If you're not doing it now...

If you are not doing it before you are retired you won't do it after you are retired.  I heard this caveat a long time ago and stuck with me.

It could be a play on the adage: Don't put something off until tomorrow because tomorrow may never come or it might be a different way of saying, work to live; don't live to work. Whichever, it's worth considering before retirement.

According to Zilinski's  How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free :

"Leisure consultants and pre-retirement planners state that if you are not spending any time pursuing these activities before retirement, it is unlikely that you will spend much time on these activities after you quit work."  P. 17    
( I reviewed this book in an earlier blog.   If you copy and paste this link you could check out that blog entry:
https://debslifeinretirement.blogspot.ca/2016/02/reading-to-prep-for-retirement.html

Zilinski recommends making a list of 10 favourite interests and activities that you would like to pursue in retirement and write how much time you are presently spending on these activities. His reasoning is that unless you have a variety of activities to engage in when you retire, you may become bored and even depressed so you should start cultivating and pursuing interests while still working. He contends that even the most enjoyable activity loses its charm if it becomes routine.

When you are really busy with your career and family there may be plenty of activities that had to be put on hold. Even if you haven't done something in years, you might be able to have time for it again once you retire.  The real issue is whether you start those activities again and if you will become involved in new activities when you have the time.

So I did a review of the activities that are taking up my time to see if I am the exception to the rule-- They fall into a few categories and I left off quite a few things that fall into I was doing them before--like exercise, reading, traveling, cottage, shopping.

Old but different; the unavoidable things that still need to be done because retirement doesn't make them magically disappear.

1. Housework including decorating and organizing--certainly did housework before retirement, definitely still doing it now.  The difference is I can actually enjoy it now.  I'm not saying I love cleaning but there is more enjoyment in having the time do a decent job and to enjoy the results.  A great thing about retirement is not needing to cram all that work into the few hours available at night and on weekends.

2. Cooking-  Thanks to the difference in our schedules I wasn't really doing this much before retirement, Moe was doing most of the daily cooking so I just did the same old stuff when I cooked. That's why I said I wanted to learn how to cook again in retirement.  I've certainly enjoyed trying new recipes especially when they turn out well.  Not a new activity but actually enjoying doing it is new.

Not new but with a twist

3. Baking--this is something I have loved to do since I was a kid.  However, before retirement I baked on demand (read only when I had to or if I had tons of time).  Now I bake more often and try new recipes and even ones that are a challenge.

4. Yoga--I was doing yoga before I retired.  At home, often from videos and apps and books but sporadically.  The twist here is now I go to yoga classes-regularly.  Classes are so much better.  Didn't have time for classes before.  Love yoga!!

5. Knitting--wasn't doing this before retirement because it is addictive and will keep you from going to bed when you should.  But not new since I have been able to knit since high school.  Now I am knitting again.  And it's still addictive and still keeps me up at night.  The twist is that I joined a knitting circle--we knit for charities and it is a once a week social outing.

Below are Actually New Activities.  Hah!!

6. Duolingo--it's an app that helps you learn another language.  I am improving my French, everyday.  Yes, I live in a French home and took French to grade 12 but I still have learned a lot from my iPad--I once said to kiss my neck when I really wanted to say kiss my butt--my pronunciation needs work!  C'est la vie!

7. Blogging.  Writing and publishing my personal writing--definitely new.  Still scary.

Below is Proof that I'm an Exception to the Rule of "if you didn't do it before you won't do it after you retire":

8.  I have no rhythm, I can't sing to save my life but I have always wanted to play so I bought a piano and am learning with lots of practice....

Thanks to my friend, Beth I was able to play the Scale of C with my right hand when we moved the piano into our house. It seems like thousands of years ago she tried to teach me on her grandmother's piano. That's as far as we got.  I now know all the scales with both hands and in unison, and a couple of songs.  I still can't sing or carry a tune, so my piano playing career will remain in the house.

So that may make me an exception to the idea that if you weren't doing it before you won't do it after however, as I said I am also not the exception. I was sure I was going to be doing these things but...

9. I still haven't made it to spin class or the pool, my garden doesn't exist and I've only painted one picture.

But then again, there is always September.