Bright, shiny object syndrome

If you lack motivation now or have it only in fits and starts – FIND IT!  And find it now, before you retire!  Find it in bulk.  Bottle it, bag it, freeze it, save it, put it on lay-away – but find it and find it in spades!  There is no point at all in being retired with sixteen hours of daylight on your hands if you are not motivated to get up, ready to do battle with those sixteen hours! 

One of the many things I knew about myself before going into retirement is that I do not do well in unscheduled time.  It’s the main reason I could never freelance or run my own business. 

 

I also know that I suffer from “bright, shiny object syndrome” …. oh look, a crossword puzzle ….. ! 

 

So somewhere, somehow – I had to figure out how to motivate myself … almost on an hourly basis.  As I suspected, it’s a slippery, downhill slope to the couch and the remote.  (Also, if I could go cold turkey, I would cancel my cable and thus remove the temptation to laze around and veg.  But I am still too addicted to the nightly news and OHL hockey.  And cancelling my cable, but continuing to watch programs on-line doesn’t count.  I’d still be vegging plus running up my monthly internet bill to boot!)

And once again in the guise of the messenger that begs not to be shot, the best way I have found to stay motivated … scheduling. 

 

Just like you have been doing on a daily basis for possibly your entire life. 

 

Because despite all of your brave talk about retirement freeing up all of your spare time, about how you are going to spend your days doing “nothing” – you are still going to need a calendar.  In fact, my calendar has become my life line (so buy yourself a pretty one at the next boxing day sale!) 

 

If you do not want the TV remote to become your new best friend, you have to immediately begin to build and maintain a structure to your days.  

 

I’m not implying you should start scheduling your days on an hour by hour basis (unless that works for you!).  At the very minimum, you need a daily “to do” list.  The list can be as simple as a mental note to wash the car and bicycle to the park.  Or it can be as elaborate as a detailed list written down in a daytimer.  Either way – you have to figure out a way to accomplish something on a daily basis.  For the over-achieving, it can be solving the world’s nuclear crisis.  For the rest of us – just getting the laundry done or actually reading War and Peace may enough.