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5 Activities to Avoid Becoming the Indoor Generation

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I heard a term recently that fascinates me – the “Indoor Generation”. As the name implies, it’s a label for people who spend most of their time indoors. They’ve figured out how to do as many things as possible without leaving the house. 

I totally get it. We can do our shopping on our home computers or mobile devices. We can order food, and have it delivered to our home. We can talk with a doctor via webcam. Keith and I are building a house and we talk about it being both the place we work and our sanctuary. I can absolutely see how the term came into existence. 

The indoor generation is also a term that defies age. I see young people who spend a lot of time inside – maybe reading or watching television and playing video games. But for today’s post, I want to talk about the indoor generation in the context of getting older.

In a study sponsored by Velux, it’s been found that there are health risks to being indoors all the time. We need sunlight as part of our wellness. The research found that daylight can improve learning abilities up to 15 percent. We need fresh air for our health. Living in damp or moldy homes increases our risk of asthma by 40 percent. And a lack of sunlight impacts our general wellbeing. According to the research, a lack of daylight makes 15 percent of us sad. 

So, what’s the answer. Well, it’s easy just to say get out more. But the reality is, going outside needs to feel good. Otherwise it will be a chore and we won’t get the desired benefit. Here are five things that might help us get outside more:

  1. Talk and walk. I’m going to mention this one first since it’s the most obvious. Find time to take a walk. Keith and I have what we call walking meetings. Instead of sitting inside the house to talk about stuff, we take a short walk. It’s good for us and we can still have a productive conversation.
  2. Take up an outdoor activity. People laugh when we mention that we play Pokémon GO. But it gets us out of the house every single day. We also discovered a nearby botanical garden that has lots of Pokémon Gyms and PokeStops. So, we purchased an annual membership. We get to see the gardens and play at the same time. 
  3. Build outdoor time into our daily routine. One of the things we’re looking forward to in our new home is drinking our morning beverages outside. It doesn’t seem like a lot, and it’s not, but it’s a few more minutes outside. 
  4. Turn outdoor chores into something worth looking forward to. This is totally not me, but Keith loves working in the garden. And he enjoys mowing the lawn. Once a year, I’ve been known to assist with mulching (well, maybe). My point is, find a way to turn being outdoors into something more than drudgery. 
  5. And finally, if all those ideas don’t work, try to bring some plants and sunlight into your home. We’ve discovered that we enjoy having live plants in our home. And dark walls might be on trend, but they make the house dark. So, we’re opting for lighter colors.

As we age, it can be very easy to shift our routines, so we spend more time inside and less outdoors. It could have a negative impact on the way we feel. Maybe we just need to change what we do outdoors. Find new activities that fit more with our unretirement lifestyle. 

Image created by Sharlyn Lauby

Encore Careers – Part Two: Figuring Out What to Pursue

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In the first post in this series about encore careers, we talked about what an encore career is and why you might want to start thinking about one as part of your unretirement journey. As a quick refresher, encore careers are jobs or careers that happen later in life. They often fulfill different needs than the jobs we have early in our career. So, an encore career might be something that aligns with a passion you’ve had over the years or possibly just something to get out of the house and make a few bucks. 

Once you decide that you want to pursue an encore career, the next logical step in the process is to figure out what you want to do. Remember when you were in high school and everyone started asking, “What are you going to do when you graduate?” Well, think of this similarly but the question becomes, “What are you going to do when you retire?”

I would suggest that the first step toward figuring out your encore career is to take inventory of your knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). Even if you change jobs and industries in your encore career, you’re going to want to choose something that you’re good at. So, think about the skills you’ve collected. 

It might even make some sense to prepare an “unretirement” resume. Instead of saying to yourself, “I don’t need to maintain a resume anymore. I’m going to retire in a few years.” Maybe it’s even more important now. Use your resume as a way to discover and showcase your encore career skills. In addition, take a moment to ask yourself, “Of all my skills, which ones have a mastered as a result of being older.” There a reason you should do this that will become more apparent as you read on.

