Realize that retirement is more than just stopping work. It’s a significant life transition and merits planning. Include those things in your planning calendar that made your job interesting and challenging and provided a sense of fulfillment. You can do this by setting goals, including structure in your days, scheduling the activities in your planner and being proactive. Be the one to take the initiative to make new friends. Many current friendships formed at work will likely fade over time.
Health is essential, so continue to keep physically and mentally active. Of course, I recommend my book, “How to Grow Older Without Growing Old,” for health and wellness as you age, although it focuses more on prevention and maintenance rather than cures.
Among those who choose active retirement are those who cut back on their hours by downsizing, outsourcing, or delegating if they are self-employed, or taking early retirement and starting a small business of their own if they have an entrepreneurial spirit. It may involve elevating a current hobby into a business or starting a new one. Perhaps one they dreamed of doing someday.
Passive retirement comes in degrees of activity; no two people have identical lifestyles. If you spend more time reminiscing about the old times than you do about setting goals and dreaming about the future and its possibilities, I’d say you are more on the passive side of retirement.
I highly recommend volunteering, even though you may also need to earn extra money to help finance your retirement. Volunteering can be an active experience, and numerous studies have linked it to improved health and well-being, as mentioned in Part 1 of this article.
As far as financing your retirement is concerned, I think the same rule applies to retiring as the one that applies when we’re going on vacation. Bring along half as many clothes and twice as much money as you think you will need.
Personally, besides savings, investments, RRSPs, TFSAs, and pensions, I always make sure I have an additional source of income. This helps me keep the standard of living I had when I was fully employed. It allows me to volunteer, travel, and explore new interests freely. For example, I realized I could support myself with a modest lifestyle through writing if necessary. While it started as just a hobby and a way to promote my business, I have found many ways to write across different genres, including non-fiction books, poetry, short verse, and other short pieces, brief non-fiction articles, greeting card ideas, and more. Additionally, the market for self-publishing, encompassing audiobooks, videos, and podcasts, is expanding.
I love trying new things. And semi-retirement provides the time to do so. With today’s life expectancies, you could easily spend a third of your life in retirement.
Successful retirement requires as much, if not more, planning than starting a business or building a career. People are now spending almost a third or more of their lives in retirement. Nursing homes, special care facilities, and homes for the elderly are overflowing with people who gave little thought to their retirement.
Retirement to many means stopping work and trying to get by on what you have managed to save during your working days, and perhaps through the generosity of family members who can help. Possibly offering a basement apartment or that spare room upstairs.
Retirement requires planning well in advance. It is a significant transition into a stage of life that may exceed the time spent building and working at a single job, career, or self-employment.
The focal point for most people is their job, profession, or career. “What do you do?,” must be the most frequent question asked by people meeting for the first time. For most people, work is where they build lifelong friendships, structure, routines, and a sense of purpose. It is at work where the bulk of their knowledge, skills, and talents are developed. At work is where they are acknowledged most for their accomplishments, rewarded when they excel, and reach their goals.
Then it suddenly ends. Work, relationships, goals, structure, and so on are taken away, and you are free to do whatever you want.to do. Endless free time can become boring without structure or purpose. It can affect your self-esteem. You have nothing to celebrate, no problems to solve, no meetings to attend, and no friends with common interests to work alongside.
And of course, the pay is not good. There may never be another merit increase. And there could be worry or stress since you may run out of money before you run out of life. The clock is ticking. You start counting the years. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Life doesn’t have to begin at 40 and end at 65. It can be the most exciting stage of your life. I recommend that you consider attending the one-day online conference sponsored by Professional Organizers in Canada on October 23rd. if you’re interested in starting, growing, and eventually retiring from a business involving organizing and productivity. I’ll be presenting a session on retiring. Most people who know me say I’m good at doing nothing. And as a nonagenarian, I’ve had a lot of experience.
By the way, POC sent me a discount code that anyone can use when they register for the conference. It’s TAYLOR10. You don’t even have to attend my session. Register at the Professional Organizers in Canada website. It’s all online.
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