You hear this phrase from people pretty often, when discussing retirement:
I don’t want to retire. I’d get so bored! Besides, I like my job and it is good to have purpose.
I have heard many people say that, and I totally understand the perspective. But, if you feel that way, I need to ask one thing. Are you out of your mind?
The world is full of a million different things that you could be doing. Skills that you could be improving. Relationships to be making. Hobbies to enjoy. Art to create. Gardens to grow. Trails to be stepped on. It feels like even with a hundred lifetimes, you should still have unexplored routes and possibilities. How can anyone possibly think that they would be bored just because they don’t have a manager scrutinizing their work and forcing them to be productive?
It seems like it is easy to fall into that mindset though. The average person in America watches 3 hours of tv per day1, and almost 3.5 hours on social media2. If you spend so much time everyday just consuming media, it is obvious that you’d have “nothing else to do” after you are finished with work.
You would be better off to greatly reduce your amount of media consumption and just start trying some things. Maybe you hate the hobby and never want to do it again. GREAT! Now try something else.
It’s just such a fucking massive addiction though, I can’t blame anyone for falling into it. But as humans, we have the power to intervene.
A challenge
If you want a challenge, put your phone in a drawer. Turn it on silent mode, or off entirely. Leave it there for the next 7 days. If you need to, put a sticky note on the drawer to remind yourself not to use it. If you normally call your family, just let them know that you’re doing it so they don’t panic when you don’t answer. I did this a couple of months ago, and noticed at first this weird level of anxiety. That’s not healthy! However, by the end of 7 days, I barely even missed it anymore. Afterwards, it almost felt weird to have it in my pocket, like it could buzz at any time.
Now that you have some free time, you’ll notice that you get bored. Really bored. You have a decision to make. Do you just spend all of your time on your iPad and TV now? Ehhh doesn’t seem like the best approach. Maybe you can start by making a list of things that you like doing. Or things that you used to do, but feel like you don’t have time for now. Seriously, think of just everything possible, even if it’s silly.
That list will guide you!
My list
I had the idea for this article earlier this morning while on the train to work. I felt like there were a million things that I wanted to do with my free time after I retire, so I started writing them down (on my phone.. sigh).
I put them into three buckets:
- Things that I currently do
- Things that I’ve done before and enjoy
- Things that I want to try
The thing is, when you reduce your media consuption, you will actually have more time for other activities. The goal is to move ideas into higher buckets.
If your list of “things that I currently do” is really short, but you have some “things that I want to do”, you should just start trying them TODAY. I bet that you have more time than you think, and you’ll be more fulfilled to be able to actually try some things!
Things that I enjoy doing now, and could spend more time on if I didn’t need to work:
- Photography, photo editing
- Writing software programs, open source
- Triathlon training
- Blog posts
- Camping / backpacking
Things I’ve done before and enjoyed, but don’t have time to do now:
- Disc golf
- Getting better at guitar, writing songs
- Work on being a better cook / healthier food / growing food / gardening
- Gym / lifting weights
- Yoga classes
- Long walks around town
- Hiking and hammocking in the woods
- Go to meetups for software development / hobbies
- Maybe volunteer as a speaker at some events
- Get really good at skiing
- Road trips / traveling, especially to national parks without strict timelines
Things I haven’t done but want to try:
- Woodworking
- Maybe build a portable camping setup for back of car
- Home improvement and fixing things
- Creating home automation
- Start re-learning piano/keyboard
- EDM music production
- Teaching somehow
- Could be online or at a community college, even as an assistant
- Maybe as a speaker at meetups
- Volunteer at races / sports events
- Volunteer or work with national parks / campgrounds as a trail maintainer or guide
- Work as a park ranger