So, you decided not to retire. Goodonyamate!

At last, I can write a blog on something I know a thing or two about.

I’m not going to pretend that I’m a hero for continuing to work for a living, way after surviving legal retirement age.

Firstly, I can’t afford to retire and do and build the things I want. I’m a typical tradie who worked out that I could make more money as a contractor than on wages, with the freedom to choose my niche and client base. I had a ball for decades doing clean, mentally challenging work for some great clients.

My legacy will hopefully be respect for being honest, fair and competent, not necessarily for being a successful entrepreneur. I loved my contracting days and more recently as a consultant, but I regarded my endeavours as a lifestyle rather than a business. It didn’t occur to me that a list of reliable clients, a good reputation and a sound collection of tools and equipment could be packaged as a saleable brand.

As a one man band I felt flexible to mix business and pleasure in the ratio that suited me at the time.

Investment opportunities eluded me as I concentrated on juggling cash flow with expenses in between periods of inactivity. The present was all encompassing so extravagancies like superannuation never entered the conversation.

So, I’m a crap businessperson. I made my peace with that many years ago and recognize that I never, at any stage in my life, considered “retirement” as an option. It was either too far away or too hard to plan for. I’m not hyper but I get bored very easily and crave being valued, so I’m always on the lookout for a meaningful pursuit where I can share my experience, skills and knowledge to help others, hopefully for reasonable recompense in appreciation.

You hear me talking about rhythm in my blogs, on my website and in my book Runaway Retiree. I can only perform if I feel I can perform. When I’m on a roll that feeling is palpable, reverberating through my whole being pushing me along with confidence and cohesion. I don’t hop and bob or strut noticeably, but I know I’m in a good place where good things will happen. Most importantly, it’s my unique beat. I might be out of time with the rest of the world, but I’m in time with myself, and that can be hard enough.

I have no time for blame or regrets, particularly as I attempt to navigate my twilight years. They’ll only trip me up, and at my age a busted hip could be the end of the deal. I could easily play the chronic disease cards but I’m never going to let that shit beat me.

I’m over academic debates about when, where and how to retire successfully. All I know is that as soon as the R-word gets mentioned we need to take stock of our 3 resources; time, health and money. They all run out eventually, it’s about how we utilise them to get max benefit.

I recently watched my stepson turn around his concreting hustle from a bit of fun to a lucrative enterprise by introducing “processes” into his business structure. I get that, and he’s the first to admit he needed it.

I could have done with that advice years ago, but this old dog enjoys learning new tricks. Hmm, might as well look into this. What’s a process? “A series of actions which are carried out in order to achieve a particular result.” _{Collins Dictionary.}

Being bound by a list of rigid rules telling me when, where and how to do stuff is never going to work. Then I thought about the dozens of different sports I played (and still play some) that I had to practice heaps to get any good at. I was a little surprised when I realized that every practice session was, in fact a “process”. That can’t be right, I enjoyed the training sessions.

So, there must be more to this “process” caper than the list of steps.

Ahah! Timing!

I developed my own tennis serve style based on a simple one – two – three rhythm that I was happy to practice, for hours. When I hit a straight golf drive or throw a dart into the treble 20, it feels good. I got the timing right.

The bottom line is that an effective “process” is more than a list of instructions, it’s like a piece of music laid out in such a way that it’s easy to follow and enjoyable to play or just bob along to.

Now that I’m comfortable in my non-retirement skin I can prioritise the areas of my life that are important to me and allocate my time according to a process of my own design. I’ll call it, “Charlie’s non-retirement process.”

Should I eventually decide to retire I’ll simply design a new process that feels right for me. I might call that, “Charlie’s retirement process.”

"Charlie's retirement rhythm" has a good vibe ...