In the world of work, especially in the last couple of decades, free time has been a scarce commodity. Most of us have spent our time doing what our employers, our clients (and often our wife and children too) have asked us to do. Now here comes retirement, and we can use our time as we see fit.

So now you need a second inventory, an inventory of what you LIKE to do, what you do when no one tells you what to do. At first, at the top of your list will be "fun stuff"--fish, play cards, watch baseball. Will you travel in retirement?

Richard Bolles, the noted author of the classic career book, What Color is Your Parachute, and his colleague John Nelson, a noted retirement planning researchers, wisely point out that "Leisure activities alone might not be enough for a fulfilling retirement." They go on to say things like fishing may have "served as a counterbalance to the stresses of the workplace. Now that you aren't working they don't serve that purpose." They also add wisely that "it may not have been the leisure activity itself that you enjoyed but some aspect related to it that's now missing. Maybe you enjoyed renting a boat on summer weekends, not because you loved boating but because your grandkids came along." Boating without the kids may not be the fun you thought it was.

So when you look inside yourself and backward in time and recall Wordsworth's moments of "unremembered pleasure" try to decipher what it was that you enjoyed: the place or scenery, the people who were with you, or what you were actually doing. In this regard, many retirees report that they "like to travel" but what is it they like about travel? It probably isn't sitting in an airport, but it might be the new people they meet on ships and in hotels. Or is it the sense of adventure of being in a strange place with new customs and a language no one with you understands? It is important to understand how you feel because it will effect where you go and the arrangements you make. For some "travel" means going back to the same cabin in the Adirondacks they have been to for 25 years. For you it might mean visiting a new place, a new country every year! (For more on Travel visit our section dedicated to Travel)

The distinctions between what you like and don't like are highly personal and can appear subtle but they are vitally important. Some teachers, for example, love to teach sixth graders but cannot stand high school students (and vice-versa). To an outsider teaching and teachers may appear all the same, but put a happy teacher in a wrong-aged classroom and he will be miserable.

What Skills and Knowledge Do I Have?