Consider Working in Some Capacity

Managing the Early Days - Part 5

"An able statesman out of work, like a huge whale, will endeavour to overturn the ship unless he has an empty cask to play with." - The Prince

A fundamental part of being human is doing things, and once you have nothing you need to do, you can feel listless and depressed. That’s why I think of “retire” as a verb, a doing word, and why most of my advice over the next few months is about doing things.

That’s why, ironic as it might sound, you might consider continuing to work in some capacity in your early retirement. By "work," I’m not necessarily talking about paid work (though it could be, sure) and it could just be a few hours or days a week. Work in this context means anything that solves problems, creates value, or contributes in a way that matters.

Working lessens the impact all four of the Horsemen: it provides purpose, establishes a routine, helps maintain your social connections, and ultimately helps with meaning and identity.

For me, my work ended up being board roles, the odd bit of paid consultancy, advising startups, and mentoring founders and mid-career professionals. Even deciding which early-stage businesses to invest in and which philanthropic goals to pursue is a kind of work (more on both these topics in a few weeks).

For some reason, the consultancy I do tends to involve a lot of whiteboards. And Post-Its. And waving my arms

What could working look like for you? You might want to start by redefining what “work” means. Maybe your work is volunteering (interestingly, Aotearoa New Zealand has the highest rate of voluntary work in the OECD), or a community woodworking collective, or some ad hoc consulting. Try and keep the aperture of your life wide open and experiment.

Don’t overcommit though. You still want some whitespace—unscheduled time to think, read, or just be. You’re retired, so don’t fill every minute with obligations, whatever you do. So instead of jumping into a long-term board role, start with a couple of meetings to see if it’s a good fit. Try time-boxing a project for a few weeks before fully committing. You get the idea.

Up next week..a discussion about hobbies, including a photo of me knitting..