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Career and Work

Semi-retirement: One Way to Engage in More Meaningful Work

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By Bev Bachel

Years ago, a writer friend told me that when you’re self-employed you never really retire, you just wake up one day and realize all your clients are gone. Thankfully, that hasn’t happened to me, at least not yet, but it has got me thinking about my own path to retirement.

While it’s a few years off, I have made the transition from full-time work focused on what clients ask of me (e.g., write a brochure about trucking software) to part-time work focused on what I enjoy (e.g., write a blog post about intergenerational living).

So, does doing work I enjoy, often without worrying about how much I get paid, mean I’m semi-retired?

Yes.

According to Kate Schaefers, executive director of the University of Minnesota Advanced Careers Initiative—a gap-year program for experienced professionals as they transition from career jobs into more meaningful, post-career lives, semi-retirement—is defined as intentionally working less than full-time, typically doing less stressful and/or more fulfilling work, even if such work pays less.

Take Louis Capecci for example. He retired from his retail career but now manages home improvement projects and vacation properties for others. And while Rob Kirby still works full-time for a Big Ten university, he’s already laid the groundwork for semi-retirement by developing his skills as a freelance writer.

Capecci and Kirby aren’t alone. According to U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 13 million Americans age 65 and older will be in the labor force by 2024.[1]

There are many reasons for this: healthier, longer lives, as well as the need to save more for retirement top the list. “Plus, people are eager to stay engaged, especially when they’re able to do work that’s meaningful to them,” says Schaefers.

Tips to keep in mind

If you’re considering semi-retirement, here are five tips to make the most of it:

  • Take inventory. Schaefers advises asking yourself several key questions: What am I good at? What do I enjoy doing? How can I bring these things together in a way that leads to rewarding work?
  • Network with others. Who do you know who is doing something you find interesting? Connect with them to learn more. “Whether they’re former colleagues, long-time friends or someone you met last week while standing in line at the grocery store, a network of diverse people can help you connect with meaningful work,” says Schaefers.
  • Try things on for size. For instance, if you’re interested in podcasting, can you volunteer to help your neighborhood association or favorite nonprofit launch a podcast?
  • Embrace differences. “We have five generations in the workplace today, yet many of us live and work in age-segregated environments,” says Schaefers. “By reaching out to those who are younger and older, we can fuel both our creativity and productivity.” Plus, when we feel more connected, we tend to perform better.
  • Trust that you’ll figure it out. “You have to be okay with not having all the answers, even with not knowing what you’re doing,” says Schaefers. “At some point, things will fall into place and your future will once again feel bright.”

Bev Bachel is a Twin Cities freelance writer who is making the transition from full-time work to semiretirement.

[1] https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2017/article/older-workers.htm

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Podcast Episodes You May Like

How to Build a Portfolio Career – Kate Schaefers

Are You Ready for The New Long Life? – Andrew Scott

How Life Hacks Can Help Make Your Retirement the Best Time of Your Life – Sam Horn

Why Are People Unretiring? – Nicole Maestas

Ready, Set … Connect

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By Bev Bachel

Are you at a point in your life where you’re wondering what’s next? If so, you may want to power up your ability to connect.

According to Richard Lieder, life purpose guru and coauthor of Life Reimagined: Discovering Your New Life Possibilities, connecting is one of six guideposts that can help you navigate your way into what’s next, whether that’s an encore career, part-time employment or retirement.

And while meeting in person isn’t possible right now, there’s never been a better time to connect virtually. Whether it’s via a professional association webinar, a Zoom happy hour with colleagues or an online yoga class with neighbors, each connection offers an opportunity to network.

Get your fun on

According to Susan RoAne, author of How to Work a Room: The Ultimate Guide to Socializing in Person and Online, the most effective networkers know how to have fun.

Teresa Thomas agrees. The author of Win/Win Networking: Your Guidebook for Confident and Effective Connections and the founder of 50 Fun Things, Thomas strives to put fun into every networking event, even now as we shelter in place. For instance, she hosts a virtual Happier Hour each Friday afternoon. The price of admission? A fun beverage for yourself and a willingness to share one joy with others.

