Sharlyn Lauby, Author at Unretirement Project

Bookmark This! “How to Make a Difference” Edition

February 22, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

Another regular feature we want to have on this blog is a round-up of resources you might find useful. I read a lot of blogs and over time I’ve really come to enjoy when other bloggers do this. But in an effort to put a different twist on the idea, I want to curate resources around a single topic. That way, you can “bookmark” it for future reference.

In the U.S., we recently had an election and now have a new President and Congress. Now I’m not here to talk about who and what to support. That’s your decision and I respect it. However, I think we can agree that we are seeing an overall increased level of activism in our political process. And maybe at some point in time, you’ll want to be a part of it – if you aren’t already.

I’m all for getting involved and making a difference and your thoughts known to your legislators. It’s the foundation of our political systems. However, I also know that reaching out to your congressional representatives can be a bit intimidating. And, as an HR professional, I’ve seen a lot of really good ideas never get implemented because of the way they were presented. So here are some resources to help you communicate with your elected officials:

Lifehacker published a couple of posts recently, written by a former congressional staffer, that focus on how to communicate with your government officials.

How to Effectively Lobby Your Congressperson

The Best Ways to Contact Your Congress People, From a Former Staffer

I just discovered an app that allows you to stay on top of issues and send videos to your representatives. It’s called Countable and is available for iOS and Android (FREE.)

Should you decide to take to the streets to show your support for an issue, this article on “How to Protest Safely and Legally” is a must-read.

When I was first starting my career, I got involved in the legislative affairs committee and made a difference for my profession. The woman who chaired the committee was loud and passionate about people voting and getting involved. One day, I asked her what made her so passionate and she said that she grew up in South Africa. She knew what it was like not to have the freedom to vote and contact her legislators. She basically said, “You Americans don’t know how good you have it.” From that moment on, I realized the importance of being involved and having my voice heard.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the Newseum in Washington, DC

Life – #WordlessWednesday

February 15, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

There are three primary methods to learning – auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. These methods also apply to the way we express ourselves. In life, I’ve learned that images can speak as loudly as words. Specifically, when it comes to blogging, I’ve come to realize that the images I choose to share in a post are an additional way to communicate because people can interpret the images in various ways.

One of the features I’d like to include on this blog is a wordless Wednesday post. I’m not exactly sure how it got started but it’s the idea that on Wednesdays, bloggers post a photograph with no explanation except for the photo credit. Hopefully the image will inspire or just make someone think about life.

Hope you enjoy this first image! I’m looking forward to sharing more with you.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby in the lobby of her financial planner’s office

There Is No Such Thing As a Traditional Retirement

February 8, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby 8 Comments

That’s why Keith and I started the Unretirement Project.

Years ago, I was the director of human resources, working for a major hotel chain. Our outside legal counsel would call and ask for a favor once a year. It was for lunch reservations on New Year’s Day at our restaurant. One time, I asked him about it and he told me that he and his wife sat down (on New Year’s Day) for a very long lunch to talk about life – their personal and professional lives. They talked about the things they wanted to do and stop doing.

Fast forward several years. When Keith and I started our HR consulting firm, ITM Group, we decided that talking about our business and personal lives was something we should do. Think of it as our own strategic planning session. In addition, we needed to talk about retirement. Specifically, what we wanted our retirement to look like.

Over the years, we’ve realized that the kind of retirement our parents had wasn’t in the cards for us. You know, work for the same company for 20+ years, announce your retirement, then hang out with friends, play cards, etc. There are a few reasons for this: 1) I’ll admit that I’m a workaholic and I cannot imagine not working. 2) We fell in love with this thing called blogging.

In 2008, we started a blog called HR Bartender. Keith wanted me to start writing an electronic newsletter for our consulting business. I was a bit reluctant to do so. No, the truth is I was a lot reluctant to do so. So, I mentioned blogging. I didn’t know anything about how to start a blog. Over the years, HR Bartender has done pretty well. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has named it one of the Top 5 HR and Business Blogs read by human resources professionals.

So, we decided that we wanted our “retirement” or in this case, unretirement, to include blogging. Hence, the Unretirement Project was born.

A lot of people post pictures of the sunrise on their first day of retirement representing a new beginning in their lives. I decided to post a pen because I think unretirement is about rewriting the rules of retirement. I used this old pen in my corporate life and my consulting life. I have no intention of getting rid of it. I’ll just use it for new things. Unretirement is about finding more time to do the things you love and less time on the things that are a PITA.

I’m not exactly sure where our unretirement journey will take us. But I’m looking forward to finding out. One thing I do know is that unretirement doesn’t start at a specific age or time. You control your unretirement. The question is “Do you know what you want your unretirement to look like?”

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby