30 Retirement Thoughts

Am I already retired? Some thoughts on the perspective.

Random Observation/Comment #847: I did it my way.

Why this list?

Retirement is such a weird concept. Why do people sacrifice their time and youth to work towards doing nothing when doing something is the whole part of life? I actually don't want to retire - I just want to transition to my entrepreneurial phase of not giving a shit about what other people think - which is actually much closer to achieving than you might think. "Financial freedom" is still a control concept from nation states and corporations, so I'll try to break out of the mold as well.

Jimmy Carr's quote on framing retirement resonated with me: "I think you would give me everything you own in 25 years time to be the age you are now and as healthy as you are right now."

I may be secretly writing this for my parents (and my future self).

1. I don't want to retire. I want to work on my own terms (deadlines, accomplishments, fulfillment, business model).

2. The first 10 years of retirement are different from the last 10 years - Health gets harder to maintain. Activities change from hikes to spas. Treks to cruises. Plan accordingly.

3. Don't get obsessed with money - If you have a no income, I imagine it's very nerve racking to see a number go down (when your whole life you've worked to have the number go up). It's easy to slip into further obsession to save.

4. When playing any video game, the end game always has an abundance of resources. And then you simply stop playing. What's the point of all those special potions?

5. Don't just become a consumer of media - I'm looking at you retired parents who have been the worst YouTube bingers!

6. Creation will keep the mind young and fulfilled - Use YouTube as a series of how-to videos that lead to doing things and applying knowledge.

7. Do challenging things - It takes time to learn new skills, but it's rewarding and will also keep you young.

8. Learn little things if bigger things are too hard - I think anyone can cook. Just follow the recipe and videos. Make a new dish or experiment with a new ingredient.

9. Reframe your use of time - I think retired people have earned the right to just end conversations or walk away and do something else. If an old person says to me "I need to go take a nap" then this is always a valid excuse.

10. Plan your digital and financial legacy way ahead of time - Even if this is just writing something down, I think this is an important combined exercise with your family.

11. Die with zero - When my parents turn 90, I want them to have less than 50k or even ask me to pay for everything for the next decade. This would have been solid planning.

12. Maintain relationships - When I was young, I measured my popularity by the number of birthday parties I got invited to. In my 20s, it was by the number of clubs and nights out I got invited to. In my 30s, I measured it by the number of weddings I attended from friends. In my 50s, I'll probably measure it by weddings of my friend's kids. In my 80s, funerals. Bleak.

13. Simplify, optimize, and downsize - I would look at my favorite routines and figure out how to optimize or make them less annoying. I'd also buy things that make it all easier - like an autonomous robot doing all my everyday things. If I don't use it for a year, then I'm throwing it away.

14. Take a roadtrip - While the driving part is probably better when we get full self driving, I think roadtrips are great bonding moments. You can deepen relationships with enough isolated time in a car.

15. Study the danger of habituation - If you get too stuck in a routine, you will be less likely to feel the big feelings that makes life enjoyable.

16. Create purpose for yourself - Once a parent; always a parent. There are other things in your life pre-parenting that you enjoyed though. I hear there are people who are wrong on the internet and they must be corrected.

17. Try to become a Wikipedia moderator and writer - I'm the right amount of nerd to do this for free about cool topics.

18. Actively practice dishabituation - Change your environment by traveling for short stints and learning new languages. I think a 5-10 day trip every 4 weeks would optimize this.

19. Take breaks from social media - It's okay if you don't know what a Facebook friend is doing. Facebook is brilliant at being a homepage of memories, milestones, and birthday reminders.

20. Don't stop writing to do lists - I'm an avid believer of feeling useful by being productive and checking things off a list.

21. Document your process - Writing is creative and a very healthy way to express your feelings and your learnings. I hope to keep writing lists of 30s into my old age.

22. Learn to use a new AI tool - The barrier to being creative is significantly lowered with a whole 2nd rate creative studio at your fingertips. We have archived and paused all organic human knowledge on the internet into now a human-AI collaborative creation of mass data.

23. Take a drawing class - I've always wanted to be the random dude drawing a portrait on a napkin. I'd like to try different mediums.

24. Play an RPG - Gaming is an excellent escape and I love progression of storyline and character features. It's the journey to ascension.

25. Consider mentorship - What could you teach from your previous life?

26. Connect with your inner child - What did you always want to do? The reflection of this is as important as getting it done.

27. Lookup awesome senior discounts - I'm pretty sure this is every ticket to museum, national park, and activity.

28. Throw a big party - From 65-80 (or even 50-80), I will have a yearly party for my “30 Epic Parties through Retirement” post (to be written). This is going to be different from just a birthday party. Maybe a spring or summer break big themed party with catering and some crazy theme. This is a separate list of 30 I can’t wait to write.

29. Do a try guys challenge - Look at all those physical things you can do!

30. Play table tennis - This is so much fun! My retirement will have me traveling around the world playing table tennis at clubs in every city.

~See Lemons Retired