Lesson-Planning Your Final Wishes: Educational Design for the Digital Afterlife | Paula Soito

This Common Lesson Design Mistake Ruins Most Trusts In this episode, Paula Soito, instructional designer and educator with 31 years in the classroom, joins host Niki Weiss to explore why people know they need an end of life plan but still never finish one, how cognitive load and bite-sized learning change that, and what happened when Paula started working on My Final Playbook and realized her own family had gaps she never saw coming. CHAPTERS 0:00 This Common Lesson Design Mistake Ruins Most Trusts 1:00 Welcome Paula: 31 years in the classroom, now helping creators teach online 2:09 Why democratized education created a new problem: bad product design 4:05 How Paula came to work on My Final Playbook and what she found 6:40 Cognitive load, working memory, and why people's eyes glaze over 9:10 Mini wins, dopamine, and the momentum that actually moves people to act 12:23 What dopamine has to do with completing your end of life plan 14:03 Why Niki uses stories of Prince, Whitney Houston, and Aretha Franklin 16:30 How to use a hook, a story, and a visualization to break through avoidance 19:11 Paula goes through My Final Playbook and finds gaps in her own trust 22:44 How to start the conversation with aging parents without sounding greedy 26:07 The antiques in the garage and why families fight over things nobody wanted 28:56 Andragogy versus pedagogy: how adults learn differently than children 31:20 Why her mom finally created a trust after months of gentle conversations 34:49 Paula's takeaways: teach to transform, not to overwhelm WHAT YOU WILL LEARN - Why knowing you need an end of life plan is not enough to get one done, and what instructional design does to close the intention action gap - What cognitive load is, why it causes people to shut down on complex topics like death planning, and how mini lessons and bite-sized wins work against it - What the difference between andragogy and pedagogy means for how you present end of life planning to a family member who keeps resisting - Why Paula found gaps in her own trust after working on My Final Playbook, and what digital assets most estate attorneys are still not covering - How to start the conversation with aging parents in a way that does not sound like you are chasing an inheritance Start your plan and take the free assessment: https://finalplaybook.com/main-page LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/death-and-dying-in-the-digital-age/id1775499012 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2MQkOgvyPQnLEz1fO9BHkY Subscribe: @DigitalLegacyPodcast FOLLOW US Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/endevo.digitallegacy TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@endevo_digitallegacy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/endevo_digitallegacy/ Download the My Final Playbook app: Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=endevo.life.finalplaybook Apple App Store: [link coming soon] #deathandyinginthedigitalage #ENDevo #digitallegacy #digitallegacypodcast #myfinalplaybook Disclaimer: The Death and Dying in the Digital Age channel is for educational purposes only and does not provide medical, legal, or financial advice. Views expressed by the host and guests are their own. Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions. The channel is not responsible for actions taken based on its content. Re-uploads or ANY use of our content is prohibited.