My Initial Thoughts on Early Retirement

After a little over a year into this experiment, I have accumulated the following early lessons from retirement at this point in the process.  With an emphasis on process because that is what it is.

What Do I Call It

The conventional wisdom is that once you leave an extended career, you have “retired.”  Or if you do so at some age that is younger than the traditional age, you have early retired.  I really do not like the word retired because I feel I have done nothing of the sort. When I did an internet search for the meaning of retirement, I found words including giving up work, ceasing to do something, retreat, withdrawal and so on. One of the descriptions of the word included the words “because you are old.” Wow.

My version of retirement does not align with any of these descriptive words.  In fact, in somewhat the opposite.  To me, it is designing your day on your terms and doing what you want to do. I have decided not to fight the use of that word when describing my situation.  I own it when someone says it to me. For me, I know that it is not what the formal definition of the word implies but something vastly different. I have decided to call it my post-corporate world life.

Through-out this writing, for ease of use, I am going to use the conventional word of retirement.  Clearly, I do not agree with the traditional definition.  It is not withdrawing, ceasing, quitting or stopping to do something because of age.  It is the opposite. So what have I learned?

How Do I Explain What It Is?

Short answer, I don’t anymore.  I do what I do and let that speak for itself. Maybe it is writing a book, having more time to build community, more time with friends and family, exploring new topics, hobbies, travel, participating in sports. Maybe it is volunteering or simply not rushing through all the mundane things we all have to do.  Not feeling the anxiety as the end of a weekend, holiday or vacation approaches. That might be the best part.

It’s a Process

There are stages to the retirement process.  They may differ somewhat from person to person, but they are generally going to fall into common phases.  The best discussion I have seen on this is in this Ted Talk. The Four Phases of Retirement.

Looking Back at the Decision Once it is Made

Once the decision is made to retire and it happens, is it okay to look back at the decision and maybe second guess it, or is it time to burn the boats? From my personal experience, it is okay to look back and reconsider the decision.  In my case, I eventually became very comfortable about the decision and removed the rear-view mirror once and for all.  Looking back is a natural part of the process, but eventually it is time to move on and you will know when that time is right.

My Number One Piece of Advice

If you are in the planning stages and within a year or less of the official date, accumulate a list of things you are planning to do once you reach that date.  Once you have compiled this list, start doing those things now.  Do not wait until after your retirement date.  You probably will not have the time to start all of these and fully immerse yourself in them. However, start them now to the extent that you can.  The goal of this is that when you reach your retirement date, you are well into the activities, and you are not starting at step 1.

There are two reasons for this.

Number one. Becoming involved in certain activities takes time.  Whether it is becoming engaged in a community group or volunteering for example, it takes time to get these things going.  Becoming involved in any new activity has a runway to get started.   Get that activity off the ground and in flight before you reach your date.

Number two.  You may not like that activity after all.  Here’s an example.  You played tennis many years ago and had to give it up because you no longer had the time.  Maybe it was due to work or family obligations.  Once you retire, you plan on playing tennis again and that is a big part of how you will spend this free time you will have.  You wait until you retire to pick up that tennis racket again for the first time in many years.  And when you get on the court, you realize that, for various reasons, that tennis is not something you want to pursue after all.  You are back at square one with no plan B in place.

Start going those activities now, to the extent you can, before you retire. Do not wait.

Building a retirement life around travel may not be such a good idea. 

This one might not land well with some people, but it is something to consider. Often when I asked someone what they are going to do when they retire, I hear travel as the answer.  This may work for some people.  I do not see it working for me.  I do enjoy traveling now that I had free time to do so, but I do not see it as the long-term answer to retirement.

At the end of each trip, you will return home and will be staring down the retirement process that cannot be avoided. For me, I will enjoy the travel opportunities but will build my retirement life around other things.  Things like community, friends, staying active, volunteering and writing among other things. If you plan to build your retirement life around travel, really think that through ahead of time.

As I said, it is a process, and the above learnings are outcomes of my personal journey through that process.  You will have your own learnings but I expect you may experience some overlap with the lessons I have learned.

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