A Lesson from the Pandemic?

I often help clients explore and evaluate their options for post-retirement activities. During the height of the pandemic, many of them found this process challenging once everything shifted to the virtual, online world. For example, travel seemed out of the question and volunteer settings were not accessible. Forced to sit in front of a computer, the number and variety of online offerings seemed overwhelming.

Now that the health emergency has eased, I would argue that the internet can still help us do some preparatory brainstorming for our next chapter. It helps if you feel comfortable allowing yourself to get lost on the internet, visiting websites and clicking on (safe) links with the same zest you have for exploring side streets or small shops.

If your goal is to identify primary areas to pursue in retirement, I recommend you start by curating a selection of topics; you can revise it as necessary. List five areas of interest (or things you’ve always wondered about). For example: RV camping, cultivating roses, Italian cooking, small town living, and bicycle repair. Each weekday, go online and allow yourself to explore one of those five topics for 30 minutes or so. Even if you find yourself feeling bored or bewildered with any of the five, revisit all five topics again the following week (it’s possible that something was bothering you that day, or the sites you landed on weren’t engaging).

After two weeks, keep two of the original five topics you're most drawn to and continue exploring them, and identify three new topics to replace the three less compelling ones. Repeat this winnowing process again every two weeks. By the end of two months, you will have likely found one or two topics that truly interest you and are worthy of further exploration.

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