The New Retirement. Jan Cullinane
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a.m. to 10 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.” Writing out your goals and posting them where they are visible will help reinforce them. Creating self-imposed deadlines can be very motivating.
You may already have a list of goals, or you may be open to suggestions. Let's take a look at some possibilities in the areas of education, sports, hobbies, volunteering, the world of work, and travel. The next chapter will address working or starting a business after leaving your primary career. The last chapter in the book will address leaving a legacy, financial or otherwise, so that will be addressed later.
Lifelong Learning
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Brilliant guy, that Mahatma Gandhi. Until relatively recently it was believed that once nerve cells (also called neurons) were formed, that was it – our brains were pretty much “fixed.” But, scientists have discovered that not only can neurons regenerate to an extent, but as importantly, the connections (called synapses) that allow nerve cells to communicate with one another can also sprout and create new pathways. This is called “neuroplasticity.” More about this concept in Chapter 6, Forever Young, but it's important to know what is needed to “grow” our neurons: novelty, active learning, upending routines, solving problems, social interactions, and mental and physical engagement.
To quote Steppenwolf, let's explore ways to “get your motor runnin'” and mesh some of your SMART goals with these suggestions to wisely use those 168 hours a week.
In-Person Learning
There are suggestions for living in a college town in Chapter 5, but let's take a look at how you can enjoy learning for free/low cost in person at educational institutions such as universities, colleges, and community colleges. Most offer tuition-free classes on a space-available basis if you meet certain criteria. You may not be awarded any credits, and you'll need to pay for any books and perhaps some associated fees, but what a gift.
As an example, I will use my alma mater for my undergrad and master's degree, the University of Maryland (Go Terps!). Their “Golden ID Program” permits you to enroll in up to three classes/semester on a space-available basis – tuition-free. You must be 60 years of age or older, a legal resident of Maryland, and retired, which is defined as “not engaged in gainful employment for more than 20 hours a week.” There is a fee for the Golden ID (about $260 per semester), which allows the use of the libraries, shuttle buses, and some additional services. With a three-credit in-person class normally around $1,000, if you're enrolling in three classes, it's a good deal. Community colleges can be a lot cheaper. I was an Assistant Professor at Sussex County Community College in New Jersey for a number of years. Their deal is a bargain. You need to be 65 or older, a resident of the county, meet any prerequisites for the class (some, like lab classes or trade classes are excluded), and register in person the final two business days before the start of the semester. No fees, no tuition. Taking in-person classes provides the additional benefit of social connections along with the sheer joy of learning – without the tests and papers. Sweet!
If you're thinking about getting a formal degree, many colleges exempt “mature” students from the SAT or ACT. CLEP, the College Level Examination Program (https://clep.collegeboard.org), allows you to earn college credits by passing exams in a variety of subjects. Cost per exam is about $90 (often free for military personnel).
OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, www.osherfoundation.org), offered in more than 120 U.S. institutions of higher learning, is a philanthropic organization that supports lifelong learning for adults 50 and older. OLLI offers member-driven classes (no credit/no assignments/no grades) facilitated by peers and college faculty. Using Arizona State University as an example, there is a small membership charge (about $20/semester) and then a reasonable charge for a class (Example: $14 for a 1.5 hour class); you may need to pay for parking/transportation on campus. Classes can literally range from A to Z. For example, “Ancient Etruscan and Roman Art” to “Zhivago: The Novel and the Movie.”
Be sure to investigate what your local library, community center, school system and/or county offers. You'll be surprised how many quality and free (love that word!) classes/lectures/workshops are out there. (I am on the Board of Trustees of my local library and the number of no-cost courses that are offered, both in person and virtually, is impressive.)
Online (Free)
Podcasts (audio files) have exploded in popularity. Americans aged 55 and better are among the fastest growing listeners, comprising 40% of the podcast audience in 2019, according to Marketing Charts. Download and learn from your laptop/phone/computer/mobile device while you're comfy and sitting at home or at Starbucks, on the beach or taking a walk, or in your car. A few suggestions from various genres (all of these sites offer free podcasts):
History: Dan Carlin Hardcore History (www.dancarlin.com); Fall of Civilizations (www.fallofcivilizationspodcast.com); The Explorers (www.explorerspodcast.com/urdaneta/); Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History (www.revisionisthistory.com).
Health/Science/Culture/etc.: How Stuff Works (https://www.howstuffworks.com/about-hsw.htm), is “an award-winning source of unbiased, reliable, easy-to-understand answers and explanations of how the world actually works.”
Psychology: Hidden Brain (https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain); Freakonomics (https://freakonomics.com/). This last is a personal favorite of mine.
MOOCS (Free)
Massive Open Online Courses are known as MOOCS (www.MOOC.org). There are approximately 3,000 free courses in all disciplines from stellar universities such as MIT, Yale, and Princeton. You can spend your 168 hours/week on this site alone.
Coursera (www.coursera.org) is another MOOC with free offerings from more than 200 top-tier universities such as Duke, Stanford, and the Imperial College of London. Sign me up!
Masterclass ($180/year)
If you want to learn from titans in their respective fields, check out Masterclass (www.masterclass.com). Writing for TV? Shonda Rhimes is your instructor. Songwriting? Alicia Keys. Photography? Annie Leibovitz. Cooking? Gordon Ramsay. Chess? Gary Kasparov. You get the idea. More than 100 classes covering nine categories, and a PDF workbook for each class, which averages approximately 20 ten-minute lessons. New classes are added monthly.
All this accumulated knowledge at your fingertips, and the time to indulge your interests. Sweet!
Volunteering
Besides the obvious perk of making a difference for others, volunteering bestows benefits on the volunteer: new friends, meet others with similar interests, learn new skills, gain confidence, tackle challenges, have fun, find purpose, combat depression, lower stress levels, become healthier physically, and perhaps delay or reverse