Casual Mondays Podcast

It's 10:47 on a Tuesday morning. You're still in your pajamas, scrolling your phone. You had vague plans—organize the garage, call a friend, hit the gym. But there's no meeting at 11. No deadline at noon. No boss wondering where you are. It's now 11:23, and you're thinking: "I've been retired for three months. Why does every day feel like Saturday, but without the satisfaction of having earned it?"Welcome to the paradox of retirement: you finally have all the time in the world, and somehow none of it feels like yours. This episode tackles the challenge of building rhythm without rigidity—creating a daily structure that serves your freedom instead of constraining it.In This EpisodeWhy total freedom without structure becomes chaos in disguiseThe Structure Paradox: Two extremes that both fail (The Structured Achiever vs. The Flexible Explorer)The Four Pillars Framework for retirement rhythm: Anchor Commitments, Peak Energy Blocks, Intentional White Space, Evening ClosureWhy the first 90 days of retirement set your pattern for years to comeHow to honor your chronotype and protect your peak hours for meaningful workThe counterintuitive practice of scheduling nothing—and why it mattersCreating psychological closure when there's no office to leaveKey Insight: Structure without flexibility isn't structure—it's just a job with no paycheck. But freedom without structure isn't freedom—it's chaos in disguise. The goal is structure that serves you, not structure that controls you.Chapters00:00 The Paradox of Retirement06:59 Finding Structure in Freedom09:25 Listener Voicemails12:29 Pillar 1: Anchor Commitments16:08 Pillar 2: Peak Energy Blocks19:46 Pillar 3: Intentional White Space22:52 Pillar 4: Evening Closure26:38 Implementing Your Structure33:40 Next Episode PreviewJoin the ConversationWebsite: www.casualmondayspodcast.comInstagram: @casualmondayspodcastYouTube: Casual Mondays PodcastCasual Mondays Club: https://www.casualmondayspodcast.com/newsletter/Stress-Test Your Retirement Plan with the Retirement Success Graph AppPowerful. Secure. Free.Stress test your retirement plan against 100+ years of market data with the Retirement Success Graph app. See hundreds of possible futures for your portfolio. Test different scenarios—what if you spend more? Travel more? Live to 100?Click to DownloadPrimary Research CitationsMayo Clinic – Research on healthy aging and routine development; evening closure rituals and sleep qualityNational Institute on Aging – Guidelines for senior daily activity planning; 3-5 weekly anchor commitments recommendationBritish Heart Foundation – Study on retirement wellness and structure; 3-7 weekly commitments optimal balance; 90-Day Window researchUniversity of Pennsylvania – Research on habit formation in later life; aligning activities with natural energy peaksAmerican Geriatrics Society – Recommendations for active aging routinesUniversity of Michigan – Time use and well-being in retirement; first 90 days as critical adjustment period; 15-20% unstructured time recommendationHarvard Medical School – Cognitive health and daily structure; unstructured time essential for mental restorationStanford Center on Longevity – Routine and purpose research; psychological closure ritualsKey Framework: The Four PillarsPillar 1: Anchor Commitments3-5 recurring weekly activities that give your week shape—physical anchors (exercise routines), social anchors (regular connections), and purpose anchors (meaningful projects). These are non-negotiable commitments you choose because they serve your ikigai, health, or relationships.Pillar 2: Peak Energy BlocksProtecting your natural high-energy hours for high-value activities. Your chronotype doesn't retire. Match your most important work to when your brain is sharpest—whether that's 9-11 AM or 8-10 PM.Pillar 3: Intentional White SpaceScheduled nothing. 30-60 minutes daily and one half-day weekly with zero commitments. Protected time for spontaneity, rest, and whatever emerges. If you don't schedule white space, low-value busyness will fill it.Pillar 4: Evening ClosureAn intentional end-of-day ritual that signals "today was complete." A five-minute review, a transition activity (evening walk, specific drink), or a shutdown ritual (clear counter, set tomorrow's anchor items). Your brain needs an end point—give it one.Your Assignment: The Five-Day Structure ExperimentMonday through Friday, implement the Five-Step Structure Builder:Choose Your 3 Weekly Anchors (by Sunday) – One physical, one social, one purposefulIdentify Your Peak Energy Window (this week) – Just notice when you're naturally at your bestProtect One Peak Hour (starting tomorrow) – Block it for high-value activity, not email or errandsSchedule 30 Minutes of Nothing (daily) – Put "White Space" on your calendar and honor itCreate Your Evening Closure (starting tonight) – Choose one small ritual that signals "day's done"At the end of each day, ask yourself:"Did my structure serve me today, or did it constrain me?""What one tweak would make tomorrow better?"By Friday evening, you'll have real data on what works for you.GREAT BIG DISCLAIMERThe Casual Mondays Podcast is presented only for entertainment and/or educational purposes. Moreover, no listener/user should assume that any such discussion serves as the receipt of, or a substitute for, personalized advice from a registered investment professional. We do not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information presented on the podcast, this website, or other affiliated properties. Any third-party content or links are provided solely for convenience. Neither Kevin Donahue nor the Casual Mondays Podcast is a registered investment advisory firm, a law firm, or a tax advisory service, and neither is representing any spoken, written, or transmitted content as financial planning, tax, legal, or investment advice. All users are strongly advised to consult qualified professionals regarding any financial planning, tax, legal, or investment decisions.These show notes match the reference format while capturing the essence of Episode 3's content about creating daily structure in retirement. The notes emphasize the practical Four Pillars Framework and provide clear action steps for listeners to implement immediately.