Now, some career coaches might tell you that ideal encore careers for older people are in the areas of people management and coaching. Let me dish out some tough love here. Your age, your desire to become a coach, and your skills in communication, empathy, and listening are three different things. I’m not saying that older people can’t become coaches – they certainly can. And I’m not saying that older people don’t have the skills to become coaches – they might. But making the assumption that because you’re 50 or 60 automatically makes you a people person…sorry, no. 

Your encore career should be something that you’re interested in, that fulfills a need for you, and that you’re good at. You might say, “I’ve spent my entire career coaching employees and the last thing I want to do in my retirement is coach employees. I want to take care of animals because they don’t talk back.” And to that I say, good for you. 

Another option might be simply tweaking the job you have right now. Maybe you’d like to do the same thing you’re doing right now just less. Or maybe your current job has two primary functions and you’d like to focus on one of them. It makes me think of a marketing manager who is responsible for marketing, public relations, and social media. Maybe for an encore career they want to focus solely on social media.  

After you conduct your skills assessment, hopefully, this will point you in a direction. It might shed some light on skills you want to acquire before you retire. This allows you to put a plan in place to gain experience and knowledge over time. You can do things at your pace and within your budget. It also gives you time to think about how you’re going to transition into your encore career. Will you be able to just change jobs? Or is there an interim job that will make the transition easier? 

There’s one other thing to consider. As you think about your work experience and skills, along with where you want to go with an encore career, consider how you would answer the question, “Why do you want to take a job where you’re overqualified?” While companies might not come right out and say it, you know that there will be recruiters and hiring managers thinking this. As you’re planning your encore career, plan an explanation for your encore career.  This will demonstrate to prospective employers (including your current one) that you’re focused, planful, and detail-oriented. 

Encore careers can be a wonderful, fulfilling part of your unretirement journey. Start thinking about it early and put a plan in place to get there. 

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the island of Maui, HI

Encore Careers – Part One: What They Are and Why You Might Want One

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One of the most common questions people ask themselves when they’re thinking about retirement is “What am I going to do?” We spend the majority of our lives identifying with a job, whether that’s one that happens in Corporate America or at home (as in being a stay at home parent). When those things stop, we have to figure out how to answer the question “So, what do you do?” Even when we hear people say, “I’m retired.” it seems like the next question is “Well, what did you do?”

Figuring out how to answer the question about what you do isn’t simply to satisfy others. It’s also for ourselves. Every time someone asks, “What do you do?” does it cause you to pause? I know lots of people who are saying they’re not ready to retire. They say that they want to still contribute but maybe not 40+ hours a week. 

One option available to us as we’re thinking about our retirement (and unretirement) is an encore career. It’s defined as a job or career that happens later in life to provide both purpose and money. According to Encore.org, some of the most promising fields for encore careers are in the non-profit sector, management services, and services for aging persons. The older generation is also currently the largest freelancing group. 

Encore careers can be related to your existing career or they can be something completely different. Either way, if you’re considering an encore career, you will want to plan a transition to the new role. Keith’s career path is a perfect example. While it happened when he was younger, it demonstrates how you can transition from the role you have today to a new (and different role). Here’s a summary of his experience:

  1. College degree in Wildlife Biology
  2. Animal care specialist for a zoo
  3. Duckmaster for a hotel chain (position was 50% animal care and 50% public relations)
  4. Marketing coordinator for hotel chain
  5. Marketing manager for safety products company
  6. Marketing manager for HR company
  7. And now he works with me.

You can see how he transitioned from working with animals to working in marketing. You can also see how he accepted positions of greater responsibility along the way. And you can see how he transitioned to HR-related companies. Now this took several years. Which is why if you’re considering an encore career, you don’t want to wait until you’re a couple of days years from retirement. 

The second part of this transition to think about is salary and benefits. Again, I mentioned that Keith’s path happened when he was younger, so he was able to earn more money and benefits. But as we’re transitioning to an encore career, we might have to adjust our expectations. It’s possible the encore career we’re considering doesn’t pay as much as we made during our peak earning years. It might not be full-time, so we won’t get benefits like health insurance. But our encore careers might serve a different purpose. 

