If you have yet to retire, and are just designing your retirement plan, don’t forget to put “declutter” on your list. This is especially important if you have been in a job or the same work location for ten or more years. We tend to collect things. It’s human nature to keep drafts of projects, momentos, notes of thanks or praise, but it all just basically makes us burst at the seams!
When the time comes, you might want to declutter in stages. Collect momentos and decide as to if you are taking any with you when leaving the job. If not, give them a second home. Maybe someone else in the office might appreciate them as well.
Next, collect all of the notes of thanks and praise. These could be eMails or they could be hand-written notes. Collect them and determine how they could be used in your new avocation. Scan them into your computer, collect all emails and make them plain text messages. eMails to plain text will allow you to use them in a variety of formats in the future. Once they are all gathered into a folder, copy to CD. Make two copies for backup.
The next thing to look at will be your work projects. Personally, I kept all drafts of a project up to about six months after publication, incase there was any question pertaining to production. However, time would get away, and sometimes folders older than six months would get pushed back in the stacks to be forgotten. Are there on-going projects that can be turned over to a co-worker early before your departure? Are there folders that you might want to keep as work samples for your new avocation? If the reply is no, then put a date on the folder as to when it can be pitched.
If you have a number of projects that will be left open as you depart, develop an excel spread sheet that will list the name of the project, start date, end date, who the “second” or backup for the project might be and add a comment box, which notes status. Then present this spreadsheet to your management about three weeks before you depart. It will be their decision as to how to handle your workload after you depart from your job. This “consideration” will be looked upon as to how detailed you were as an employee, and your legacy will be that you just didn’t leave things to chance, but passed the paton in a professional manner.
I would be remiss, if I didn’t warn you about the human nature of clutter…don’t think that you can clear your office by just taking things home. YOU DO NOT WANT TO CLUTTER your new life with a past life. You simply want to take the momentos, notes of praise and project samples that might be useful in your new avocation.
Declutter starts with a visual inventory. Make a mental note or write a list of items that can be removed sooner than later. If you eliminate items in stages, it will make your last week on the job so much easier. Don’t think that you will have “all that time” your last week on the job, as there will be last minute assignments, on-going projects and tons of people to interrupt your day telling you how much they will miss you!
It is official, you have now been warned. Declutter in stages so that your new avocation doesn’t get weighed down with the past.
Next issue will be devoted to new avocations. – to be continued
I’m Otta Here is sponsored by “Retire Sassy” a seminar by SizemoreSeminars.com. This 60-120 minute seminar helps boomers to think about how they are going to know when it is time to retire and what their new adventure might be in the future. For more information about bringing this seminar into your workplace visit www.sizemoreseminars.com
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