Thursday, June 2, 2022

Retirement, Part 1: Time Management


by Audra Harders

I am retired from my day job.

There, I said it. Actually, I’ve been saying that to everyone who will listen, including the dog, my spring planted deck flowers and, most of all, myself. I no longer need to protect my weekends, count down the days to vacation or scramble to clean the house - among so many other things that competed with my 8:00 - 4:30, M-F, for my time and head space.

When I realized I now had time to blog in Seekerville - rather than just handling a few administrative duties - my stomach dropped as I searched for topics. Composing a post on writing didn’t seem wise when, like the Tin Man of Wizard of Oz, my writing joints and muscles are rusty and in need of a bit of exercise and oiling. Trying to bluff my way through marketing and trends was a foolish idea, as I need to learn them myself before I can pass along secrets. Personal growth and insight? Well, I have a lot, but it centers around the realm of 4-H and everything Extension Office (my life the last 25 years) with very little left over for discovering the aha moments of characterization, theme, or story truth.

So, where does that leave me? 

Square One on the checker board of the next phase of my life. 

Retirement. It’s a concept we work toward our entire career. Think about the stereotypes of playing golf all day, letting that inner social butterfly free to meet friends over coffee or lunch and squeeze into the latest Bunko evenings, or even sitting back with popcorn in a bowl and catching up on all those shows you’ve recorded over the years. 

Me? I’ve been working on cleaning up the clutter of 32 years of family life in our house. Throwing away precious mementos, I can’t even remember why I saved in the first place; dumping out closets and realizing the fashions I’d saved look a bit dated and really, will I ever fit in that again?; digging out my home office, throwing away old how-to-write books and awful manuscript fragments, and creating a room that invites me to write once again. It felt good to de-clutter, but my life remained off-kilter. 

Hmmm, why is that?

Over the next few months, join me on my journey as I discover what to do with that brass ring called retirement and how I return to the author life I had to set aside just as the carpet of success was being rolled out before me.

Whitney Nichols @therandomvibez

I will not get into all that right now. Let’s just say, God’s timing is so perfect all I had to do was obey and His plans for me would all come together and it would be better than I ever imagined.

So, back on track. To truly enjoy retirement, one must realize there are some rules I recommend following. This month, let’s talk about TIME MANAGEMENT. 

  • My first month seemed like a long vacation and I enjoyed it.

I retired from the Extension Office on March 31 and the entire month of April felt like one big vacation. By the end of 4 weeks, the stress had left, and I could tackle the world again. The problem was, my vacation mindset had also suspended little pesky tasks like paying bills, setting appointments, remembering events, etc. I scrambled to catch up on all the things I had overlooked because my routine of checking my calendar at work first thing in the morning on my computer was no longer in place. 

TAKEAWAY: Find a method of accountability that will work for you and keep you on task. Since snipping the strings tethering me to the computer, I wasn’t in a hurry to recreate the Outlook calendar system at home. Instead, I opted for a simple little planner by Moleskin that lets me look at a week at a glance on one page and the opposite page allows me to list my to-dos so they don’t stray far for me to get them to-done.

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

  • My days grew together.

From the time our children were born until my eldest got her driver’s license and I went back to work, I kept a central scheduling system in the kitchen - a calendar chosen at Christmas with large daily squares displayed next to the refrigerator. If an appointment or task wasn’t on that calendar, it would not get done. That habit of looking at the calendar on the wall may have gone dormant once the kids no longer needed parental assistance, but within a day, my brain recaptured the habit of glancing at the calendar to see what was on tap for my day.

TAKEAWAY: Though the refrigerator has changed (twice!) and the wallpaper upgraded with the times, I need a focal point to ground my day. I’m making do with my Weeds of the West freebie calendar, but next year, those daily boxes are going to come in size XL!

  • Sleeping in is great, but…

You’ve heard the term, “when you rest, you rust,” right? Just because no one is essentially calling the shots for you anymore, doesn’t mean you can kick back and ride that banana boat through the canals of life for the next however many years. You need a plan; you need purpose; you need to claim your own sense of accomplishment!! There were 4 of us long-time employees who retired from the Extension office within 10 months. Of the 4, 3 of us had a definite goal in mind as we filled out the paperwork and began looking forward to “punching out” for the last time. My goal was to return to writing while the other two looked forward to “grandmother” duties and unlimited volunteer work. Our 4th compadre, retired without a plan in mind. She has not gotten involved in the community, she hasn’t discovered new (or long buried) hobby talents, she hasn’t explored the possibilities of her new phase in life. She was the first to leave 10 months ago and her outlook on retirement now is so much a burden rather than a joy. 