Encore careers might help us keep our minds fresh. They could allow us to work for an organization we’re passionate about. Oh, and yeah, maybe we can make a few dollars too. Before you start looking, ask yourself, “Do I want an encore career? Why or why not?” You can also check out Encore.org or the Encore.org LinkedIn group for some additional information. 

We all know that our work lives can bring tremendous satisfaction or incredible heartburn (or even just plain boredom). It’s important that we have the right job with the right company. The same holds true when we’re considering an encore career. You didn’t make the decision about where you’re working right now in a silo. Don’t make that mistake with this one. In part two of this series, we’ll talk about how to find your encore career. 

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the island of Maui, HI

What We Are UP To in March 2019

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Disney Sand Sculpture

Disclosure: Occasionally we receive free products for review or include advertising links in posts, but no one impacts the honesty of our opinions. 

This March, I rearranged our “What we’re up to …” list to reflect what’s going on right now. Read on and you’ll see why.

Geeking| Groove Bands

> I like backing Kickstarter campaigns. As a small business owner, it’s a way to pay it forward. And I like the cool items that I get to try out. We just backed a campaign for Groove Life, which makes silicone rings. They’re introducing watch bands that complement their ring designs. Besides the technology itself, one of my favorite Apple Watch features is the changeable band. I’m hoping this will be a nice one. 

Loving| Smith Teas

> I gave up coffee years ago and now I love a nice cuppa tea. A couple of my favorite tea companies have gone out of business. During a trip to Portland, Oregon, I discovered Smith Teas. They are absolutely wonderful. A bit pricey, so I don’t drink them every day but a delicious splurge. If you have a favorite tea company, I’d love to hear about them!

Planning| Vacation!

> For our anniversary this year we’re crossing something off our bucket list. We’ve always wanted to take a repositioning cruise, so this year we’re going from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale through the Panama Canal. Very exciting! We’re looking forward to some relaxation and education along the way.

Remembering| Disney

>I grew up on Disney. My father worked on the construction crew for Walk Disney World (he built Cinderella’s Castle) and my mother worked there for over 30 years. That being said, I’ve never been to Disneyland in California. So, prior to our cruise, we’re going. To quote a very old expression, I feel like a kid in a candy store.

Reading| Dune

> My cruise reading includes the Frank Herbert classic “Dune”. Keith loves this book. I’ve never read it and was able to get it quickly on Paperback Swap. I know there’s a Dune movie remake in the works, so we’ll see if I become a Dune fan. Stay tuned.

Working On| Our Annual Strategy Meeting

> Businesses carve out time to do strategic planning and budgeting. When we started our consulting firm, we decided that it was important to set aside time to do the same. We feel better when we do it and our company is better because of it. Part of the conversation is focused on retirement – what do we want ours to look like? 

Feeling| Surprisingly relaxed

> You would think with all of my business travel and an upcoming vacation that I would be a stressed-out mess. But surprisingly, I’m not. I think we’ve planned everything well. We’ll see once we start our trip, but I’m delighted that this is one of those moments where my obsessive planning might pay off. LOL!

Watching| Captain Marvel

> Like there was any doubt that we were going to see this movie! I’m not going to give away any spoilers except to say, “Goose!” If you’ve seen the movie you know exactly what I’m talking about. Now that we’ve seen Captain Marvel in March, we’re looking forward to Avengers: Endgame when we return from vacation.

What’s UP with you in March? You might notice that we’re posting less frequently for the next couple of weeks, but don’t worry, we’ll be back on track soon.

6 Ways to Get Better with Technology and Cybersecurity

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I met someone the other day who said they didn’t have time for technology. Whether we like it or not, technology is a big part of our personal and professional lives. We can buy things, make appointments, and manage information using technology. And I don’t anticipate that changing anytime in the near future. 

