4 Tips From My ‘Retirement’

 Two years into “retirement,” I feel like I have learned some things worth passing along — to you, or those of your acquaintance who may be considering taking the retirement “plunge.”

I’ve taken a lot of good-natured ribbing over the past two years as to how I “suck” at retirement. That said, I’ve noticed that most of the folks telling you what retirement “should” be haven’t actually experienced it. Consequently, I’ve learned to take that counsel with a grain of salt. 

Here’s some stuff that I have learned on my “journey”… 

Make Sure You’re Retiring TO Something

Someone has said that retirement is when you get to “stop living at work and start working at living.” A long time ago I was counseled that you should never run from a job you don’t like, but rather head towards one you do — the concern being that if you’re in the former category, you’re likely to trade the proverbial frying pan for the fire. 

I think the same thing is true when it comes to retirement. Granted, it’s hard to imagine what that will be like until you’re living (in) it — which is why concepts like a “phased” retirement — a winding down of current responsibilities and time in the office — can be helpful — if you can manage it. 

For me, the COVID years working from home was my trial run (though I didn’t know it then), with my time focused more on things I liked doing (was it just me, or were there a LOT fewer meetings then?), the elimination of a rough commute — and more importantly, being at home with my dear wife 24 hours a day (more precisely her having me around 24 hours a day).          

Set Aside Time for Fun/Pleasure

I know it sounds oxymoronic, but it’s way too easy to put off for another day things that you enjoy doing — and when you’re retired, there’s always “another day.” It doesn’t have to be big things — in fact, it shouldn’t be. My wife and I had a “small” bucket list of things — day trips, really — stuff that we’d always talked about doing, but they weren’t big enough to warrant a big plan — but were just a little too far for us to just pick up and do them spur of the moment. So, we set aside a day each week to do them — and it worked!

We got a little off-track when we decided it would be a good time to pick up and move to a different state (and it was a good idea). And I’ve recently acquired both a hiking and driving guide to the nearby Great Smoky Mountains, and a Tennessee State Park “adventure book.”  Trust me, we’ve got a plan.  

Make It a Point to Stay in Touch

Let’s face it — we spend a huge amount of our day at work, and it’s only natural that our social circle tends to be pretty work-centric. That said, a recent LinkedIn post by my now-retired friend Jeanne Thompson reminds me/us that there’s a difference between friends you work with and “work friends” — specifically, if you don’t have their cell phone number, haven’t gone out with them socially (outside of work-related events), haven’t met their families, or aren’t connected with them on Facebook (yeah, I know it’s for “old” people)… well, once you lose that work connection, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll lose that “friend” as well.

It's tough to stay in touch with folks who are still working — but even if you have to reschedule (or cancel) regular check-ins, you’ll both benefit from the effort.

Don’t Be Shy About Hanging Out Your ‘Shingle’

There wouldn’t be much point in retiring if you just turned around and started working again. That said, it can be hard to go from running at 120 mph to 0 — sort of like when you miss that moving sidewalk end point. Trust me, at some point during that first year you’ll go from being happy you aren’t getting those weekend calls to worrying that you never get any calls at all. 

Beyond that, there will likely come a point when you are interested/willing to — for pay or not[i] — contribute your expertise/insight. If you’re interested in those kinds of endeavors, it’s worthwhile to let folks know. 

And folks, if you see someone you respect/admire retiring, it’s always nice to be asked…

  • Nevin E. Adams, JD

p.s., you might also enjoy checking out the “retirement minds” podcast about my retirement “process” at: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/nevin-adams5/episodes/Season-1--Episode-3-Nevin-E--Adams--JD-e2ouquf/a-abi5pcl

Or online at: The Minds. . . Retirement Minds

 

[i] On a cautionary note, Uncle Sam, courtesy not only of income tax but the dreaded self-employment tax (where you pay both the employer AND employee FICA taxes, even as you’re collecting Social Security) will take a large amount of your 1099 Income — and that may well impact your Medicare premiums. Make sure it’s worth your “while.”  

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