Gone Fishin

Yep, I did it. I retired.

I decided to take the jump after years of consideration and dozens of questioners asking: “What will you do?” or “How will you handle the transition?” Friends who have retired, are considering retirement, and those professing never to retire all gave me the same advice: Know what you are going to do. Make plans.

The first thing I’m going to do is finish up all this mundane paperwork that’s actually keeping me busier than I was before I retired, if you can believe that. Switching health insurance programs, adjusting retirement plans, filing for Medicare and learning the ropes to engage these new systems can be a frustrating experience. Hard to believe this would be the case for a person like me, who spent my career teaching others to be better managers! Just wait ‘til you go through it yourself; you’ll see.

But don’t feel bad: By the time you read this, I’ll be wrapping up the annual “Guys Gotta Go Fishing” trip in the Florida Keys with some old friends.

My return to Philadelphia will be brief. As soon as I get back, it’ll be just about time to pack for an even bigger adventure: My wife Sheila and I, along with some good friends who also retired recently, will embark on a cruise to the Galapagos Islands aboard a small boat. We will spend 10 days snorkeling, kayaking and exploring the sights where Darwin did much of his work on evolution.

Not long after we return, Sheila and I will head to our country place in the Berkshires. Instead of spending long weekends and a couple of longer vacations there this year, we will spend the duration of spring and the entire summer there fishing, golfing, sailing, taking pictures and attending concerts and plays. I don’t plan to experience any boredom!

I’m also looking forward to spending more time with my grandchildren. In fact, one of them invited me to join him and his dad on a weeklong road trip to visit potential colleges, one of which is my alma mater, Duke University. A nice chance to revisit my past!

Running has always been a major hobby for me. I’ve done the Broad Street Run more than 15 times. I’ve gotten a bit lazy recently, but now that I’m retired I think I’ll find more time to get in shape. I’m going to dig my worn running shoes out of the closet and train for a few more races.

Now that I have spent a few months as an official retiree, I can say I haven’t noticed any sense of loss, let down or concern about the future. In fact, things haven’t changed that much. I’m not finding the transition to a well-balanced life after retirement difficult at all.

Why? I believe it has to do primarily with my attitude about the relationship between professional or career development and self-development. If the mix of interests, activities, concerns, focus and engagement are more or less present in our professional and personal lives, it makes a big life change like retirement much less traumatic.

I do plan to maintain a professional component to my life: I have volunteered to chair the Disputes Resolution Committee at our nearly 500-unit high-rise Center City condo. This has also been keeping me busy lately.

Still, there has been an obvious shift in what was once the academic component of my life. So I plan to seek out similar types of activities in retirement, specifically, ones that align with my self-focused interests. I may even consider teaching a class or two as an adjunct – but not this year. I’m taking this year off!

For me, retirement feels more like a fine-tuning process than a life-changing event. As friends encouraged me at the Drexel LeBow reception held in my honor recently, I’m just off to my “next race”­ — one that will be full of family, fun and the occasional adventure!

Sidney Siegel, Phd, now a former Drexel LeBow professor of management, retired from his position at the end of 2013 after a career spanning more than 30 years.