You've retired. You can fill every hour with activities—golf, volunteering, travel—and still feel empty. You're busier than when you worked, but something fundamental is missing. This episode introduces the Japanese concept of ikigai (your reason for being) and explores how to discover genuine purpose beyond staying busy.Ikigai isn't found in a lightning-bolt moment on a mountaintop. It's cultivated through experimentation, reflection, and small daily adjustments. In this episode, we explore why the Okinawans—who live longer than almost anyone on Earth—never even had a word for retirement: because they never stopped having a reason to wake up.In This EpisodeWhy staying busy doesn't equal purposeful living (and the Sunday night feeling that never goes away)The four circles of ikigai, adapted specifically for retirementThree retirement ikigai archetypes: The Mentor, The Creator, and The ConnectorThe Three-Month Ikigai Experiment framework for discoveryHow to weave purpose into daily life through small, consistent alignmentWhy your ikigai at 55 will look different from your ikigai at 75 (and why that's not failure)Key Insight: Your job was never your ikigai. Your job provided structure around your ikigai. Now that the structure's gone, we need to find what was underneath it all along.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Casual Mondays Podcast00:27 Discovering Ikigai: The Secret to Longevity01:30 Welcome and Community Engagement03:08 The Activity Trap in Retirement04:50 Understanding Ikigai and Its Importance15:45 The Four Circles of Ikigai28:10 Practical Steps to Find Your Ikigai42:27 Conclusion and Next StepsJoin the ConversationWebsite: www.casualmondayspodcast.comInstagram: @casualmondayspodcastYouTube: Casual Mondays PodcastCasual Mondays Club: https://www.casualmondayspodcast.com/newsletter/Stress-Test Your Retirement Plan with the Retirement Success Graph AppPowerful. Secure. Free.Stress test your retirement plan against 100+ years of market data with the Retirement Success Graph app. See hundreds of possible futures for your portfolio. Test different scenarios—what if you spend more? Travel more? Live to 100?Click to DownloadPrimary Research CitationsDan Buettner's Blue Zones Research – Okinawa longevity studies and ikigai correlation dataStanford Center on Longevity – Purpose and aging correlation research; growth mindset application to purpose discoveryOkinawa Centenarian Study – Ikigai and longevity data; cardiovascular and cognitive health benefitsHarvard Study of Adult Development – 85+ year longitudinal study on happiness; purpose matters more than wealth findingsJapanese Ministry of Health – Ikigai research and public health data; life satisfaction regardless of income levelUniversity of Michigan Health and Retirement Study – Purpose in retirement transitions; noticing vs. grand planningMIT AgeLab – Daily routine and purpose integration; satisfaction from consistent vs. occasional alignmentAmerican Psychological Association – Intrinsic motivation in aging; retirement transition researchNational Institute on Aging – Successful aging and adaptable sense of purposeAdditional ResourcesBook: Retire Retirement by Tamara Erickson (Harvard Business Review)Study: "Positive Retirement" Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2023AARP Foundation – Research on social identity in later lifeDr. Nancy Schlossberg, University of Maryland – Transition theory researchEpisode LinksCasual Mondays Podcast: casualmondayspodcast.comRetirement Success App: retirementsuccessapp.comYour AssignmentCreate your four-circle ikigai diagram:What do you LOVE?What are you GOOD AT?What do others NEED?What gives you JOY?Then identify one small experiment to try this week. Not a life overhaul. A single test to see how one intersection feels.GREAT BIG DISCLAIMERThe Casual Mondays Podcast is presented only for entertainment and/or educational purposes. Moreover, no listener/user should assume that any such discussion serves as the receipt of, or a substitute for, personalized advice from a registered investment professional. We do not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information presented on the podcast, this website, or other affiliated properties. Any third-party content or links are provided solely for convenience. Neither Kevin Donahue nor the Casual Mondays Podcast is a registered investment advisory firm, a law firm, or a tax advisory service, and neither is representing any spoken, written, or transmitted content as financial planning, tax, legal, or investment advice. All users are strongly advised to consult qualified professionals regarding any financial planning, tax, legal, or investment decisions.

