We all have weekend chores and honey-do lists that we try to complete on the weekend. Mowing the lawn, planting flowers in the spring, washing your car, painting a bedroom, or installing a ceiling fan.
These are items that take time and attention, and normally we have to carve time out of our day to get them completed. After all, Monday through Friday is booked fulfilling someone else's to-do list (think of your task list at work) leaving just the weekend, and Saturday is prime time to get things done.
But if you are nearing that transition from working to not working, or maybe you have already crossed over to not working, then every day becomes a Saturday. Except for Sunday, which is still Sunday! I am sure you get what I am saying here.
And sometimes when your scheduled is wide open, nothing gets done. Because nothing needs to get it done. As in, “I don’t have to do this today because I can do this tomorrow.” Often, it’s followed by some small voice that tells you that you worked for 40 years and followed a schedule, clocking in each day at 8 a.m. and working often past normal quitting time.
All of a sudden, you have all the time you need to do these DIY projects. To go freely where you want to go and when. Your schedule is wide open.
But for some of us, this is when the problem starts. It becomes difficult to get things done without a deadline. Without the focus of having to go back to work on Monday, we often leave the important and not urgent unfinished.
As the saying goes, there's always tomorrow. And tomorrow, while it may be a workday for most of America, is a Saturday for you. And so is the next day.
So how do you get the tasks and projects completed that you want to? The ones that you have been waiting and wanting to do since you retired?
Here is one way: stay busy. Fill your calendar with activities and to-do's that are good for you, keep you healthy and vibrant, and leave you feeling refreshed each week. Here are a few examples: schedule yoga or Pilates class three times per week; walk each day and be out in nature for an hour; schedule a meal with friends and colleagues weekly; serve others by donating your time consistently and showing up; wake up at a reasonable hour and have 30 minutes of quiet time; put time in your calendar each day to read a book.
If you have a full calendar, then all of a sudden, painting that extra bedroom becomes something that needs to fit into your schedule. Planting flowers becomes something you need to leave your Wednesday morning breakfast club on time by, so you can get to the store to buy the flowers and plant them before it gets too hot.
Just like work, if you want something done, give it to a busy person. Stay busy after you transition to retirement.
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Alex Bishop, CRPC®, MS, is a Private Wealth Advisor and Franchise Owner with Bishop Financial Partners, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC in Huntersville, NC. He specializes in fee-based financial planning and asset management strategies and has been in practice for 23 years. To contact him, https://www.ameripriseadvisors.com/alex.h.bishop or alex.h.hishop@ampf.com.
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