Fun is the name of the game for Carolyn Herfurth as well. A one-time stand-up comic who readily admits that belly laughs are an occupational hazard of working with her, Herfurth used to host BAMs—Bistros After Midnight—in front of her New York City apartment. “I’d set up a café table and four chairs and invite who ever wandered by to sit down and chat. The stories people shared were amazing. So were the connections people made.”

That’s one reason Herfurth is still bringing people together, though she’s now doing so virtually via Onward, a new podcast she developed to get more women to share the good, the bad and the ugly of their entrepreneurial lifestyle stories.

Be intentional

The purpose of networking isn’t only to meet people and share stories. It’s also to drive results. To do so, author and speaker Sam Horn advises adding a little “POP” to your networking:

  • Purposeful. With just 60 to 90 seconds to prove why you’re worth making time for, make your case by clearly stating who you are and why you want to meet and/or need help.
  • Original. Horn suggests that you “tell ‘n sell” by comparing who you are and what you do to popular books, movies and products. Here’s a fill-in-the-blank formula that can help: “What _____ does for _______, I do for you.”
  • Pithy. Set yourself up for success via brief, yet persuasive statements. Horn suggests using seven or fewer words, which is what many advertisers do when developing memorable slogans such as “Diamonds are forever” (De Beers) and “Just do it” (Nike).

Horn’s POP formula is even more relevant now that the coronavirus has moved so much of our lives online, in part because it’s much tougher to make a good, let alone lasting, impression when you’re doing so virtually.

Making the most of the moment

Regardless of why you’re networking or where you are in your own retirement journey, here are three more tips to help you forge stronger connections:

  • Let others shine. When networking, give others a chance to share their passions and showcase their expertise. They’ll remember you took time to listen, and you’re likely to learn more than you would otherwise.
  • Give yourself permission to boast. While you don’t want to go overboard, sharing accomplishments you’re proud of can go a long way toward making a positive, lasting impression.  
  • Add flare to your thank yous. While first impressions matter, so do last impressions. So how can you make a final impression that is memorable? Send a thank you card, post a LinkedIn recommendation, amplify someone else’s social media posts or write a review of your favorite podcast are just ways of doing so.

Bev Bachel is a Twin Cities freelancer who enjoys networking, especially when Happier Hours are involved. She is the author of What Do You Really Want? How to Set a Goal and Go for It.

Podcast Episodes You May Like

Why People Make a Career Change with Purpose Top of Mind – Chris Farrell

With the Freedom to Retire, Where Will You Plant Your New Tree? – Don Ezra

Retired, But Not Done Yet – Dr. Cynthia Barnett

How Life Hacks Can Help Make Your Retirement the Best Time of Your Life – Sam Horn

Will You Be an Entrepreneur in Your Second Act Career? – Dorie Clark

Seven Practical and Emotional Benefits of Decluttering

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By Bev Bachel

A stack of handwritten letters and dozens of unsent postcards. Six water bottles. My high school yearbooks. Three plastic bins full of receipts. A still-in-the box bike helmet.

This is just some of the clutter I can see from where I sit at my computer. All of it used to be neatly stored in my basement … until I decided it was time to finally face the boxes and cabinets of stuff I’ve accumulated during the 30+ years I’ve lived in my house.

Unfortunately, my clutter-clearing attention span lasts about a nanosecond. So, for motivation, I reached out to three individuals who have succeeded at paring down their stuff and an expert “clutter clearer.” Though they each call it something different—decluttering, weeding out, purging, Marie Kondo-ing—they’ve all come to appreciate the benefits of owning less.

Home sweet sailboat

Within the next few years, Carol Rogers expects to retire, sell her 2,000-square-foot home in Arlington, Virginia, and move to a sailboat. While she will eventually need to say no to just about everything she owns, she is currently focused on letting go of whatever seems right at the moment.