Who Am I Without My Business Card? Navigating the Retirement Identity CrisisFor years, your professional role provided:Instant social recognition ("Oh, you're a surgeon? Impressive!")Clear measures of success (promotions, bonuses, titles)Structured identity ("I'm a teacher," "I'm an engineer")Built-in purpose (projects, deadlines, deliverables)When that scaffolding disappears, even the most self-assured people feel unmoored.Traditional retirement at 65 comes with social scripts. People understand it. Expect it. Celebrate it.Early retirement at 50? Society doesn't quite know what to do with you yet. You're too young for "retired" to feel comfortable. Too established to pivot to something entirely new. And the typical response—"Must be nice!" or "What do you DO all day?"—can feel more like interrogation than celebration.Stanford Center on Longevity researchers found that people who retire before 60 face unique psychological challenges as they navigate uncharted social terrain. There's no roadmap. No cultural consensus. No clear answer to "What comes next?" Join the ConversationWebsite: www.casualmondayspodcast.comInstagram: @casualmondayspodcastYouTube: Casual Mondays PodcastCasual Mondays Club:  https://www.casualmondayspodcast.com/newsletter/Stress-Test Your Retirement Plan with the Retirement Success Graph AppPowerful. Secure. Free. Stress test your retirement plan against 100+ years of market data with the Retirement Success Graph app.Click to DownloadPrimary Research Citations:American Psychological Association – Retirement transition and identity researchHarvard Business School – Executive identity post-retirement studiesStanford Center on Longevity – "Phoenix Career" methodology and generativity researchUniversity of Michigan Health and Retirement Study – Psychological adjustment dataDr. Nancy Schlossberg, University of Maryland – Transition theory researchAdditional Resources:Book: Retire Retirement by Tamara Erickson (Harvard Business Review)Study: "Positive Retirement" Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2023AARP Foundation research on social identity in later lifeEpisode Links:Casual Mondays Podcast: casualmondayspodcast.comRetirement Success App: retirementsuccessapp.comStream This Episode on YouTube Click here to view the episode transcript. GREAT BIG DISCLAIMER:The Casual Mondays Podcast is presented only for entertainment and/or educational purposes. Moreover, no listener/user should assume that any such discussion serves as the receipt of, or a substitute for, personalized advice from a registered investment professional. We do not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information presented on the podcast, this website, or other affiliated properties. Any third-party content or links are provided solely for convenience. Neither Kevin Donahue nor the Casual Mondays Podcast is a registered investment advisory firm, a law firm, or a tax advisory service, and neither is representing any spoken, written, or transmitted content as financial planning, tax, legal, or investment advice. All users are strongly advised to consult qualified professionals regarding any financial planning, tax, legal, or investment decisions.

Welcome to Casual Mondays, the retirement podcast for those who’ve closed the office planner and opened the door to tomorrow. Whether you're planning for retirement or already made the transition, join us for conversations about what happens after you step away from the 9-to-5: from day one plans to shaping a second act that’s as fulfilling as it is flexible.Expect expert advice, inspiring stories, and actionable tips for designing a life that’s rich in experiences, purpose, and joy. Trade your desk for a deck chair. This is the retirement podcast for living your best life - every single day.Please help others find the show by rating it in your podcast app and sharing it on social media. __________________________________________________SHOW NOTES:SEND YOUR VOICE MESSAGES:Record your retirement story or feedback on the podcast at www.casualmondayspodcast.comCONNECT WITH US: HOME:  www.CasualMondaysPodcasts.comINSTAGRAM:  www.instagram.com/CasualMondaysPodcastYOUTUBE:  www.youtube.com/@CasualMondaysPodcastFACEBOOK:  www.facebook.com/CasualMondaysPodcastEPISODE THEMES:FOUNDATION: Identity, Purpose, Structure, and GoalsDAILY LIVING: Community, Health, and ExperiencesWORK & RELATIONSHIPS: Encore Careers and Partnership DynamicsMANAGING YOUR RESOURCES:  Time, Wealth, and the Money MindsetGROWTH & EXPLORATION: Learning, Geographic FreedomLEGACY & VISION: Impact and Long-Term Planning