You Need Structure in Retirement
Spend any time on this website and you’ll learn very quickly that I absolutely love retirement. It has been the best part of life, and it keeps getting better. The one thing I realized, however, is that you need structure in retirement. It might be even more important than when you worked. After all, the workday gave you structure and, if you were like me, your day was a seemingly endless series of meetings, conference calls and business trips that provided almost no sense of enjoyment. For me, it meant being in an office or warehouse in another city but having almost no time to experience the city itself. In fact, on my first trip to San Francisco, I was teased by the beautiful scenery as I drove to factory building which housed our offices and spent the whole day inside only to spend a night in a nearby hotel, have more meetings the next day and barely make it back to the airport to catch my flight. The next year my wife and I had a wonderful vacation in the city to see what I had missed. San Francisco is, indeed, a unique and beautiful city.
You need structure in retirement to maximize your enjoyment of each and every day.
The workday provided too much structure and while you might celebrate the free time retirement gives you, my advice is to build some structure into your day to make sure you maximize the enjoyment retirement can give you. Too many people stay in bed a little too long and have one too many cups of coffee only to find out that it’s after noon and you’ve done nothing worthwhile. I know that relaxation is one of the great rewards in life but too much of a good thing can lead to a life of inactivity and when you consider what a magnificent world we live in and how much there is to do and to learn, that can lead to a wasted opportunity. You need structure in your life to make the most of your golden years. Retirement is a time we can give our lives new meaning. Most people have spent decades working for an employer and doing the best they could at the tasks that were assigned to them. I am the first to applaud the benefit of a hard day’s work and doing the best that you can, but your retirement years should be focused on making your “final act” as meaningful as possible. I don’t mean to sound morbid, just realistic. The great Oliver Wendell Holmes said that “too many people die with their music still inside” and it has caused me to examine my life a number of times. I believe everyone has something inside of them that hasn’t been nurtured enough. We had dreams when we were young and we sometimes let them fade. I think everyone could make a list of things they wanted to do, subjects they wanted to learn more about or places that they wanted to go. You can still do these things. That’s why you need structure in retirement.
When I finally crossed the retirement finish line and escaped from Corporate America, our first two winter escapes were already planned. Although we love the beauty of the Hudson Valley, spending January and February (and even March!) in a warmer environment can do wonders for your outlook on life. We made a leisurely journey down to the Florida Keys during our first winter and then headed back up across the panhandle and the Gulf Coast through New Orleans to the eastern shore of Texas (Galveston to be exact). Every stopping point had a list of places of interest. Truth be told, they were mostly of interest to me, but I married a saint and she put up with my fixation for history (as long as there was no test and nice restaurants could be part of our research). We had an absolutely wonderful time and if there was ever proof that you need structure in retirement, this trip was it. The idea for this website occurred to me during our travels and this little business has provided even more structure for my day-to-day activities. It has been a great source of enjoyment as well. On our journey home we traveled up the Mississippi to across to the hallowed ground of Springfield and the home of my hero, Abraham Lincoln. The more I learn about the man the more I want to know because his life is as interesting as any American who ever lived. Reading and studying history has been another key element of providing me with a structured retirement.
Although travel and history are winners on my Bingo Card, you probably have others and those interests are great ways to structure your days and, in some cases, give you a sense of purpose that you might not have had before. When you create goals and have an objective for what you do each day, your sense of satisfaction will increase tremendously. You need structure in retirement. It will make a huge difference. Many retirees find great satisfaction in volunteering at a hospital, library or their local church. Do you know what a difference you can make in someone’s life with just a few simple words of encouragement? Do you know what reading to children can do for their outlook on life and how it can put them on a path toward lifelong learning and success? We should never stop learning and trying new things and seeing new places.
As you might guess, our travel plans are always structured and we’re never at a loss for places to go. If travel appeals to you, make sure you do it while you can. Retirement has been perfect except for the aging process and associated health problems that come along with those advancing years. Travel as soon as you can and make the most of it by hiring an experienced guide in those crowded tourist locations. A good guide can get you private access before the crowds and provide you with knowledge you couldn’t get on your own. Make each trip count and it’s one more reason you need structure in retirement.
Whatever your hobbies or interests are, explore them more deeply in retirement. You’ll find that it will give you something to look forward to and will help you live a life of purpose. You need structure in retirement to help you maximize the enjoyment of your golden years. Take a trip, write a book, start a journal or learn how to cook the best meal of your life and then do it all again. It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!
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