But with technology comes risk. I’m sure that’s one of the reasons that people say they don’t want to use technology. They figure if they don’t use it, then no one can hack their accounts or get their private information. Unfortunately, just because we don’t use technology doesn’t mean that everyone arounds us doesn’t put our names in a computer database that can be hacked. The answer is to be responsible technology users. 

TechCrunch recently published five “how-to” guides focused on covering cybersecurity basics. If you’re not familiar with TechCrunch, they are a U.S. based publisher of technology industry news, owned by Verizon Media. The site has about 17M monthly readers worldwide. While I wouldn’t say this is everything that you need to know about cybersecurity, it’s an excellent start.

  1. Why you need to use a password manager – Are you looking for a way to keep track of all your passwords? Or do you use the same password for everything because you don’t want to remember multiple passwords? It might be time to consider a password manager.
  2. Two-factor authentication can save you from hackers– Many sites already use two-step authentication or verification. And while we know it’s to help us be safe on the web, it’s still a major pain in the you know what. Maybe if we learn more about how two-step authentication works, we won’t get quite as frustrated. And we’ll opt-in to use it.
  3. How to protect your cell phone number and why you should care– According to Pew Research, ninety-five percent (95%) of Americans own a cell phone of some kind. This places a huge importance on a single device and protecting it from hackers is important.
  4. How to browse the web securely and privately– Personally, I’ve become much more interested in learning about virtual private networks (VPNs) and HTTPS lately. Specifically, what they can and cannot do. Not because I’ve got some big, dark secret to hide. But if I’m traveling then I want to know I’m using the right technology the right way.
  5. How to get started with encrypted messaging apps– Finally, short messaging service (aka SMS) has become a primary means of communication for some. I receive SMS messages to confirm appointments and get messages from family and friends. I want to know those messages are secure. 

Number six on this list comes from Google. It’s about phishing, which is defined as an attempt (usually via email) to trick you into giving away personal information. Google has published a “phishing quiz” which allows you to guess which emails are legit and which are fake. It’s not as easy as you might think. If you decide to take the quiz, one quick heads up – the quiz asks you to provide a name and email address at the beginning. You can totally make one up. They’re not collecting information. But as you know, some phishing scams look pretty legit because they include your name. 

I thought these articles were a great primer about cybersecurity regardless of where you are in your unretirement journey. They could benefit you at work or at home. They might also be something you’d like to share with friends and family. 

Helping people become better with technology benefits everyone. I hope you’ll take a moment to check out these TechCrunch and Google resources. And a huge thanks to TechCrunch and Google for publishing them. 

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Reykjavik, Iceland

3 Ways You May Contribute to Your Own Ageism

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I mentioned a few weeks ago that I listened to a LinkedIn Learning program on encore careers. One of the topics discussed during the program was ageism. It totally makes sense. Age does play a factor into our career decisions. 

I’m starting to see an interesting trend where the discussion about ageism is concerned. And that’s ageism might not be totally “somebody else’s fault”. Yes, I will admit that ageism does exist. It’s sad to say but it’s true. However, are all instances of ageism somebody else’s fault or is it possible that we are creating our own self-fulfilling prophecy?

Shortly after completing the LinkedIn Learning program, I ran across an article from a colleague of mine on the site Fistful of Talent titled, “Ageism is Real – And It’s Your Fault”. The article talks about the things that we do as individuals that contribute to the “old person” perception. You know, like “I don’t have time for that technology stuff.” Or “Oh, those Millennials….” My takeaway from this article was regardless of your physical age, if you act like the stereotype then people will assume you are one. 

Then, Next Avenue published an interview titled, “Are Concerns About Age Discrimination by Employers Overblown?”where the conversation focused around whether ageism is real. The idea being with an employment market where there are more openings than candidates, at some point, organizations have to realize that older workers are valuable. Again, my takeaway from the article was it’s important to keep current.

Seeing these conversations so close in time took me back to the discussion in the LinkedIn Learning program about ageism. As we age, there are three things about aging we need to consider to ensure we’re not contributing to our own ageism. 

