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Five Steps to Take in the First Few Months of Retirement

Congratulations! It’s the day you’ve been waiting for!  You’ve had your retirement cake, said goodbye to colleagues, packed up your office.  Now what?

Four years ago, I retired from a thirty-seven year teaching career. I’d received some financial advice, but wasn’t prepared for the emotional side of retirement. Here’s my advice:

  Five Steps to Take in the First Few Months of Retirement

#1 Celebrate Your Professional Accomplishments.

Whether you have worked for twenty, or thirty, or forty years, retirement is a Big Deal! Celebrate! Maybe your friends and colleagues will take you out for dinner or happy hour. Perhaps your employers will mark your years of service with a recognition of some sort or your family will throw a party in your honor. Most likely, there will not be a gold watch with your name engraved on it or a large bonus check. That’s OK, no one wears watches anymore anyway, although the bonus check would be nice. But mark this milestone in your life.  It needn’t be a big, elaborate, expensive affair.

When I retired after a thirty-seven year teaching career, I put together  a simple,  “dinner cruise” around the local lake on a pontoon boat with my family. We had a blast! I took lots of pictures and made a photo book to remember the occasion. My point is, mark the occasion in a way that is meaningful to you. You deserve it, and it will help you put closure on a big part of your life.

 #2  Honor your past.

 After the emotional rush of retirement celebrations die down, take some time to reflect on your past. I went back and visited the buildings that were part of my teaching career, taking pictures of each. Once I was back home, I put together a small photo album and jotted down some memories of the people and events that were important to me. Even if you aren’t able to visit your  past physically, take some time to visit it emotionally. Make a list of all the things you have accomplished and the people you have met along the way.You have a lot to be proud of!

#3 Move on.

Honor your past, but don’t live there. Get ready for the rest of your life. You have time now to do what you want to do. Lots of unstructured time. This can be amazing, but it can also be daunting. At first I was anxious and stressed because I had nothing to be stressed out about. There were boring days, and yes, even days when I questioned my dedcision to retire, but I set aside a year where I resisted the temptation to sign up for anything that would lock me into a schedule. There were opportunities to substitute, teach or volunteer at a school, but frankly, that part of me was depleted, and I needed to allow myself time to recharge.

Some people are afraid to retire because they can’t imagine how they would fill their time. I get it. That, in part, was why I stretched out my teaching career for an extra three years. In retirement, interests I’d put on the back burner for many years emerged. I began to write and sew again. Find your passion. Meet new people. Travel. Go for it!

#4 Prepare Yourself for the Emotional Effects of Retirement

 I hesitate to even bring it up, but you need to know that retirement is not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. First, there is no gold (you probably already figured that out), but also, being retired doesn’t exempt you from life. You may go through a grieving process. As much as you’d been looking forward to this, retirement may signals a loss of colleagues, professional identity, income. You will still face the challenges of day-to-day living: health scares, family squabbles, financial concerns, closet clutter, aches and pains, midriff bulge… The Retirement Fairy Godmother does not wave her magic wand and turn you into a new person; you will still be you.

#5 Remember that Retirement Won’t Change Who You Are.

You will still be you. That’s the best part! That you have survived, even thrived, in the world of education, or any other field, and made it out in one piece is a testament to the kind of person you are. You are creative, resilient, hardworking, resourceful, positive-thinking, a problem solver, and just a bit crazy. These are the qualities that will carry you through this next stage of your life. You are in charge from here on out and you will be amazing.

 Now go out and buy yourself a new box of crayons. Splurge and get the ninety-six pack with wild, unique colors and sparkles. Oh, and be sure the box has the crayon sharpener on the back. You are going to be coloring in a whole new world!