Adjusting to a new schedule, a new job, really a new life is more challenging than I thought it would be. At the conclusion of my prior “life”, I fully came to appreciate how effortlessly I could navigate everything. It took such little thought to glide through my day, especially near the end. After all I’m 66, so there was zero expectations on me so long as I continued helping the transition cause. This allowed me the flexibility to “think” about how to proceed in the new life without actually being in a position of commitment. Before retiring, my schedule had become more past-tense; allowing me time to reflect on how I used to fill each day with existing and target account calls and how this experience would help me in the future. Now that the future is here, I realize that with the exception of classes, anything I want to accomplish is on me. I used to enjoy my “Customers” and the regular income they provided, now I look for “Clients”. The difference is subtle but important to know. A Customer is generally considered a regular purchaser of your goods and/or services. A Client is generally the one who wants professional support/service from the company. The biggest difference, and I’m finding THE most important lesson for me to learn, is the definition of “sales” in the world of real estate. In my previous life, I was generally on the “Seller” side of the equation not the “Buyer” side which in realtor terms, means I functioned as a “Limited Agent.” Simply put, I assisted the buyer in all aspects of the transaction including education, acquisition and implementation of the product or service. It was my ethic responsibility to assure that all parties were satisfied with the performance of the “item” so they would continue to use it successfully and profitably and my employer would make money. In the real estate world, my fiduciary duty is too whomever I represent, be it seller or buyer. It is not my concern if the party on the other side of the transaction is whole, other than being able to consummate the deal. This will be the most difficult aspect for me. The other is the real estate sale is a legal contract, not a process to work through or an “agreement on terms” per se, that both sides can tweak or adjust until the provided goods and/or services are as promised. It is my responsibility to assure my Client gets/receives everything on the contract for the best price. If the other “side” comes out well that’s great but not my responsibility.

Last post I mentioned the book I am reading, Designing Your Life. The assignments or “homework”, seemed pretty straightforward until I really appreciated what questions were being asked and for what reason. The purpose is too determine what activities are important by need or want, and which (if any I suppose,) interject energy and enthusiasm or the complete opposite. Maybe reading this a year ago would have caused the same net effect that did happen; changing careers, but my perception of work, then and now is different. Yesterday everything was laid out and easy. It had become boring and unproductive. Today, the opportunities are endless—if I can adapt and grow. My ability to answer those questions regarding Worklife accurately and with a heartfelt answer today is at best, a guess or an assumption. Not being able to define my workday place makes me uncomfortable and a bit anxious. I prefer order and calm and having a structured and orderly existence, not one that belongs to a calendar with no appointments. The challenge I least expected has landed on my shoulders.

I was optimistic. Now that I’m retired in a sense, and my new real estate gig doesn’t harbor a ton of early risers, I decided to start “sleeping in.” For a person that has risen between 5:00 and 5:30 seemingly forever, the thought of sleeping until 6:30 seemed like a dream. A body clock is really difficult to change I’m finding out, especially after 50 years. I have started setting the alarm for 6:30 am to see what would happen. Incrementally, I keep adding a few minutes to my length of sleep but still wake up before the alarm ever beeps. Exercise and a morning smoothie have also become part of the new routine. I am fortunate to still have good health but can’t expect it to continue forever, especially with no effort on my part. With the bulk of my time currently sitting at a desk in front of a computer, I needed to increase my odds for longevity and the easiest way was to introduce exercise. Yoga, inversion table and walking up & down eight flights of stairs daily is the goal. 3-weeks in and so far, so good. I don’t cook. I can but I choose not to 95% of the time for a variety of reasons. Mainly because Lisa is an excellent cook and generally enjoys it. She cooks—I clean, it works for us. Secondly, I am too obsessed with keeping a clean space. I find the cooking distracting; I am too busy cleaning up as I go to worry about the finished product. In the back of my mind I know I will have to clean it up anyway, so why not limit the mess and clean as I go. One exception is a Sunday omelet. It had been forever since I cooked anything (do sandwiches count??) and decided I would really like an omelet. This dish has almost mythic status because it is so rare for me to cook anything and it is actually pretty tasty too. It sounded particularly good today for some reason. Might be it had been a while since I prepared one or it might be that I felt it was time to pay it back. Or maybe it sounded like something I did before the pandemic and hadn’t since and it felt normal. I went with the latter.