Photo credit: Gustavo Torres on Unsplash

A minute or two a day guarantees an outstanding retirement

Terry told everyone for years how eager he was to retire. He talked about how liberating it would be. Life would be so amazing without the conflicts, demands, and petty games at work. He could do anything he wanted to, and nobody could tell him otherwise.

The day finally came, and he was bursting from the seams. It was over. Like the end of a prison sentence, he walked through the iron gates to a new life, unshackled freedom, and a bottle of fine whisky— a gift from his friends. We were envious but happy for him and his newfound freedom.

Nine months later, Terry was back at work.

“I was bored with nothing to do but walk around the block and sit on the couch watching golf. Then the office called, and I said, ‘sure, what the heck, I’ll come back.’”

What went wrong?

Like Terry, more than 1 in 3 retirees will return to work, most often because of boredom. It’s easy to fill your days when they’re consumed by your job, but meaningful activities don’t naturally flow like water to fill all the free time you now have.

You can’t ponder retirement as you would an abstract painting, staring, dreaming, admiring, but not engaging. To many of us, retirement is a concept as foreign as a trip to the moon. When you go to your moon, will you hop out of bed and dash into the spaceship with a bottle of bourbon and your jammies? No, you’ll plan ahead. You’ll talk to experts, know what to expect, and —

You’ll practice. Every day until you’re ready.

Because it’s critical, it’s life and death, my friends.

Practice IS your plan

First, let’s confirm that your retirement won’t include a return to the job you just left. Stress is not a replacement for boredom. That would be lunacy.

So, how do you avoid it? You plan to succeed at retirement just like you planned to succeed when you took up soccer, programming, bartending, teaching, or intergalactic travel.

Your plan for success is a time-proven recipe: Practice

Nothing of consequence can be successful without practice.

Practicing retirement sounds crazy, but it’s a brilliant idea, and it works. You’ll end up entering retirement with confidence and filling your days with meaningful activities, just like you had a plan. Because practicing IS the plan. When you first set foot on the rocket ship, it’ll be just like you envisioned a thousand times before — just another outstanding trip to the moon.

This is a great idea for anyone at any age. Are you planning an early retirement? A regular retirement? Perfect, start now. Already retired? No worries, start now. Anyone, anytime, any place.

Here’s how easy it is to practice

This shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes a day. The goal is to imagine you ARE retired and you’re planning out your day. You’ll be visualizing yourself as an active, happy, and engaged retiree. You’ll think of your future in the present tense; you’re going to “fake it ‘till you make it.”

Visualization is a powerful cognitive tool for insight into all aspects of a situation, action, or outcome. Retirement is no different from other major life behaviors, and this idea of visualizing retirement — or practicing it — is a simple technique that will result in an outstanding retirement.

Put a Post-It Note on your bathroom mirror that says, “BE RETIRED” and for a few seconds each morning you can think about what you’re doing and how you’re feeling as a retiree.

I told you it was easy. Standing in the shower, eating your cereal, driving to work are all times to be retired.

The first day you might say something simple like, “I’m going to be active today.” The next day you might develop it further with “I’m hiking on the trails through the trees on Cottonwood Hill.” Ultimately you’ll see yourself in your tattered leather hiking boots, walking under the pines with a flickering sun and spring in your step. All while you’re taking a shower.

Remember, don’t just watch your dreams like a TV show, BE retired.

Advanced Practice

When you get comfortable with it, you enhance your thoughts with real-world activities.

You can be retired for the weekend and live your life exactly as you would if you had no need for a job. Vacations and sabbaticals become training grounds for sowing your fertile imagination. You can take a “retire-day” off work and practice.

Practice enjoying solitude and stillness. Practice what you’ll do to cope with boredom because you will be bored sometimes. Practice how you’ll spend your money and how you’ll compromise to stay within your budget. Practice volunteering, exercising, calling friends. Practice romancing your partner (that’s a favorite).

Think: What have you always wanted to do but never had the time? What did you do when you were younger that you want to do again? What have you neglected? What are you best at?

When fantasy becomes reality, you’ll find yourself retired, engaged in meaningful pursuits that matter to you. You’ll revel in the serenity and find perfection in your community. And most of all you’ll be happy.

You get the idea. Give it a try. And don’t forget the Post-It Note.