As we approach 2018, those who would like to retire in the next year have several things they can start doing to make that transition with ease.

Eva is doing all the right things to help her retirement go smoothly when she decides to retire. She says “I am still thinking about retirement – it is hard to keep up with all the family events in addition to working!” One of the events taking place is that Eva will be a Grandmother for the first time this Spring. She would like to be available for her son and daughter-in-law and not have to worry about a work schedule interfering with her new grandmother role.

One of the things Eva is doing is talking to those already retired. She figures that she can learn what is working for some and on the other hand, what is not working for those who are willing to share their own pitfalls with her. Although they may not be Eva’s pitfalls, it is giving her some ideas that she had not considered and helping her feel that she is more prepared and ready for when she does retire.

Eva has spent the last year truly deciding her meaning and purpose and how she would like to give back. The result is that Eva decided that she wanted to take a therapy dog course with her one-and-a-half-year-old black lab named Lucky in preparation for her retirement. They completed the course and this Fall Eva took Lucky to the local university during finals week to help the students cope with the anxiety of final exams. Lucky was a big hit with the students and Eva felt wonderful after the event, knowing that she and Lucky had brought such love and joy to the situation.

Eva by trade is a librarian. Ultimately, she wants to use those skills along with Lucky, the therapy dog, to help young readers. The children usually read to the dog alone. The dog is completely nonjudgmental and help the children feel safe in a situation that can often be stressful particularly if the child has a reading issue. Right now, Lucky is great with teens but still needs some work to learn to deal with younger children, so Eva is putting Lucky in situations to help practice those skills.

Finally, Eva feels that when she retires, she and her husband will have the opportunity to travel more than their once a year annual trip. They have travelled to places like Peru and China and this ability to travel has always been important to the couple. She is doing research now to see how they can schedule more trips and where they might want to go as they prefer trips where they can hike and experience nature. Thus far, Eva has worked on three great ideas that will help her with transitioning to retirement in 2018, talking to others about their pre-or post-retirement experiences, working on finding her meaning and purpose, and what the travel options might be when she does retire at some point next year.

If you are not retired yet, and would like to do so in 2018, how could Eva’s experiences inform your own? What can you work on now, that will help you slide more easily  and successfully  into retirement in 2018?