The Economist is not my normal ‘go to’ for reading about retirement, but a recent article by a guest Bartleby columnist caught my eye for its title: “Why you should never retire”.
The author suggests that retirees need to deal with “Potentially painful losses of income, purpose or, most poignantly, relevance.” Citing major business figures still working in their late 80s and early 90s (Giorgio Armani, Warren Buffet) she suggests that many keep working beyond retirement age because they get so much buzz and excitement out of work.
Fair enough. However, we haven’t all got the exciting job options available to keep us working at the top of our game for the next 5 years, let alone 30. Setting aside the financial impact for another article, many of us are looking forward to activities that replace the cut and thrust of business, yet still give us a buzz.
Can hobbies give you a buzz?
As the Bartleby author says:
“Hobbies are all well and good for many. But for the extremely driven, they can feel pointless and even slightly embarrassing. That is because there is depth in being useful. And excitement, even in significantly lower doses than are typical earlier in a career, can act as an anti-ageing serum.”
My view is – it depends what your hobby is! And that hobby depends on the difference between an activity that is self-centred and one that gives back to the community in some way (aka being useful).
- Does the retiree sports coach do it just for fun, the buzz of competition, or because it potentially helps others learn new skills, combat depression, get fit or be part of a team?
- Does the volunteer at a food bank actually enjoy stacking shelves and shopping bags, or the fulfilment and experience of helping those most in need in their community?
- Does the one-off volunteer on a local river clean-up day really enjoy picking litter out of waist-deep water, or the social and community aspects of cleaning up a space they love? (There’s the added excitement of never knowing what you might find as well. One section on our social media team’s stretch of canal is a favourite criminal dumping ground for unopened safes…)
Useful v purposeful
Not every hobby may seem to be obviously ‘useful’, but often has a deep and meaningful purpose.
- A stamp collector might be helping preserve stamps and their associated history that might be otherwise lost.
- A bird watcher will be helping monitor species and seasonal migrations which can help scientists evaluate the impact of climate change or the reduction of natural habitat.
- Someone researching their family tree will be helping keep history alive and meaningful for themselves and their families, sparking conversations and passing on unwritten stories that otherwise might be lost.
Solo or club?
In terms of replicating part of the structure and the social side of work, the impact of joining a club devoted to your hobby cannot be overestimated. Once again, you are with like-minded people pursuing a common goal, even if the only thing you have in common is your hobby. (After all, the only thing you had in common with your social circle at work was that you worked with them – only a few ever became firm friends.)
There is also the multiple benefits of hobbies in your senior years to help keep your brain active and engaged, shown to significantly reduce cognitive decline. Building a regular habit of a hobby can also embed an important structure for your senior years that can combat one of the major issues for widows and widowers – loneliness.
High octane or stress-free?
All hobbies have elements of purpose to them, but some may not have sufficient for the “extremely driven”. That’s because staying at the top takes considerable energy, time, an ability to cope with stress and, yes, to be selfish in terms of being away from family and partners.
Many of us actually want to retire to leave behind the negative sides of that ‘high octane’ work environment – stress, exhaustion, long hours, lack of family time, maybe even broken marriages.
Retirement allows us the time and freedom to portion our energies into a wide variety of activities, including hobbies, volunteering and reconnecting with our family and partners.
Retirement planning
Not sure how you’ll fit everything into retirement? Or not got a clue what you are going to do on that first Monday/first year/first decade of retirement?
Come and talk to me. I’ll help you plan a retirement with purpose that you will enjoy for many years to come regardless of your finances and income.
After all, the working Buffets and Armanis of this world have accumulated immense wealth. But when do they get the time to spend it?