We all know them.  The people who seem to be busier in retirement than they did at work.  The ones who never question why they retired.  On Tuesday there are guitar lessons. Wednesday a woodworking project. Thursday some gardening.  Friday a spin class and a social lunch.  And I look on in envy.

These people are never bored.  There is always a project they are working on. Likely they have  2 to 3 projects on the go at the same time. There are 10 other projects just waiting to be started.  

If you think about it, it is a little bit like a typical day at work.  Lots on the go, multiple projects, and it fills the day.  Never a question of what is next.  It’s a question of what to prioritize.

There is one big difference in retirement.  No one tells you what to do. What your project is. What your deadline is.  You have chosen to start or work on a project. You have chosen the content. You can decide if you will even finish.  At work this day in and day out “producing” is decided by a boss. You work to someone else’s deadlines. 

Creative projects outside of work are for you. No one else

Exploring your creativity is a big part of retirement.  It is what an unstructured schedule can be used for.  The more topics you explore the more you can discover new passions.  It leads to a superpower.  The power of Doing.  Doing is a powerful ally against boredom.  The highest compliment I ever give at work is that a person is a Doer.  Not a watcher. Not a follower. Not deadwood. Not a grifter.

Consumption is not doing, it is watching. Consumption is not really participating. It usually leads to more consumption and I would argue it is only using a small portion of the brain. Comprehension of material is passive.

Don’t get me wrong. I consume all the time but it feels surface level. I can read or watch many different things for entertainment but it is more distraction then active engagement. Unless I am really trying to learn something new I don’t feel like it lights up the brain very much.

By exploring the creative side of the brain it is easier to get lost in time. Doing is active.  To create there is a focus.  I go deeper. More brain horsepower gets turned on. Time just passes when you are making something.   

How engaged you are, I would argue, is directly related to how happy you will be.  It leads to producing something – for yourself.  It doesn’t need to be good. It likely will not be a master piece.  But producing something, just like work, gives you a good feeling, a sense of accomplishment.  It’s for you to enjoy. To lose yourself. And over time you may just get good at it.

This creative side provides a type of structure for you.  It’s something that is always there and can be picked up at any time to fill the space of an unplanned day.    And if you have more than one creative pursuit?  Well now you have to prioritize and schedule.  A good problem to have.    

 There is another secret about being creative.  This secret is exposed when you start sharing your creative work, your interest.  You find like-minded people.  People who share the same hobby or pursuit. You now have a common interest that leads to a new social circle. Which deepens your interest.  And it is a loop that feeds on itself and builds. 

People who do the same type of work, same hobby, or have the same interest naturally attract each other.  You can work with that person on technique, on how to improve, and just talk about what you are doing.  This can take on a life of its own. We are want to belong to a tribe of like minded people. Creative pursuits and hobbies lead to that.   

Its great to want to start a new hobby. But how? For years I sat here waiting for inspiration. I was waiting to be moved or for something to stir within me that would drive me forward. Guess what – never happened

Retirement gives you more space for the moment to hit but for  the inspiration to happen I would argue it needs to be driven. If it hasn’t happened in 30 years why do I think it’s going to strike now. This desire does not just show up magically.    

It takes a decision to try something new.  Not waiting for the motivation to hit but by making a decision to experiment. A new hobby will not attract you if you have never done it before.  Breaking the inertia or momentum is hard.  I have struggled with this.  Likely since childhood.  

As I got older new hobbies, new creative outlets, were never encouraged as they take too much time away from what the important subjects were in school. That stuff you liked as a kid needed to be dropped as you get older. To focus on a career. Hobbies had no value as they would must likely not lead to making money.

No one told us that what we created was for us and not for anybody else.  So the muscle, the part of the brain that is creative, gets shut off or maybe mothballed.         

So for me I always said, right back to primary school, that I would like to write.  In the last thirty years I tried it once. When I was in between jobs I tried it briefly as part of a social group.  I did not cultivate it on my own.  It was more driven by the social side than just from the self enjoyment side. 

For writing really to be for me, I first must enjoy it for myself.  That is what this blog is.  It may only be read by me or my kids someday and that’s ok. 

 It is the journey not the destination.

So to prepare for retirement I believe everyone has to pick a creative outlet – writing, painting, gardening – as long as you are going to create for yourself.  Pretend you are eight again.  What did you like?   It’s not when the mood strikes you. It is just to start.  Then do it again.  Then do it over or tweak what you did.  Then do it again.  

This is what not working is.  It is about you choosing your project, you enjoying the process, your fun. It’s about being terrible. It’s about getting lost in it. It about finding part of you that you never knew existed.

It is about being a kid again.  No judgement.  

You earned it.