...the next thing (3 of 5)...

Retirement is best served early! I used question #3 almost everyday at work (and now at Good Shepherd). It's a basic management query which causes the recipient to consider possible improvements to a situation or process.

"What would I have done differently?"

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Sue and I talked a lot about how our lives would change with me not having a full time job. Here are some of the things I would do if I could get the old DeLorean DMC-12 up to 88 mph.

Define what retirement meant - This may sound obvious &/or silly, but this is a big deal. For me, retiring at 52 did not mean golfing 90 holes a week, fishing every morning or laying on a beach until my skin became shoe leather. I wish I would have spent more time, earlier, defining what I was retiring to (I started this too far along in the process)

Update my personal mission statement - I've had a personal mission statement since the 80's. It leaned heavily on the work side of my life and served as a reminder of what was important to me. I would have spent more time with the same kind of focus on the personal side, defining my "Popeye Moment", my "One Thing". It would have shifted some of the things I did the last 10 years.

Take advantage of travel - We became empty nesters about 3 years before I retired. I wish I would have taken advantage of our flexibility and brought Sue along on some of my trips. The Opera House in Australia, the world's tallest building in Kuala Lumpur, and the beaches of Sao Paulo would have been even more enjoyable with Sue by my side. I guess this just leaves more unexpected journeys ahead of us.

New routines - I wish I would have started my new routines earlier so they would have become established habits. Exercising, eating habits, Dr visits, prayer time, house repairs, Mustang dabbling are all activities that I now spend more time on, but I used the excuse of "I'm too busy because of work" to delay the change. I was shocked to find that a daily QPC and large fries may not be the best slimming formula. These changes are as big of contributors to my increased quality of life as the not going to work part.

Talk to retirees - I would have increased my circle of retiree "experts" from 4 to about 10 (usually these graying consultant can be funded for a cup of coffee). Everyone has a different perspective and you can't get too much. Every person I spoke to added to my pile of ideas even though some of them might conflict. The biggest, overarching comment was that retirement planning is much more than just having enough money...much more.

Bucket list - I wish I would have created the list of things we want to do / see before I kick the bucket. This might have made me a bit more aggressive when deciding when to take Sue along on a business trip, or learning how to type using all of my fingers or mastering Spanish. But, it is what it is and I have a few years ahead of me to start checking things off the list.

I don't plan on personally ever having to take advantage of the above observations. The next post [...the next thing (4 of 5)...] will be on "What Surprised me?" Just like they say on Big Brother... "expect the unexpected."