Category: Uncategorized

Re-retired, come mid-June and…

…looking forward to more work on this blog.

retirement road sign

***

Just a few days ago, I was told that I no longer met the unlisted qualifications for the 32 hour-a-week job which was now being reduced to 20 hours a week. Let’s see…12 fewer hours…to somehow do the same work my colleagues and I needed 32 hours to complete…which would require additional unlisted skills.

I’ll probably need my first couple of months just to figure that one out.

But it means that I’ll soon return to full retirement…

Buddy on his back

rather than the ‘retirement weekends’ I was taking.

And so I plan to redouble my efforts to reach folks who are/will be retired and who want to explore their own inclinations to write, paint, build, photograph, sculpt, design, wander, and find novelty in their daily lives.

This will include repeated reminders to ‘try new’. It is so easy to fall into routines that rob us of seeing opportunities to shake things up. Let’s face it–we’re at the stage where we should take nothing for granted, so if you have a chance to even try a spicy ketchup, a new walking route, or a different entree at Applebee’s [I’m making our lives sound pretty darned exciting, aren’t I?], then you should.

Let’s close with a round of Jeopardy:

Answer: Ourselves

Question:

What are we waiting for

201 Tips to Fire Up Your Creativity

face of dog surrounded by colorful variety of arrows

This guest post by Katie Tallo of Momentum Gathering can be found at https://writetodone.com

201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity

She compiled the list from a number of sources. A few favorites below…

  1. from Jacob Cass at Just Creative Designs:  “Mindmap. Whether you use key words, images, colours, a hierarchy system, numbers, outlines, circles or random words, mindmapping gets your creative juices flowing.”
    light bulb resting on a chalkboard surrounded by a mind map
  2. from Steve Pavlina:  “Architect a worthy challenge. If a task is too easy, you don’t need to be particularly creative, so your creative self will simply say, “You can manage this one without me.”
    outline of person facing a choice of three directions/arrows
  3. from Alison Motluk: “Seek out creative company. The best ideas are forged not in moments of solitary genius, but during exchanges with trusted colleagues.” [Note: Austin Kleon calls this creative company a ‘scenius‘.]

    silhouettes of five people facing away from viewer

 

Retirees’ Creative Reinvention Day 8: Find Your Creative Touchstones

word cloud including words touchstone dependable reliableYesterday, I shared a quote from Albert Einstein about the power of irrational thinking.

In my search for a resource to support that quote, I ran across How to Become More Creative and Free Your Mind by Chad Grills.

Sure, I’ve heard and tried some of these techniques and strategies, but Grills does such a nice job of reframing these ideas, and adding new notions, that I immediately shared it with two groups and emailed it to three different accounts.

Along with books from Austin Kleon and Steven Pressfield, I would have to classify this post as a ‘creative touchstone’, a go-to resource I can return to for inspiration.

What are your creative touchstones? And if you don’t have any, launch a full-scale hunt right now! [Or at least after coffee and decadent treat.]

Thanks for reading and stay vigilant for opportunities to stretch your thinking.

 

Retirees’ Creative Reinvention Day 7: Give yourself permission to stray.

stylized photo of Albert Einstein

A favorite quote from Albert Einstein:

“I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking.”

 

Thanks for reading and stay vigilant for opportunities to stretch your thinking.

 

Retirees’ Creative Reinvention Day 6: Sometimes, a partner helps.

Black dog looking up at kitchen preparations on counter
When I’m in the kitchen needing to collaborate…okay, bad example.

Finding a fellow painter, photographer, cook, scrapbooker, or writer may be just what you need to launch your creative reinvention.

Educator John Spencer shares his views on this topic here: Ten Things Pixar Can Teach Us About Creativity 

My favorite points:

  • Creativity isn’t a solitary endeavor.
  • Play matters. [Those creativity partners should encourage fun and wild experimentation.]
  • People are more important than ideas. He quotes from the book Creativity, Inc: “Ideas come from people. Therefore, people are more important than ideas…”

Do you have a creativity buddy? How do you contribute to each other’s projects and progress? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading and stay vigilant for opportunities to stretch your thinking.