How close are you to starting your retirement journey?
I’ve been a retired doctor of chiropractic for almost 20 years now. My wife Colleen occasionally reminds me, “It’s Monday morning!” because we both have a deep appreciation of that as we slowly sip our morning tea. My earliest memory of retirement is of savoring these slow mornings.
When I first discovered chiropractic and my subsequent 25-year career, I’d been teaching Native American children for two years, which was a rewarding experience, but I decided a Native American should be doing it. I borrowed from their culture and pitched a tipi on a small island off the coast of Washington State, making a deal with myself to stay there until I knew what to do with my life.
One day I came upon a chiropractic office, walked in and asked what this was. The kind DC gave me a free treatment so I could experience it. I stood up and said, “That was cool! How do you learn to do that?”
The rest is history.
Retirement had been the carrot dangling in front of my ultra-busy life for many years. As a working DC I gave total focus to all aspects of practice, such as hiring and maintaining a terrific staff, ways to grow the practice and learning new techniques. My retirement planning didn’t go further than looking ahead to the rush of a busy practice coming to a grinding halt. I envisioned choice in my daily routine and some traveling, but little beyond that.
Being retired turned out to be very different from my vague expectations. Here are just a few things I’ve learned so far.
You’ll procrastinate about it
I was like a lot of practitioners. Retirement was in five years. Then two years later it was also in five years. I had an injury treating a patient that caused me to miss some time. But I made it back in a couple weeks. Then a second injury was my writing on the wall. I decided to retire then and there, and six months later I dove into the great unknown.
Traveling in retirement is an amazing thing
When I retired, the first thing I did was take a 10-week trip to Europe. This was the perfect way to scramble my patterns and come home to my new reality. Since then I sprinkle travel into my schedule and each year have a varying pattern of trips to different places. Some years I’m on the road a quarter of the time.
You need a plan…and flexibility
How do you plan your retirement? I like to say: Set goals but keep your peripheral vision. We can’t always see the next step in our lives, but we can point ourselves in a direction of interest. I’ve found that my most important lessons have come out of the blue. Being open and observant and trying new things can be a secret to making the most of the freedom that is a reward for many years of hard work and discipline in your practice. And if you’re not the spontaneous type, so many opportunities are just a little research away.
Retirement is busier than you think
In retirement, I rarely to never have a completely open-ended day. I have sprinkled my life with planning, but there’s lots of room for spontaneity.
Money’s not that important
All practitioners have a lot of attention on how much money or assets they need to comfortably retire. There are many formulas for figuring this out.
I was always very conservative with my investments and once retired, I hoped my net worth would stay the same or go up. Once or twice a year I tally things up and have been fortunate enough to have accomplished this, and thus have to pay almost no attention there. If things hadn’t gone well I would have looked into my file of clipped articles about finances in retirement.
Work stress melts away…eventually
A practicing DC doesn’t really understand the stress we’re under. Managing staff, keeping the practice dynamic and growing, dealing with all the brush fires that come up takes a toll. My first couple years of retirement were largely de-stressing.
I have a large, verdant, organic garden and spent a lot of time there. I loved being in nature and having no demands upon me. There were days I physically worked just as hard in the garden as i once had in my practice and felt stupid thinking about how much money I would have made in a comparable day in practice.
Those thoughts drifted away with time.
You have time to try what’s new in retirement
One day I saw an ad for a free drop-in Improv class. I’d never done anything like that but went out on a limb to try it. I laughed a lot in that first class of fifteen people of all ages. I had a blast. Thus began weekly Improv class for several years.
Having fun sprinkled with laughter filled a void I didn’t know I had, but ultimately thinking so fast became tiring and I came up with a different idea for creativity.
I knew a professor at Western Washington University who taught poetry writing. On a whim I asked if I could try her class. It was so much fun that I’ve now taken 25 creative writing classes at the university.
At registration, I also learned that classes are free if you’re over 60; apparently, many states offer this benefit. At first it felt a little odd to be the only old guy in the class. But once I thought of myself as representing diversity I realized the benefit for everyone. For the most part students and professors have been friendly and appreciative of my presence.
It’s an amazing opportunity that people rarely use. Think about a photography, art, history, Spanish or one of so many other classes you may have interest in but never had the time (or money) to try. And being part of a lively discussion with a group of sharp young minds on, say, a Thursday morning at 10 is a dream. My experience was chronicled in a “My Turn” column in Newsweek Magazine on January 23, 2023. This spring I’m giving an online lecture along with a Q & A on the subject for a senior group called Well Connected.
You will miss work sometimes
What do I miss from practice now that I am retired? I miss the fun interactions with so many patients who felt like friends. I miss the creativity that goes into solving their problems and the satisfaction of doing it. I don’t miss the stress of managing a practice and staying on a tight schedule.
When I first retired, I was surprised that some of the vendors I bumped into weren’t as over-the-top friendly as they used to be. I realized I was addicted to being important. But once I sorted that out, I loved the flip side: anonymity. I took great pleasure in letting go of the persona of Dr. Schwartz and becoming ol’ Harv.
Support is a good thing
The pandemic offered me another chance to grow. We were all going stir-crazy and a friend asked me about forming a men’s group. We quickly put together five friends (all retired) who meet inside or outside depending on the weather. We’ve met every two weeks for three and a half years. Yesterday in group we were discussing what drives us. The predominant answer was doing things creatively. I think it’s important to take the “tired” out of retired.
You’ll still be the DC you were
A practicing DC not only can’t have a bad day but can’t have a bad second. We need to have intense focus on every adjustment. This focus carries over, beyond chiropractic. It helped me in improv and helps in writing and it will help you in whatever direction your retirement goes.
Final thoughts on retirement
But this is my journey and it’s probably a lot different from what yours will be. I’m just one example. You can look at retirement the way you look at a new patient: as a problem with a creative solution. Retirement is an opportunity to try new things and develop new sides of yourself, or pursue things you’ve always wanted to.
What am I proud to look back upon? I can honestly say I tried my best with every patient I ever treated. It’s a great joy when I occasionally chance upon a former patient who gives me a hug or a friendly greeting.
Harvey Schwartz, DC, has been retired for almost 20 years. He is immensely appreciative to the chiropractic profession for both the dynamic career and all the retirement opportunities it has opened for him.
