People approaching retirement often say, “When I retire, I’ll have more time to exercise, sleep, cook healthy meals, read, spend time with friends…” Instead of taking steps to build positive habits now, they’re essentially putting their life on hold in anticipation of that magical future date when conditions will be ideal. If only it were that easy!
One of the keys to a successful transition is to start building positive habits before retirement. If you’ve been putting off developing positive lifestyle habits, read on for some practical ideas on how to get a head start on your healthy retirement.
There’s nothing magical about retirement
Positive habits are critical. More and more research points to lifestyle as a bigger determinant of healthy aging than genetics. And healthy lifestyles start with positive habits. Yet, it’s so easy to dismiss the importance of those habits in the busyness of life.
That’s why many people put off changes they want to make, thinking that will be their focus in retirement. And while it’s true that leaving work behind frees up a lot of time, there’s nothing magical about retirement that will turn a couch potato into a fitness enthusiast or marathon runner. And anyone who has neglected relationships with family and friends may find others aren’t willing to drop everything just because a new retiree has time on their hands.
That may sound harsh, but taking steps now can improve chances of a successful transition to retirement. In my retirement coaching and workshops, we build both short- and long-term action plans to give people a running start heading into retirement.
But I don’t have time!
I can hear you protesting. You’re thinking—or maybe even saying out loud—that you’re too busy and don’t have time to add anything else to your list.
But time is a funny thing. Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, yet some people seem to accomplish so much more with their 24 hours than others. How do they do it?
It likely comes down to two things. First, they’ve learned to free up time by eliminating distractions. Then, they use that newfound time to build positive habits.
Are you ready to get started on your action plan for a fulfilling retirement lifestyle?
First, eliminate distractions
Most people find a way to make time for activities that matter to them, but there are so many things that can get in the way. A reality of life in the 21st century is that distractions are everywhere. People get paid a lot of money to find ways to get you to put down what you’re doing and buy their product, or react to something they’ve shared online.
In his book Things That Matter, Joshua Becker provides tips and ideas to help readers live a more intentional life so they can get more out of the time they have, and not reach the end of life with regrets. If there are things that matter to you that you’ve been putting off, I highly recommend Becker’s book. It’s a game changer.
“How we get to the end of our lives with minimal regrets: We choose well. We set aside lesser pursuits to seek meaning in our lives. And we do it every single day.”
Joshua Becker, Things That Matter
Becker maintains it’s easy to let distractions take over and get in the way of progress toward meaningful goals. He introduces eight distractions that form the meat of the book. For some people, fear or past mistakes might be holding them back. For others, it could be the pursuit of happiness, money, possessions or applause. It could even be the lure of leisure. And then there’s the distraction of technology that has so much promise, but can be a big time waster.
But eliminating distractions is only the first step. With distractions out of the way, you have to get intentional about what you’ll do with the time you’ve saved. That’s where habits come in.
Then, build positive habits
If you have a tendency to procrastinate because you think you don’t have time to build positive habits, James Clear’s Atomic Habits might be the book that changes your mind.
Here are four simple ideas from Clear’s book that you can start using today.
Habit stacking
Implementation intentions are rooted in B.J. Fogg’s tiny habits technique. James Clear calls it habit stacking. It involves pairing a new habit with a current habit, and goes along the lines of, “After I <current habit>, I will <new habit>”.
So if your goal is to increase your fitness, you could say, “After I drink my morning coffee, I’ll go for a five-minute walk.” Or if mornings don’t work for you, it could be “After I eat dinner, I’ll do a ten-minute yoga routine.”
If five or ten minutes is too much, what about two minutes? You can do anything for two minutes!
The two-minute rule
The two-minute rule is simple but it makes so much sense. Skeptics might say you can’t make meaningful progress toward anything in two minutes, but Clear maintains you can’t improve a habit that doesn’t exist.
He suggests starting with the smallest possible behaviour that moves you in the right direction. If you want to be a writer, commit to writing one sentence every day. Then, reinforce in your mind that you are a person who writes every day. If a five minute walk feels like too much, start with two minutes and gradually build from there.
Never miss twice
One of the hardest things about any habit is sticking with it. “Never miss twice” is all about not breaking the habit chain. Everyone has days when they let habits slip. When that happens, don’t beat yourself up. Just commit to getting back on track the next day.
“Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.”
James Clear, Atomic Habits
This really works. If you’re trying to build an exercise habit, doing something every day transforms you from someone who never exercises to someone who exercises daily. Even if it’s only two, five or ten minutes on a given day, the point is you showed up and did it.
Separate your personality from your role
For anyone approaching retirement or other major life transition, this last tip is one of the most powerful messages from the book.
New retirees often feel a sense of loss. With no job title to define themselves, they no longer know who they are. Clear says the key to successful habit formation is to redefine yourself so you keep the important aspects of your personality when your role changes. By focusing on who you want to become, and building behaviours that support that new role, you’re less likely to feel that sense of loss because you’ve already begun to separate your job title from your true identity.
For example, if your big goal is to write a book, building a habit of writing for just a few minutes every day now will let you confidently say, “I am a writer” after you leave your job. Or if gourmet cooking is your goal, take a cooking class now or learn how to make some new recipes on YouTube so you can define yourself as an avid cook or aspiring chef. MasterChef awaits!
Start now!
The biggest key to success is getting started. If you’ve heard yourself say, “When I retire I’ll have more time to…”, stop and think about a small step you can take every day to build positive habits and get moving in the right direction.
And then do it!
If you’re thinking about retiring, contact me to get started on an action plan to build positive habits and set yourself up for a successful transition.
Leave a Reply