Planning for a Future of Activity and Purpose OR Fading Away in Retirement?

I never wanted a retirement where I had little to do with all my free time. In fact, I couldn’t even imagine how I would go from a busy career of working for 40+ years, averaging 50 hours a week, to not having to get out of bed in the morning to get something done. I always assumed I would just keep on working, slowly turning down the pace, and easing into retirement when I reached age 70. Well, it didn’t work that way for me…my pre-retirement phase was short-circuited as I mentioned in the first post, and I had considered myself a “reluctant retiree”.

How to accommodate this abrupt change from going 60mph every day to “having little to do”? As I write this I also think of all those among us that have been pushed out of their normal routine of going to work every day, and now are faced with “what to do?” or how best to use their free time.

I am a hard-core “Type A personality” and simply can’t change my DNA to become a “Type B”. Sure I can relax (if I try), and I can even sit and do almost nothing for a little while but then I need to get busy! I tend to be more of a “doer” and a “worker”, so how to cope with the sudden and unanticipated retirement?

When I am lacking motivation, I begin to get stressed and we all know that is not good. So, I need to get motivated, right? Ideally, I would have planned for my retirement phase and have a list of things I want to accomplish, things that I didn’t have time for in the past, and things “that float my boat”. Sure, I have things I want to do, but for me, since I have always been deadline-driven, this is quite different. Motivation becomes an issue when I have no  deadline.  So the solution, at least for me, is to set some goals, “plan the work, and then work the plan” as we used to say in manufacturing.

I am now building a routine and goals to provide me the inherent motivation I personally need. Here is what seems like a reasonable path forward for this type-A guy. I will admit, though, that I am still trying to gain control over all this free time so that I do feel productive. I believe that feeling productive and valued in retirement will be one of the critical success factors at prolonging health and vitality in this stage. So, here is what I am doing and perhaps this will help you…

·        I have a sleep schedule; it has been proven that 7 to 8 hours of sleep are necessary to help our bodies rejuvenate, and we should have a regular bedtime and waking time. I am getting more sleep, but still struggling with setting a fixed schedule.

·        I do “Bill Time” every morning; this is the first 30 to 60 minutes dedicated to my own personal purposes like journaling, reflecting, or planning what I want to accomplish. This is where I am working with my digital planner and my digital journal, and typically have a cup of coffee or tea with me. Now that the weather is better, I try to do this outside on the patio.

·        I have a regular structured breakfast regimen.

·        I allocate exercise time daily, typically 45 minutes.

·        I try to have time every day for my passion, which is photography.

·        I am now scheduling time to build this blog and expect to eventually monetize it. I hope to allocate 3 hours a day to build this new business.

·        I obtained a role as a “gig-worker” and now work from home.This is adding “Purpose” to my life because I am now helping people through this unemployment crisis.

Bottom line…I am starting to fill up my days again with structured activities. I am taking control and owning my time and feel like I am making things happen, instead of just passing time as a retiree.  

My advice based only on my personal experience as a reluctant retiree…if you find retirement came to you sooner than you planned, or you are now out of work, decide what you want to accomplish, plan to constructively use your free time and push yourself. Set an ambitious goal. Make something big happen.

Why not set big challenging goals for this free time you now face, so big and personally interesting to you that you can’t wait to get up every day excited to pursue them with vigor and passion? This is exactly what I am aiming for as I build this structure into my day.