TAKEAWAY: Don’t let this happen to you! What’s your dream? What’s your heart’s desire? What’s your REWARD for all the hard work you’ve put in over the years? Embrace it now! Mold it, shape it, envision the joy it will give you. Have a plan! Remember how I mentioned the carpet of my dreams snatched away from under my feet just as I experienced the first euphoria of success? Oh, how that hurt! I just knew I was a one-and-done author. Well, God didn’t see it that way. He kept the fire burning in me to write. You see, I didn’t retire to fill my days with house cleaning or volunteering (though both are very honorable endeavors), I retired because stories in me are clamoring to be told. I’ve met untold sources along the way to feed reality into my novels. I’ve made dear friends and visited places that kept the creative flame alive in me. I HAD FUN!

What are your plans? Have you looked ahead to prepare for those dreams tucked within and waiting for the call action that is coming? Please share and let’s make some plans!


Audra Harders writes "rugged stories with heart" featuring fearless men who haven't a clue about relationships, rescued by ladies who think they have all the answers. In real life, she's married to her own patient hero, has two adult children, and a very strong-willed Corgi. She began writing right after her son was born and sold her first book to Love Inspired mere months before that same son graduated from high school. Surviving those years in between reminds her God does have her plan for her life...and that He has a tremendous sense of humor. You can visit Audra at:
Twitter: @audraharders

 


28 comments:

  1. Audra! Thank you for kicking off the new Seekerville schedule! WELCOME BACK, MY FRIEND!!!! I am happy dancing in Western New York and so glad to see you back here, writing, talking, blogging.... huge congrats to you and yeah... dive into the water. It's great.

    And I know that it's so easy to think we have all this time... but that's a trap. I find that getting my writing done first is huge... and then no matter what happens the rest of the day, my career is on target. Go get 'em, Tiger, and how I love seeing this new schedule and our new bloggers in June.

    We are truly blessed!

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    1. Good morning, Seekerville and good morning, Ruthy!! Blogger refuses to acknowledge me. Arghhhh! Anyway, it is good to be back in Seekerville! It's been a long journey to get to this point and I thank my Seeker sisters for all your support through the times life was overwhelming and I tried to quit writing. I love you!!!

      Recently, I've pulled out two of my Scrivener binders - one contemporary and one historical. I've been shifting between the two until I figure out which one has the strongest pull. Or, I might never figure it out and I'll finish both books and really confuse my readers, LOL! Oh, the possibilities are endless!!

      Have a great day, Ruthy!!!!

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    2. I would rewrite that historical you had that absolutely captivated me... I felt like that opening was stinkin' brilliant. Make 'em suffer... and bring redemption.

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  2. Congratulations on your retirement and on the next steps in your writing career! I went back to work a few months ago after about 7 months of not working at all and I can agree that time management is a must! I was so unproductive w when I didn't have to keep a schedule and you'd think I'd have gotten a ton of writing done, but nope. Not a bit. I'll be excited to hear about this journey back into writing and whatever God has planned for the next phase of life for you!

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  3. Good morning, Glynis! So good to see you again! And congratulations on returning to work. Going back to work - it's a funny term we use for participating in productivity outside of the home. WRITING is work!

    I'm sorry you had a few unproductive writing months. Oh girlfriend, I can bemoan unproductive over an entire urn of coffee with you! My last two years of day job were spent working from home. What kept me on track? I had a daily morning meeting with my team where we discussed our tasks for the day and then went off to accomplish them. I have to retain that routine, and my husband has been very patient as my "team member." LOL!!

    Stay turned to this series. I'm kind of excited to share all the pitfalls and joys of retiring successfully!

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  4. Audra here. If anyone has any suggestions on how to get Blogger to recognize me, I'd be eternally grateful!!

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  5. Welcome back, Audra. Congratulations on your retirement. I understand about having to keep disciplined when home during the day. It happens to me every summer when I am off from substitute teaching. It is too easy to sleep in and not get started on the day. I am hoping to retire from substituting in another year or so, although I will keep working at the bookstore. I need to get a good schedule to continue my writing, too. Enjoy your retirement!

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    1. Thank you, Sandy! Enjoy your summer off from teaching. When the kids were out of school for the summer, that's when the busy time started for 4-H. Whew, I'm glad I'm out of that now, LOL. Time can just get away from us, can't it? As I'm trying to build my habit of looking through my planner, I'm finding that reminds me of the things that have to get done during the week. I'll work on completing consistent daily tasks soon :)

      Have a great day!

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  6. I have no suggestions re: Blogger. I'm convinced that there's an evil little man sitting inside a computer somewhere gleefully sticking his finger in the Blogger-verse to make things go haywire at inopportune times. *insert eyeroll!*

    But retirement... My husband retired earlier than we had planned a few years ago, and we're slowly adjusting. My routine (I've almost always worked at home) and his routine needed to mesh together. I think that we've achieved that. Mostly.