Believing your own negative self-talk. Self-talk is those messages we tell ourselves. Think of them as those little voices inside our head. Sometimes we say them out loud, but often not. Bottom-line: Our self-talk is incredibly powerful. Especially when we say things like, “I can’t do this because I’m old.” Granted there might be things that we can’t do anymore, but that’s not the case for everything. 

And let me add one more thought. There’s a big difference in deciding you don’t want to do something because you’re older and you can’t do it. Keith and I have said to ourselves plenty of times, “been there, done that, and we don’t need to do it anymore”. 

Stopping your own learning. This is a big one. You don’t have to earn a college degree to learn. Just because you turn 40, 50, 60, or 70 doesn’t mean you can’t take a class, listen to a podcast, watch a TED Talk, or read a book. If there’s something you want to learn, do it. Especially, if you’re thinking about switching careers as you get older. 

If you haven’t checked it out, sites like Coursera and edX offer massive open online courses (MOOCs). Most of them are free and have a wide variety of topics. If you have a budget, MasterClass offers programs from some very famous people. Whatever you decide is fine. Just keep learning.

Not networking across generations. I believe this last one is harder than it looks. If you have younger family members, then you might be able to chat with them. But if you don’t (or you would prefer not to network with family), think about how you can gain exposure to different points of view. Regardless of who you speak with, it’s important to interact with a diverse group of people. 

Maybe think about mentoring as a way to share your expertise and learn at the same time. There are lots of organizations that are regularly looking for mentors. It’s also possible that your current employer might have a mentoring program that you can sign up for. 

We have some decisions to make as we age. And one of the biggest is deciding how we will accept aging. If we want others to see us as contributors, then we need to act like it. Please notice I didn’t say we need to act “young”. People need to accept our age for what it is. But that doesn’t mean we’re not able to bring value. We need to send the message and demonstrate that we can.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Las Vegas, NV

Make a Checklist of Your Wishes For Your Family

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For the last decade of my father-in-law’s life, every time we visited him, he would find an hour to chat with us about his final wishes. It was never on the first day or the last. It was never over dinner. But at some point, he would find a few moments to talk about what he wanted his final days to be like and how he wanted his matters handled by family when he was gone. 

Keith and I came to expect these little chats every time we visited him. 

Now that we’re getting older, we’re trying to figure out when we should start having those chats with people. First of all, it’s a great reminder that if you haven’t already thought about the executor of your estate…now’s a good time. And don’t let that term intimidate you. Whether you have $1 or $1M, somebody is going to have to handle your final affairs. 

AARP Publishing has a book out titled, “Checklist for My Family” by Sally Balch Hurme, J.D.. This 250-page book outlines ten areas of our life that we might want to consider documenting. Some of them are very predictable like life insurance, investments, and real estate. Others are more surprising such as items to destroy, rewards programs, and pet care. 

I’m sure for many, the task of handling a person’s final affairs is given to a child. Keith and I have an interesting dynamic to consider because we don’t have children. I found this book to be something that we could complete and leave it in a place for the executor of our estate to review. I love that everything is in a single book, so our executor only has to find one thing – the book. And we can keep the book in a safe place or mail it to our executor.

The book has two parts. The first part is my “to-do” list. This is where I need to review items, make decisions about how I would like things handled by family, etc. The second part is where I document those decisions. Looking back, my father-in-law was quite the planner and there were plenty of things he forgot to tell us. This book reminds me that while there are several major decisions to make, there are lots of smaller decisions to consider as well. 

If I have one criticism about the book, it’s that the author doesn’t put enough emphasis on technology. The book does reference digital assets, but most of us have multiple social media accounts, emails, etc. and at some point, somebody will be given the task of deleting my digital life. In future editions, I could see technology being a separate chapter versus just a few pages.

At some point in time, we have to start making plans for our final days. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I don’t want to rush those decisions. Having a checklist for family that I can pick up and put down at my leisure makes me feel in control. And isn’t that want we’re trying to do – be in control of how our affairs are handled.