Today is day #655 of retirement, and with this post I’m 49 articles ahead of my one-a-day goal. It’s an accomplishment, setting and exceeding a goal that dates back to establishing my dad-inspired work ethic. Even though there’s really no incentive for doing this, I find great satisfaction in expressing my daily feelings. Somewhere in all this work, there is value, perhaps a compilation of poetry, a children’s book, or a novel. Most of the time, I try to keep it light and humorous, but occasionally there are words of great emotion and depth. Every day is different and obviously I have more time and more to say on some days than others. 

Each precious day for me starts with a run, where I try to gather my thoughts. If my blog were on pace with my running streak, I would have written over 3,580 articles. Honestly, I never thought I would have this much to say, but doing this has never been a struggle. Some of the stories I type into my smart phone under  the OneNote ap and soon transfer the content to these pages. There can be a time delay as I travel or don’t have access to my Surface, but I’ve been surprisingly consistent in my approach. I had never done anything like this before, with the exception of diaries and lists that I’ve kept through the years. I was once taught in a Daytimer seminar that “if you write it down, you do it.” In this case, I do it, then write it down. I liken it to authoring a newspaper column every day with a self-imposed deadline, rather than supervisory pressure. 

I get very little feedback on my writing with the exception of numerous spam comments that I delete every day. As a result, I have no idea if anyone ever reads this. However, I once learned that relevance and content are the key drivers for any search engines, so putting fresh, daily ideas on a website is essential in driving traffic to consume voluminous content. I’ve been focused on five main categories: Retirement Hassles, Sports, Pets, Adoption, and Running. Poetry is one of my favorite forms of expression, so many times the articles I write inspire some silly rhymes. Since I’ve been primarily in school and business environments, I’m comfortable with distraction and tend to perform more efficiently when I’m multi-tasking. As a result, I typically have the television tuned to a documentary, sports, or a movie for background noise. The dogs are usually my only company every day, so there are no water cooler discussions and consequently little human interaction every day.  I don’t know if this helps or hurts my questionable abilities. 

I find that writing is incredibly therapeutic, so it’s a personally enjoyable daily exercise. Many times, even after 40 minutes of running, I don’t have the slightest idea of what to write. I’ve found that rather than struggling with what others call “writer’s block,” it’s better to just start writing. In the course of rambling, it sometimes leads to clarity, but occasionally I’m embarrassed with my results. Even the greatest of writers have produced lemons, so it’s all part of the process of finding your niche and making lemonade. There will always be another chance tomorrow to write something great. 

I’m looking forward to the next 36 days at home and the freedom to write when I want. It’s the longest stretch of being a “homebody” that I’ll experience in my first 700 days of retirement. There will be no hassles of logging-in at a hotel or finding a plug at an airport. I’ll start every day with a run, on some occasions with the dogs & wife, and do my writing between household tasks and hired construction projects. The next stop is Bend, Oregon near Mount Bachelor where I did some skiing on my first visits to Portland. I have fond memories of my son & I on the slopes, in the company of my college friends who still live here. After that, my wife and I will go to Disneyland. These will both be new experiences to write about that I can share with you. The countdown is on….36 days until my wife and our dogs get there first taste of Bend, and I stray from the comforts of home. Every day is special and I’m inspired to write about it!