Genius Hour was a popular concept a few years ago and I used it with my class. Every week the students would have time to pursue projects that they had designed. This was student-initiated learning: their curiosity leading to a project that they would share with the class at the end of term. It was… Continue reading Keep Curiosity Alive
Category: Retirement Tools
Can You Remember What You Just Read?
Just a quick scroll through the news cycle or a social media app exposes me to an overload of ideas. Many of these ideas are interesting and important. They act as a distraction from what I’m in the middle of doing, or not doing. But having too much information leaves me vulnerable to poor decision… Continue reading Can You Remember What You Just Read?
A Simple Tip To See Your Friends More Often
Thanks to a friend’s wisdom, I’m more comfortable connecting with others. I used to feel like I was imposing on them, or interrupting their lives, by asking if they wanted to get together when I was in their neighbourhood. What if they didn’t want to see me, and were just agreeing to our meeting because… Continue reading A Simple Tip To See Your Friends More Often
My First Time Being Coached
“What was it like working with a life coach?“ I discovered that a life coach doesn’t help you fix yourself. They help you find yourself. It’s like having a second person helping you to look for your glasses. You’ll find them, and find them a lot faster, when you’re with someone than looking by yourself.… Continue reading My First Time Being Coached
Solving The “Too Busy” Problem
Time management is a concept I continue to struggle with in retirement. Going from a rigid and predictable schedule to entirely open, is an on-going challenge. I’ve made some progress in assessing what I want to spend my time doing. In addition, my most recent experiment with a weekly planner has helped me to realize… Continue reading Solving The “Too Busy” Problem
More Accessible Travel For All!
I was chatting with a friend recently who loves to travel but has an invisible, physical disability that makes it a challenge. She has some tips that have enabled her to travel independently in the U.K. These tips are essential for her, but are useful for all of us. 1. Plan your route from the… Continue reading More Accessible Travel For All!
The Day Planner Experiment
As anyone who is retired knows, time management in retirement is a struggle. It comes as a surprise that having “all the time in the world” does not actually help you get anything done. It’s ironic and annoying. Recently, I discovered the work of Nir Eyal on Distraction and I’m trying his time management technique… Continue reading The Day Planner Experiment
Creating Healthy Habits
Our brains love to create habits. It allows our brains to relax and not use much energy. How many times do we bring conscious thought to our daily habits? We don’t need to! We brush our teeth; get into bed and turn out the lights. No thought needed. Habits Can be Beneficial, Neutral Or Unwanted… Continue reading Creating Healthy Habits
Retirement Is Saying Hello And Goodbye
All change is saying yes to the new thing and also, saying no to the old. When I retired, I was saying hello to a new exciting, chapter of my life. But, as with many hellos that I’ve had over the years, I didn’t see all the goodbyes until much later. I’m experiencing desiderium: a… Continue reading Retirement Is Saying Hello And Goodbye
A Work/Life Balance Doesn’t Make Sense
I’m determined not to get sucked into that whirlwind of work again. Before I retired from teaching, I was a chronic over-worker. I enjoyed my job (for the most part), and filling my out-of-school hours and weekends with work felt necessary and purposeful. Perhaps it was just easier to do more work than to figure… Continue reading A Work/Life Balance Doesn’t Make Sense
Retired, And Now What? 