I’ve been telling people for years that retirement means “You have to find something else to do”. Work is what we do most of our lives and it’s not easy to just turn it off. In fact, not having a job to work at can cause a lot of unwanted stress. If you’ve been a productive worker all your life and you quit or lose your job, feelings of uncertainty, fear and sometimes confusion set in.
The idea of not working may be attractive, but if you get meaning and purpose from your job, the retirement bloom will soon wear off unless you have something that takes the place of work. The idea of not working in retirement is not acceptable anymore. For many people, work actually defines their lives. It gives them a reason for getting out of bed, provides personal satisfaction and gives social contact with other people.
What is Retirement?
Retirement is individual thing and won’t be the same for everyone. Some people want to retire and go fishing, or start sleeping until noon. Others might just want to sit in a rocker and watch the days go by. I’ve know retirees that tried those, but fishing and sitting gets old after awhile. For some of us soon to be old folks, this image of retirement may not be enough to make life meaningful.
For many of us, working even part-time, will be what makes retirement meaningful. The reasons people continue to work in retirement are as varied as the people entering retirement. Economic conditions may have some bearing on what we do after retirement.
Work after Retiring
Many people will continue working after retirement because they didn’t or couldn’t prepare for retirement. Some of us may put off retirement for several more years simply because we can’t handle the reduction in money that retirement ultimately brings..
Financial independence, having enough money to retire on, is probably second only to good health as a necessity for a successful retirement. But, whatever the situation, there are some adjustments that should be made to shift to a retirement career that you can do well into your senior years.
You’ll get a head start on your retiring if you look at retirement as a career change and plan for it. We don’t usually change careers in our working life without some kind of plan and retirement is just like any other career change. It just happens later in life.
Plan for retirement
Approach your retirement like you would a career change. Assess your strengths and desires, make a retirement plan and try work the plan. Be sure to make it flexible enough so that you can adjust to unexpected changes or events. The big difference will be that this career change may be the last one you make.
With a retirement plan, you can get a jumpstart on finding something you enjoy doing well before you retire. It is very possible that some of the things you want to do in your retirement career could become an income generator. It would be nice to have your cake and eat it for a change.
What to do After Retirement
A hobby or a creative talent can be a natural transition into retirement. I know a retiree who parlayed his talent for woodworking into a lucrative custom cabinet making business and another who liked to play golf and got a job teaching golf at his local club.
The skills and knowledge learned in the business world can sometimes be used to get into a lucrative consulting career after retirement. One way to explore this option is to contact the vendors you worked with in your previous career and find out if you might now represent their services as a former satisfied customer.
If you have some specialized knowledge or training, that could transition into a full or part-time consulting career. If working for someone else is more appealing, it may be possible to become a sales representative or sales support for the companies who once had you as a customer. I know a retiree who had conducted management training for a very large company. He started a part-time consulting business from his home with a business card and letter of introduction.
The internet provides lots of money making ideas to start making money online. You could sell physical things by setting up a web site and learning how to promote yourself online. There are lots of examples on the online auction websites or storefronts. There are some pros and cons to working online though. It’s a great idea to research your idea before jumping into it.
There’s tremendous competition on the internet. But in most cases, you don’t have to corner a market to be successful, you just need a small slice of it. There are many examples of cottage industries and family owned businesses that have been started and become hugely successful just putting what they do out into cyberspace.
You could work with a skilled internet web developer and marketer to get your product out on the internet or learn to use some of the marketing websites, such as e-bay, and before long, you might have more orders than you know what to do with and fill your bank account up with all the profits.
Final Thoughts
Finding something else to do in retirement is only limited by your imagination. The best, but not always easiest, is to get into something you like or find a niche that has not been exploited. If you plan for retirement like you would for a career change, you might just avoid many of the worries that other retired people have. You might enjoy the freedom of a successful retirement and perhaps make some extra money at the same time. Now that’ s a great combination.
Get a free copy of “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles. First published in 1910, the information is as valid today as it was then. When I was reading the book, it occurred to me that the principles described, while dedicated to making money, apply to anything you might try to do. Apply them to retirement and you have a very good opportunity to be successful.
Then go to the sidebar on the right and get a free copy of my book “Easy Retirement Planning“. It’s yours to use and if the information is useful, then I’ve been well paid.