    The hardest thing about his retirement is remembering what day it is! I wake up in the morning and have to think pretty hard... :-)

    But the best thing about his retirement is that we can schedule days to do things together in the middle of the week. During the summer we plan a weekly hiking day - today we're heading to Custer State Park to do a few miles. Whether it's Wednesday, Thursday, or Monday, we call it our Saturday.

    Enjoy your time, darling Audra, and have fun easing into a fulfilling and productive writing routine!

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    1. Enjoy your day, Jan. I love Custer State Park. (And I know you won't get too close to the bison!)

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  7. Good for you, Jan! Enjoy all the hikes and day trips as you explore SD!! Trying to pull my husband out of his shop is next to impossible. Since he closed the door on his painting business last year, he's been working on creating custom knives. The knives and sheaths are beautiful, and I'm glad he's moved gracefully into the next phase of his life in retirement, but wow! Talk about obsessive! He works all day in the shop and we watch YouTube videos at night on leather-working techniques, LOL. May the good Lord bless my writing with the tenacity my husband has for his knife building, LOL!

    BTW, today is Thursday. The only way I remember that is my BIL calls every Thursday morning at 8am to catch up on life. Enjoy Custer State Park together!!!

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  8. Audra, welcome back and congratulations on your retirement and return to writing. Can't wait to see what's next for you!

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  9. Yay, Audra!!!!! So glad to have you back. Retirement. Hmm. It is what you make of it. It's merely a new phase of life. My husband is retired and since I can pretty much set my own schedule, we don't worry about setting the alarm. Oddly enough, we find ourselves waking up earlier than when we used to set the alarm. But it is a different mindset. We still have tasks we need/want to accomplish. You'll find your groove, my friend. And then you can start crankin' out those books again. :D

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    1. I absolutely love your outlook, Mindy. My internal clock tends to run early morning, but my husband has become somewhat of a night owl and I get sucked into YouTube time with him. Thankfully, the sun rises early now so I'm up with the light. When winter comes, well, I tackle that time issue when it comes, LOL.

      Thanks for the vote of confidence in producing books, too. Gotta have a goal, right??

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  10. Thanks, Kathy!! I'm excited to settle in and start my "next" career, LOL!!

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  11. Audra, I loved this post (and I loved spending time with you in April)! Your suggestions here are so practical. Though I'm not about to retire, I will most likely be an empty-nester within two years. I already know I want to write more books, but Hubs and I also wan to do some traveling. So, we'll see how that pans out. I LOVE planners. Being able to see my week at a glance and to have a roadmap for how I spend my time is invaluable for me!

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    1. Jeanne, so good to see you here in Seekerville!! It was wonderful spending the weekend with you in April - after the Susie May Warren workshop had been delayed 2 years!! And Congratulations to you signing with your agent! I loved joining in on all the pics (and retakes, LOL!)

      Empty nesting is as good as retiring. We'll write many books and claim our dreams. You go on super trips and I'll come to C.Sprgs to see you!!

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  12. Happy retirement and happy return to the writing world! Welcome back!

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    1. Thanks, Erica. You're my hero in the Regency world! I'll be sending some questions your way? Here in the Writing World is a nice place to be :)

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    2. I still remember the opening of that Regency you wrote Audra. It was cool!

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  13. I have no day job, Audra. But I do set my alarm for 8 am. I just keep sleeping later and going to sleep later. It's a vicious cycle and setting that alarm helps.

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    1. Oh Mary, you've have more day responsibilities than I can count!! If setting my alarm helps me do all you do, I'm all over it :)

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  14. Happy Retirement and best wishes with your writing.

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    1. Awww, thanks, Lucy! I look forward to spending so much more time in Seekerville, as well as, writing :)

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  15. Well, I see that our attempts to get you signed in with an actual name went well...

    Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! Oh my word, we'll figure this out, Audra!

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  16. Audra, this is so interesting. Retirement for me felt like changing one day job for another, big mistake. Now I know the tasks I must get done, may get done and add in play time. Glad you're back in Seekerville, very clever post and can't wait to read more about your new journey. Shine up that brass ring.

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  17. Audra! -- this is Glynna. For some reason, I'm not being recognized either even though I choose "google account." :( Anyway, congrats on retirement. I hope to eventually not be TOO far behind you! So I'll be eagerly awaiting each step of your posts on what you're learning on your retirement journey back to writing.

    If you've ever been in the hospital or visited someone there, you know that usually they have a wipe board in the room that is changed each day, so you might try something like that to greet you when you wake up so you can keep things straight: "Good morning! Today is Friday, June 3, 2022!" :)

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  18. Hi Audra! I can't comment on retirement yet. I'm still plugging away at my day job. I leave my house every weekday morning before 7:00. I have to manage all my writing and other commitments around that. Although... I'll be on summer break soon. It's sometimes challenging to adjust to having very little structure in the summer.

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