MOSTOFWHAT’S
writtenunder the
heading“Retirement
Planning” isabout
money.Butwhatabout
thatothercurrency:
time?I’vebeenwatchingall this for
threegenerations.Mygrandfatherdidn’t
seem tohaveenough todo, andeven
atage7, Iconnected inactivitywithhis
too-earlydeath.Mydadclockedout in
similar fashion, thoughagoodpartwas
medical.Sowhenmy turn to thinkabout
allof thisstarted, twodecadesago inmy
mid-40s, Ipaidattention topeople like
HowardSpringen,whohelpedvolunteers
likemyselfbuildwheelchairramps for
theneedyuntilhismid-90s.Lessonone
waseasy:Youslowdownorstopdoing
meaningful things, youdie.
Iknew therewasmore to it, andasI’ve
learned, I fashionedareallygoodplan:
Workabitanddoa lotofvolunteering.The
formerbecameaone-personconsultancy,
working in the industrywhereIspent
my lifeandwhichwasaplaceIcouldgive
back,because ithadgivensomuch tomy
family.And the latter focusedonserving
asguest lecturer inbusinessschools, about
25ayearworldwide, sharingwhatIhad
learned inmycareer. Ihadsomething to
give, something tosharewithothers—and
it’skeptmeactive.Friendswhowerestill
workingbutsoon toretirekeptsaying,
“Your life looksreallycool.Howdidyou
do it?”
So,here’smyadvice:First, youneed to
writeaplan— longbeforeyour lastday
atwork.Lotsofpeoplehateplanning,but
takeheart: Itain’t200pages; justasingle
sheetofpaper.Theplanstartswithwhat
you like todo, and thereare threeparts:
LifeAfterWork
Whateveryoudoafteryouretire,besure todosomething
AMERICANWAY
DECEMBER2015
103
HEALTH
ByRobBritton
ILLUSTRATION
BRIAN SMITH
Mygrandfatherdidn’tseem tohaveenough todo, andeven
atage7, Iconnected inactivitywithhis too-earlydeath.