A few months ago, for example, she gave away an extra set of dishes and some pots and pans; over the past few weeks, she’s filled four boxes with books to donate. While she knows purging is a must, letting go of her possessions isn’t always easy.

“Where I get especially nostalgic is my art, which includes framed photos I’ve taken and treasured paintings by my friends,” says Rogers. “But what am I going to do with them? I can probably take one to the boat and maybe hang on to a few for the small cabin my partner and I might one day own. The rest has got to go.”

Curating their way to less

In preparing for retirement, John Capecci and Rob Kirby recently sold their three-bedroom Victorian home and moved into a 950-square-foot apartment just a few blocks away. In the process, they sold or gave away hundreds of items, including many they considered prized possessions—at least at the time.

One thing that made it easier to let go was viewing themselves as curators of their belongings. “We got to choose our very best stuff,” says Capecci. “It was an easy decision, for example, to lose the Ikea bookshelf and hold onto the Danish teak hutch. Now, even though we have less, our apartment feels like an upgrade.”

And while parting with prized possessions was difficult at the time, neither man has missed anything. “We can barely remember what we got rid of,” says Capecci.

Benefits of conquering clutter

Whether you’re a packrat or a minimalist, retirement and the years leading up to it are the perfect time to inventory your possessions, determine what to keep and begin letting go of the rest.

Here are seven practical and emotional benefits of doing so, according to Lori Koppelman, a “clutter clearer” and host of Clutter Chronicles, a podcast that features interviews with Mary (last name withheld upon request) who calls herself a “recovering hoarder” and admits to having an “unusual relationship with stuff”:

  1. More free time. The less cluttered your living space, the quicker and cheaper it is to clean and the more easily you can find things.
  2. Money saved. With fewer belongings, you know exactly what you have so you don’t end up buying duplicates. Plus you spend less money maintaining and repairing your possessions. And when you have less, you need less … including less storage space which, at a monthly average cost of $91, adds up to more than $1,000 annually.
  3. Amped up self-esteem. Clutter can gut your self-worth and keep you from going for your goals by anchoring you to the past. Clutter can also negatively impact your relationships with family and friends as you may shy away from inviting them over.
  4. Time to enjoy the present. When you don’t have to spend time cataloging old photos or sorting through the mountains of paperwork that’s accumulated since you graduated from high school, you’re able to enjoy life in real-time.
  5. Open up opportunities. When you’re not weighed down emotionally and physically by your stuff, you have extra energy to take seize new opportunities.
  6. Find your purpose. Rather than dealing with your stuff, you can spend your time on activities that give your life meaning—and make a difference in the lives of others.
  7. Bequeath your legacy. Once you’ve eliminated your clutter, you can more easily assess what you own, what’s of financial and sentimental value and to whom you’d like to pass it on.
A strategy for success

If you’re struggling with clutter, Koppelman recommends the three-box method. Grab three boxes, pick a drawer, a closet or a room to tackle and set a timer for 15, 30 or 60 minutes. Go through your belongings and put them in one of these three boxes:

  • Trash what is broken, unusable or has lost its significance
  • Donate or sell what has value
  • Giveaway or return to family and friends

Emotions can be clutter, too

While you’re at it, don’t forget to deal with your emotional clutter as well. “Unfinished business, strained relationships, hurt feelings, lingering regrets and unresolved guilt can all get in the way of enjoying life after retirement,” says Koppelman. “In fact, forgiving yourself and others can be the ultimate act of letting go—and perhaps the exact thing that truly sets you free.

Bev Bachel is a freelance writer and editor, and the author of What Do You Really Want? How to Set a Goal and Go for It. A lifelong goal-setter, she’s tapped into the power of goal-setting to learn Spanish, walk 10,000 steps a day and raise money for causes she cares about. One of her clutter-related goals? Give away the kitchen appliances she no longer uses.

