identified three common customer segments among CCRC prospects and residents: planners, procrastinators, and crashers. People who move to senior living communities tend to fit into one of these three categories — moving early, in time, or late (sometimes much too late).
>> Related: 6 Key Considerations for Your CCRC Decision Process
What’s your senior living decision personality style?
Morrison Living conducted a multi-part study on the Silent Generation (born 1928–1945) to learn what motivates their choices. In the third installment of that study (2012), Morrison examined why older adults decide to move into senior living communities — whether independent living, CCRC, assisted living, or nursing care — and looked closely at the planner, procrastinator, and crasher mindsets identified by Mallon.
The planner
You choose your meal before you arrive at a restaurant, finish holiday shopping early, and keep a strict routine for home maintenance. You plan vacations down to the hour.
Planners tend to move sooner rather than later, often while still healthy and active. They view a senior living move as a practical, logical decision rather than an emotional one. For planners, relocating early is a way to safeguard future health and maintain independence by ensuring access to services and support before a crisis occurs.
Many planners want to control the timing and location of their move. Some have seen the benefits firsthand when family members lived in senior communities; others have experienced the strain of making difficult care decisions for aging parents and want to avoid placing that burden on their own families. Moving proactively lets them build a support system and settle into a new routine on their own terms.
>> Related: Senior Living Communities Must Appeal to Data-Focused Decision-Makers
The procrastinator
You treat deadlines as targets to meet at the last minute. Warnings and reminders are suggestions rather than commands. You might hit snooze a few extra times and hope everything still works out.
Procrastinators delay senior living decisions for as long as possible. They understand the benefits — maintenance-free living, social opportunities, services and amenities, and, in a CCRC, access to a continuum of care — but common hesitations include concerns about finances, loss of independence, fear of aging, or the emotional difficulty of downsizing and moving.
For many procrastinators, the move happens gradually. It’s often prompted by a steady decline in health, increasing difficulty managing a home, or simply the emotional readiness to accept a change. Once they settle into a senior living community, many procrastinators express relief and remark that they wish they had moved earlier.
>> Related: “The Last Move”: Confronting Mortality with Your CCRC Decision
The crasher
You show up uninvited, take last-minute chances, and hope things work out. You might wait until a crisis forces a decision.
Crashers often delay until an emergency makes senior living necessary. A sudden stroke, a serious fall, or another health crisis can eliminate the option of planning and thrust both the person and their family into urgent care and housing decisions. In some cases, crashers are simply procrastinators who waited too long; in others, denial and fear prevented timely planning.
When a move is forced by crisis, people may skip independent living and move directly into assisted living or skilled nursing, missing the chance to acclimate to community life, make friends, and build support networks beforehand. These abrupt transitions often shift the decision-making burden to family members and can leave the person feeling out of control, anxious, or resentful.
>> Related: Family Caregiving Can Present an Array of Stressful Challenges
Playing the odds
Somewhere between 50 and 70 percent of people over age 65 will require significant long-term care at some point, ranging from help with daily activities to full-time skilled nursing. In the U.S., most of that care (about 83 percent) is provided by unpaid caregivers, typically family members.
Knowing these odds can help frame your approach: do you want to plan ahead and choose the timing and place of your move, or leave those decisions to loved ones during a stressful, urgent situation? Being proactive can preserve choice and reduce the burden on family members if long-term care becomes necessary.
If you are interested in exploring CCRCs in your area, our free online CCRC search tool is a helpful place to start.