Non-Fiction Article
Retirement Realities: Beyond the Hype and Distractions
Scott A. Gese

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It’s an undeniable fact: For some, retirement can be overwhelming.

The trick to keeping your retirement from becoming cluttered with half-finished projects, unappreciated hobbies, and unfulfilled travel destinations is to start your retirement years with a good plan.

Without proper planning you could find yourself wandering through a landscape of discarded dreams and unfulfilled expectations.

When you first retired, you might have felt like a kid in a candy store. There was so much free time and so many diverse avenues to explore. Then reality set in and you came to realize most of what you've been told about free time in retirement is nothing more than hype. It’s been the disappointment of many who seek to fulfill a closet full of pipe dreams.

I'm not saying you shouldn't try new things. What I'm saying is there’s no guarantee you'll find enough time or money to do everything you thought you could. Those of us who have stepped off the hamster wheel can tell you straight out: retirement life comes with a lot of distractions that can pull you away from fulfilling all of your dreams.

Aside from those pesky life issues that tend to pop up when you least expect, it’s easy to get lost in the maze of intriguing hobbies and enticing travel destinations you have to choose from. Without a well-laid-out plan, you could find yourself floundering. You may find yourself grabbing at every shiny object that comes into view. As the saying goes, "All that glitters is not gold." As you search for ways to spend your 'abundance' of free time you'll soon discover you're free time wasn't as abundant as you thought.

You'll have to whittle down the wide range of topics on your bucket list.

For me, the question was, do I spend most of my free time writing, or do I try my hand at something new? What about travel? Do I save money and take road trips or save time and fly to more exotic destinations, or both?

I learned a very important lesson when I retired.

As far as hobbies go, I was no different than most. Even with a well-laid-out plan, I deviated and dipped my toes into several hobbies I thought interesting. They all came up short in one way or another. They were costly in either time or money, and sometimes both. I came to the conclusion that it was more important to stick with my original plan: that would be writing and, to a lesser degree, travel and photography.

Here's a good analogy: A good plan is like a single bullet from a high-powered rifle. It will travel with accuracy for several hundred yards and more. No plan or a poor plan is like a blast from a shotgun. It will begin to spread out as soon as it leaves the barrel of the gun. It covers an ever-widening area as it moves forward, but it will barely make it to the 50-yard mark before the shot loses power. The spent shot soon falls to the ground as nothing more than dead weight.

A lot of people start out their retirement life using a shotgun approach. The hobbies come, they go, and others take their place. There is never a shortage of hobbies or destinations, only a shortage of time and money or a lack of interest to pursue them.

To put it in simpler terms as far as retirement hobbies go: you should focus on one or two like a rifle; any more than that is a shotgun approach.

I’ve found it best to pick hobbies you're already involved with or that piques your interest. Then put on blinders to all the rest and work within those core hobbies.

For me, it's a combination of writing, local travel and photography. It's what I focus my attention on; everything else is just noise.

As a result:

• I’m much happier with what I’m trying to achieve as a writer.
• It’s easier to write; the words just flow.
• I don’t feel pressured to come up with story ideas.
• My writing continues to improve.
• I have more time to write in combination with travel and photography for story ideas.

My advice is to choose to focus your attention on what you know and what you're good at. If it feels right, you’ll not only do well, you’ll also find the time for it. As a result, you'll enjoy your hobbies and your retirement much more.

Retirement can be navigated successfully if you're smart about it. That includes hitting the starting gate with focus and a well-laid-out plan in hand.

© Copyright 2023 by Scott A. Gese All Rights Reserved.

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