Time

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about time.   There are a number of reasons for this, the most prevalent being that I retired in December 2014, after more than 35 years of continuous full-time employment.

It was a little scary to think about not going to work everyday.  What would I do?  Would I be bored?  Would I be lonely? How would I fill my time?

So, I made plans.  I set short, medium, and long range goals.  Guess what?

I'm busy.  I'm never bored.  And I'm not lonely.  And I still find ways to create time pressure for myself.

My short terms goals were to crate train my dogs (done); to regularly brush my dog's teeth (done - almost used up two tubes of doggy toothpaste so far and had to get them new toothbrushes); car seat train my dogs (they ride in them, not exactly quietly).  Really happy with the short term goal progress.

Medium term goal - start this blog.  I feel guilty if a few days go by and I don't post.  Artificial time pressure.  But I'm really loving this blog.  I hope it is as good for the people reading as it is for me to write it.

Long term goal - put my novel out of my head and into the real world.  I'm about 125 pages into a google doc - trying to figure out what I am going to do when I finish, self-publish or shop for a publisher.  I'll keep you posted on that.

Along the way, I kept a promise I made to myself when I was working to return to my hobby of crochet when I retired.  I am almost finished with my first project, a sweater for my daughter, and have already started my second project,  a mermaid lap afghan.  I have a hoodie for me queued up for the project after that.

I keep my house cleaner than I used to, and do laundry on weekdays, leaving weekends free for fun.

I cook more, and remember how much I love to do that.

I also walk at least four miles every day, sometimes more.

The point?  For what feels like the first time in my life, I prioritize my time by myself, for myself.  I stay busy, but work on what I feel like working on.  There are no deadlines, other than the ones I create for myself.

In my working career, I often had to put my creative self on the back burner so that my practical self could take care of business.  Now that I have let my creative self out again, I don't think she will ever be content to sit on the back burner.

The best thing about all this time I can self-determine?  I'm really happy.

No one ever knows how many days we will get in a lifetime.  I was never unhappy at work. I had a job I loved, with people I genuinely cared about, and even some I loved.  It has been an amazing life so far.

This latest chapter is the best so far. So to all reading this, if you are afraid of the next stage of your life, or the next change you can predict, my first and only piece of advice is to start planning.

Picture yourself after the change.  Set short, medium and long range goals.  Apply time pressure to yourself to keep enough healthy tension in your days.

Don't be afraid to live your dreams.   The biggest thing I have learned so far in life is that you have to be your own cheering section.  Do what you love, and congratulate yourself for having the courage and the fortitude to put yourself out there.  Each of us has an amazing contribution to make.  I'm excited to see yours.