Last week, I wrote about my semi-retirement strategy. Today’s post comes to us from our board member John Hollon, a fellow boomer who is taking a very different approach.
OK, I admit it — I was inspired by Joyce Maroney’s recent Workforce Institute post about her move to a “phased” retirement where she is “transitioning to a part-time position as a means of achieving more work life balance without giving up the personal and economic benefits of work.”
I’m incredibly envious of her and that she has been able to transition to “the more leisurely rhythms of life as a part time worker after 40 years of go-go-go.”
Well, I wish I could do what Joyce is doing, however my life seems to be accelerating and go-go-going in the opposite direction.
I’m not retiring just yet, or going to a part-time schedule either. In my case, I just can’t afford to give up “the economic benefits of work.”
No, my plan is to work for as long as I can or until I’m flush enough that I can travel with my wife as much as I want for as long as I want. But getting to that point keeps me pretty busy.
I’ve got a new job as well as a gig as an adjunct professor at a local university. I’m building a consulting business on the side, serving here on the Workforce Institute Board, and volunteering time for both my Homeowners Association board and my church.
Plus, I’m writing and writing a lot — as one of the resident experts at Fistful of Talent, in my role as Editor-at-Large at ERE Media, and on occasion, here at The Workforce Institute.
Sounds pretty busy, I know, but somehow that’s not enough.
While Joyce is down-shifting to part-time work and finding fulfillment traveling and meditating on life in places like Japan, I’ve got my foot on the gas and headed 100 mph the opposite way.
Yes, instead of travel and phased retirement, I’m taking on as much as I can, including starting up my own blog called … big drumroll please … The Skeptical Guy.
The name comes from my friend Laurie Ruettimann who had a blog called The Cynical Girl. I liked the sound and cadence of that, but I’m much more skeptical than cynical, so I settled on The Skeptical Guy.
Having spent my career focused on leadership, talent management, human resources, and smart workforce practices, I’m naturally examining a variety of workplace issues from my skeptical point of view – from the very good reasons Millennials job hop to what are the most popular jobs on LinkedIn and why. I’m also exploring more local issues like my frustration at the California Legislature wasting time designating surfing as the state “sport” and completely arbitrary topics like how hearing Amazing Grace Reminds Me of Pete Conrad Walking on the Moon. I figure at my age, I’m entitled to write about what moves me – whether it’s workplace-related or not.
So, as my friend and WFI Board cohort Joyce Maroney watches for spring as she sits in 34 degree temperatures in Massachusetts, I’m a continent away in California sweating out a 90 degree April day and our first early blast of summer.
She’s cool and easing down while I’m hot and cranking up.
Just goes to show you that our Baby Boomer generation will be re-defining what “retirement” looks like in a variety of ways.
What do you want your retirement (or un-retirement as fellow board member Sharlyn Lauby calls it) to look like?
Great posts by both Joyce and John. As a fellow Boomer, I can relate to what both of you have said. One size doesn’t fit all and we should all hope for the good health that will allow us to pursue our passions, however we may define them.