Wingers versus Planners

Introduction

If you’ve watched the 64PLUS YouTube channel (@64PLUS93), you may have heard me discuss this topic. But if not, let me introduce you to the concept of wingers and planners. This distinction is particularly important during the transition to retirement and the early years of retired life.

After work comes retirement

Let’s start with an assumption. You are working in a job, or have recently retired from a job. Let’s also assume that at work your day typically had a clear structure.

For some retirees, that sense of structure continues—they wake up with a plan for the day, week, or month. This plan might involve specific activities, such as meeting people or completing tasks. I call these retired individuals planners.

Now, let’s meet those retirees I call wingers. In contrast, a winger starts the day with no predetermined plan. Over a cup of coffee, they admire the open vista of possibilities, then allow the day to unfold as it may.

The choice is yours to make

I’m not here to say one approach is better than the other. Both have their merits, and of course, your personality may exhibit a mix of winging and planning.

However, as a retirement coach, I encourage clients to adopt a planning mindset. Why do I do that? After all you may have in mind that retirement invites you to chill, relax and de-stress, precisely the mindset of a winger.

Perhaps some field evidence that I have gathered will give you pause for thought. These are sentiments I keep hearing, in many ways and many words, from many people:

“Retired friends tell me how they hate waking up and asking themselves: when I worked, I always had a plan. Now that I’ve retired, I keep wondering—what’s next? I’m bored and I’m worried the boredom won’t stop.”

Perhaps that doesn’t convince you so let’s keep going: what is this thing called boredom? Let’s delve deeper, as understanding it helps to highlight the benefits of being a planner.

Boredom

For me, boredom brings back memories of long, hot summer days during my childhood. I remember feeling restless and out of sorts. My parents used to say I was “at a loose end.” (Incidentally, “loose end” sounds like a playing position in American football).

I will now attempt a working definition of boredom. Boredom is your lack of desire for anything, despite you having complete control over your time. You can even watch the seconds tick by, but nothing sparks your interest, so time weighs heavily. That doesn’t sound terribly appealing.

It’s time to return to you and your retirement. OK, I admit that there’s nothing wrong with small doses of boredom. They may even lead to some useful self-reflection. That’s all fine, however the field evidence I quoted before was all about the dangers of prolonged boredom, which is the real enemy of a fulfilling retirement.

At last, the real question has emerged: can you avoid prolonged boredom? I say you can. How can you pull off that magic trick? Well, it’s the essential outcome of retirement coaching, which is to locate your true meaning in retirement. Visit the website 64plus.com.au for more detail. I’ll leave it there for the moment.

Conclusion

Wouldn’t you prefer to avoid prolonged boredom by planning your retired life, even loosely? Of course, not every moment needs to be scheduled. Part of the joy of retirement is the freedom to swim in the unpredictable and exciting surf of life.

However, having a plan—one that fills your days with meaningful activities—can steer you away from prolonged boredom. It also creates opportunities for great joy and fulfillment.

As a retirement coach, I’ve seen firsthand how planning can transform retired life. Also I’ve done it for myself.

If this resonates with you, feel free to reach out for a conversation: jon@64plus.com.au

Previous
Previous

Retirement can arrive in many ways

Next
Next

Motivation in retirement: the three C’s