[2022-09-06] Happy retirement
When I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 54, I had not yet put any serious thought into what retirement might look like for me. Sure, I knew that I could retire at 55 with almost 33 years of service or stick around until I was 57 and had 35 years of service. But beyond that, I never really thought much about what my retirement would entail.
Even when I learned that I had ovarian cancer, I didn't immediately stop working. That decision would come a week later, when I knew that I didn't have the energy to both face cancer and deal with my very demanding job as head of health communications for the Government of Canada during a pandemic.
So on August 6, 2020, one week after my diagnosis and exactly 11 months before my 55th birthday, I took medical leave from my job. I wasn't thinking about retirement or the decision I might have to make after my cancer treatments were done, especially since I didn't know whether I had mere months to live. I focused instead on each step in my treatment, and I launched this blog to share updates with my family, friends and now former coworkers.
It would take almost 11 months—following surgery, chemotherapy and adjustment to maintenance medication—before I could even contemplate going back to work. Before I knew it, my 55th birthday had arrived. By that point, my perspective on life had changed so dramatically as a result of coping with a life-threatening illness that there was no going back—only forward to retirement. So on July 23, 2021, 2½ weeks after my 55th birthday, I announced my retirement: first to my staff, then to everyone else through my blog. I noted in my post Retirement: "Making the decision to retire and announcing it today feels bittersweet. I should be happy, but I feel sad too. As I said in the email to my staff today, leaving in this way is not at all how I imagined my career would end. It's a rather anticlimactic conclusion to an almost 33-year run."
However, a year on from that announcement, I wonder whether the circumstances of my retirement actually prepared me for the emotional effort needed when bowing out of the world of work.
Tips for the soon-to-retire
In a recent email, a friend and former colleague informed me that he would be retiring in December. He asked whether I had any advice for people who are about to retire. I committed to writing a post on the subject.
To prepare, I reflected on my own happy retirement and read a handful of articles, notably 20 tips for a happy retirement by the British Heart Foundation, Preparing emotionally for retirement by Age UK, and 3 Tips for a Smooth Transition into Retirement by the Harvard Business Review. Rather dramatically, the Harvard Business Review article likens retirement to divorce and death, stating that it involves an emotionally painful separation. The Age UK article quotes retiree Jay Cassie, who states: "I found that when you plan for retirement, you plan financially, you plan where you’re going to live, whether you want to upsize, downsize, move to a different country, move to the sea. But the one thing you don’t plan for—I didn’t and many of my friends said the same—is what you’re going to do with all the free time you’ll have on your hands." And the British Heart Foundation recommends easing into retirement by reducing your workload over several years, which will give you time to replace work tasks with new activities.
Define your mission or your priorities
Before focusing on what activities you will use to fill your days, consider defining your mission. As entrepreneur and investor Naval Ravikant says: "Three things in life—your health, your mission, and the people you love. That's it." Also, take time to reflect on your priorities, such as health (sleep, exercise, self-care, healthy eating), loved ones (family and friends), and hobbies (writing, organizing, learning).
Plan your activities
With your mission or priorities defined, plan what you will do with your time. If you've been working hard for many years, you may have had no time for hobbies. Even before you retire, start thinking about hobbies or interests you would like to pursue. For Jay Cassie, her three-part retirement plan consisted of writing a book, starting an online magazine, and tutoring students in her local elementary school.
Invest in personal relationships
Take advantage of your new-found time to be more present in the lives of your family and friends. The Harvard Business Review article states: "close personal relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy." Keep in touch with your former colleagues. "Just because you are retiring doesn’t mean you have to lose touch with the group of friends you made in your workplace," says the British Heart Foundation article. Take the initiative to arrange regular get-togethers with individuals or groups of old colleagues. And don't stop there. Go beyond existing relationships to build new ones: join a club, volunteer, take an evening class, invite a neighbour for coffee.
Keep learning
The British Heart Foundation notes: "Government studies have shown that learning in later years can help people stay independent, so use your free time to continue to challenge yourself mentally, whether it’s learning an instrument or a language or getting a qualification." Another way to keep learning is to travel, whether on a lengthy vacation in one or more countries or on a series of short day trips in your own region.
Give back
Take what you've learned—for example, over your entire career—and teach others. As the Harvard Business Review states, "Guiding younger people and contributing to the success of the next generation can bring enormous satisfaction." And you needn't restrict your teaching to skills you picked up on the job; teaching can be an outlet for all sorts of creative abilities, such as writing or gardening. Similarly, volunteering can be a terrific way to use your abilities in the service of your community. Find a purpose and be useful. "When you become a retiree, you can feel like you lose your identity," notes the Age UK article. "But you still have a contribution to make to life as an older person."
Tackle a project
Think about all the things you have wanted to do but didn't have the time to undertake: researching your ancestors, organizing your photos, growing a garden, building a shed, remodeling a room.
Develop a routine
Having a routine can help ensure you're spending time on activities that are consistent with your mission, priorities and values.
Take care of your health
It's convenient that retirement comes when you may need to spend more time on your health. Looking after yourself can consume a considerable amount of time each day: exercising, eating well (which includes buying, preparing and consuming healthy foods), seeing healthcare professionals. The British Heart Foundation recommends that you do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week, which works out to 30 minutes 5 times a week. Make appointments to see the healthcare professionals you may have had difficulty getting to while working, such as your family doctor, dentist and optometrist. And remember your mental health as well: get out into nature, listen to music, seek peace.
The activities in this list are not mutually exclusive. For example, you can invest in relationships while caring for your health by joining a walking group or meeting fellow pet owners at an off-leash dog park. You can give back while indulging a passion by volunteering at a music festival. You can stay in touch with relatives while tackling a project by organizing a family reunion.
In the two years since I started medical leave and transitioned to retirement, I've never felt bored, nor have I ever regretted my decision to retire when I did. I feel useful, fulfilled and content.
