Why Retirement Shouldn't Be An Ongoing Vacation

There is something about the fall. You can feel a hush settle in on the streets as the kids return to school. No longer are they out during the day riding their bikes, hanging out in the playgrounds or walking around with their friends. 

A type of discipline starts to emerge.

Gone are the late nights, the freedom to sleep in or the flexibility to just put things off to the next day. It’s now replaced with homework to be done, after school lessons to attend and lunches to be made. 

As I felt this season shift this year, I could feel myself starting to feel the need to get more organized as well. I realized that the lazy hazy days of summer were not necessarily serving me well. 

I had lagged behind on several things. 

First, my exercise regime is now completely out of whack.

The daily discipline I had before the start of summer seemed to have waned over the past few months. Other activities were easily replacing my daily routine.  I would often procrastinate and find reasons to not exercise and do something else. Sometimes I would convince myself it was just too hot. Other times, I would chalk it up to travelling or not having the time.  But at the end of the day, it was all on me and I just let it slide. 

I also took my eye off healthy eating.

Ice cream became a major food group for me. Going out with family and friends or hosting outdoor BBQ's introduced fabulous social occasions but not so fabulous food choices. As a result, getting rid of these few extra pounds are now something else I need to focus on this fall. 

My goals started to slide.

During the summer, I would start the day off with the intention to do certain things but someone the day got away from me. I found myself easily distracted in doing other things. This wouldn't normally be a concern for me but I wasn't getting the things done that I really wanted to do. I started to feel like time was running away from me and the things I really wanted to get done were being replaced by easy distractions that weren't necessarily feeding my soul.

The thing is, when summer vacation is over and the kids return to school, a type of discipline comes along with this. But when you’re retired, it can be dangerous to treat your life as an ongoing vacation. You have to establish some discipline and structure in order to establish and maintain healthy habits and ensure you spend your time really the way you want to.

So, it’s not just back to school for the kids this fall. I’m also going back to school to learn that I can’t just live my life like I’m on vacation all the time. Sometimes you just have to buckle down and do the work.  

But no one says you can’t still have fun doing it!