Podcast Episodes You May Like

Design Your Life and Get Unstuck – Dave Evans

How Life Hacks Can Help Make Your Retirement the Best Time of Your Life – Sam Horn

We’re All Ageing. Are You Up for a Bolder Approach? – Carl Honoré

Is It Time to Break Up with Busy? – Yvonne Tally

More Posts from Bev Bachel

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An Article You May Be Interested In

Marie Kondo’s strategy for finding joy at home during the coronavirus quarantine

Hiring Older Workers: Reasons To Close The Gap

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By Susan Williams

We are currently experiencing a labour shortage in North America.

In the US, there are now more jobs than people looking for work and this situation is no different in Canada.

If you think this is a good thing unfortunately this isn’t necessarily the case. If left unchecked for too long, this situation could have a significant impact on the economy. This is because labour shortages can drive up wages as businesses compete to try and fill their vacancies. When the wages are increased, this also then increases the cost of products and services which then can turn into increased inflation rates.

But there may be some specific implications in this situation when it comes to older workers.

First the good news.

There are many people planning on working past the traditional age of retirement and this could be a really good thing to help in this situation. In fact, according to the Retirement Confidence Survey published by EBRI (Employee Benefit Research Institute), 8 in 10 workers believe they will work for pay in retirement.

Now for the bad news.

Out of these possible 8 workers that want to work for pay in retirement, they discovered only 3 actually do.

So we have a gap – and it’s a significant one for both businesses and workers.

If I was to do some very basic math, there are an estimated 10,000 baby boomers in the US crossing over into retirement age everyday. This represents approximately 3.65 million workers a year. So if 80% of these people would like to work longer and yet only 30% actually do, that would mean there is potentially a workforce each year of approximately 2.04 million people that may be going untapped.

But businesses need to be engaged and actively looking at this opportunity if they want to tap into these resources. But unfortunately, some companies current ageist attitudes are stopping them from doing this.

Harvard Business Review conducted some research with 10,000 companies and this is what they discovered;

“Over two-thirds of the companies considered older age a competitive disadvantage. This is consistent with data from the AARP that shows two-thirds of individuals age 45 to 74 have experienced age-related discrimination. In other words, if you are older, you are likely to be considered less capable, less able to adapt, or less willing to roll up your sleeves and do something new than your younger peers.”

But these aging stereotypes are so wrong. As I shared in a previous post concerning the developing issue of a gray ceiling for older workers, older workers actually;

  • help organizations stay more productive
  • contribute skills and experiences that can’t be developed overnight
  • stay with organizations longer then their younger colleagues
  • and to many people’s surprise are actually quite technically savvy

Along with not offering employment opportunities, many employers are also not supporting the development of older workers skills as well.

HRD (Human Resources Director) shared some research that they recently conducted with 1,000 employees in the United States. What they discovered was that “60 % of Baby Boomers feel insecure about their current skillsets, and 73% say their employers don’t help them identify the skills they need to develop for the future.”

So in a nutshell – here’s the gap we need to close;

Businesses need workers. Would-be retirees would like to work. It’s doesn’t seem that complicated to me to have some discussions and figure out some creative ways to do this – and do it well.

Flexible work options, offering interesting work and assignments, the chance to mentor employees are all just some examples of some ways to leverage this available talent. I think it’s just a matter of putting aside some outdated ideas and thinking and moving progressively forward into the future – for everyone’s benefit.

 

This article originally appeared on Booming Encore and was reprinted with permission.

Susan Williams is the Founder of Booming Encore – a website and social media network dedicated to providing information and inspiration to help Baby Boomers create and live their very best encore. Being a Boomer herself, Susan loves to discover ways to live life to the fullest. She shares her experiences, observations and opinions on living life after 50 and personally tries to embrace Booming Encore’s philosophy of making sure every day matters. For daily updates to help you live your best encore, be sure to follow Booming Encore on Twitter and join them on Facebook.

 

Lessons from Kobe Bryant’s Life After Retirement

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By Joe Casey

Remember Kobe Bryant’s retirement? It didn’t take long, but he was thriving in life after retirement. He was passionate about his second career in retirement. And he had already won an Oscar.

You’ll always remember where you were when you heard the news. And again later when you heard that his 13-year-old daughter was aboard the helicopter as well. Kobe Bryant dead at 41. Nine lives were lost and many families devastated.

We were in Boston, my hometown, visiting our oldest daughter who lives there now and with our son on a college visit. (Yes, I am writing this as a lifelong Celtics fan). It did not seem real at first. It took a while to process. So shocking and so very sad.

More Than a Basketball Icon in His Life After Retirement

Reading the reactions from those who knew him painted a picture of his life and who he was.  An iconic NBA player. A father of four daughters. A Valued Mentor. A Creative Person. An Entrepreneur after his retirement from the NBA in 2016.

He leaves a compelling legacy after a short life. The high-flying lifestyle of a recently retired top-flight professional athlete may not seem relatable, at first. Agents and other handlers. The astounding levels of wealth created.

Kobe with was blessed extraordinary talent and physical gifts that provided a foundation for success. Beyond his talent, Kobe Bryant’s story, which ended far too soon, was rooted in an exceptional drive and work ethic. But tragedies like this one remind us that they are indeed still human and mortal, just like the rest us.

Reflecting on what I’ve read and heard in the aftermath of this terrible accident, I’ve noticed Kobe Bryant’s life offers some valuable reminders about life after retirement:

 

Plan for Life After Retirement – But Live Fully Now

Make no mistake. It’s essential to plan for retirement. You need to establish a level of financial security and a degree of certainty for the future. And it’s wise to plan for what’s next and what you want to do in your life after retirement. But it’s easy for the discipline it takes to retire well to become an obsession. Planning for retirement includes a mindset of sacrificing today to invest for the future. Be mindful to strike the right balance. Figure out how to live fully in the now as well. As hard as you may try you can’t plan for every variable. Don’t create regrets.

Be Multidimensional

Kobe was definitely one of the most intense and disciplined pro athletes of all time. But there were more sides to him than his obsession with and success as a basketball player. Because he spent years as a child in Europe, because of his father’s pro basketball career, he became multilingual, becoming fluent in Italian and Spanish as well as English. He also cultivated interests beyond basketball, creating a foundation for a robust second act career. What are your interests outside of your professional life?

Create a Second Career

Following his retirement from the NBA in 2016, Kobe Bryant quickly built a thriving second career based on his variety of interests. He started an interesting series on ESPN+ called Details breaking down key players and games in-depth from his experience and perspective. Notably, he created a production company, Granity Studios. He developed a short film “Dear Basketball” that won an Academy Award in 2017. Since then, he created a series of books for children, The Wizenard Series, designed to inspire kids.

What could a second act career possibility be for you? Are there skills and interests that you could leverage in your life after retirement? It may not be a production company, but it might be something you could do part-time that fits with your vision for your life after retirement.

Focus

Kobe Bryant was extremely driven and ambitious. When you look back at the entirety of his basketball career and his post-retirement pursuits, his ability to intensely focus on what he wanted stands out.

What’s next for you? What can you focus on now that will help you be better prepared for your future.

 

Mentor Others

The outpouring of emotion following his sudden death including a tsunami of messages and stories form NBA players past and present. It was instantly clear the impact that Kobe had with teammates and peers. It was also abundantly clear that many of today’s NBA players had idolized him growing up and he was their hero. The stories emerged about how many younger players he had mentored, trained or supported. Here’s one small example of support following Gordon Hayward’s serious injury on the opening game of 2017.

Who are you taking under your wing? Keep an eye out for opportunities to help people learn from what you know.

Mentor someone and pass along your experience and wisdom. it can make a big difference.

Think about this life lost too soon.

Honor his legacy by applying one of the many lessons he leaves behind.

 

Joe Casey is a former senior HR executive at Merrill Lynch who’s in his second career as a retirement coach at Retirement Wisdom. He holds a Masters in Gerontology from the University of Southern California and works with people to help them discover and design what’s next after their primary career.  He’s the host of The Retirement Wisdom Podcast talking with authors, experts and retirees pursuing interesting Second Acts who share their lessons learned that can help you in your journey.