People who have endured a career until their late 50s still have the habit of persevering and finishing even when it is difficult. However, when you are approaching retirement, fatigue the day after working overtime lasts longer, and the way you recover over the weekend may not be the same as before. At times like this, if you add the thought that you couldn't keep the plan, you'll feel exhausted as well.
Acknowledging changes in physical strength is different from giving up. Before retirement, examining your current state and practicing adjusting your to-dos is a choice to maintain your rhythm of life in the future.
Reducing plans is not giving up, but making adjustments to continue tomorrow.
📏 Keep a 100-point plan and a 30-point plan together
It's easy to feel like you've done nothing on bad days when you only have plans for the days when you're feeling good. Having small alternatives in your plan from the beginning can help you avoid missing a day entirely.
- If a 40-minute walk is too much for you, take a 10-minute walk in front of your house.
- If you have difficulty going to the grocery store, just organize a list of things you need.
- If you have a hard time meeting a friend, make a quick call to say hello.
- If you have trouble concentrating on even one chapter of the book, read only the title and first paragraph.
A reduced plan is not a failed plan. This is a plan to recognize the scope of what is possible today and continue to live by it.
If you rush to cut back after a tough day, you may feel like you're compromising with yourself. When your condition is good, write down your ‘basic plan’ and ‘small plan’ in advance. If you check your physical condition in the morning and choose one of the two, your choice that day will not be a failure, but the method you originally prepared.
Even on days when you feel light, it is important not to try to complete all of your backlog. If you repeat the trend of overexerting yourself on a good day and then resting for a few days, record the time it takes to recover rather than the amount you do at once. Part of the plan is to reserve whatever strength you have today for tomorrow's life.
AI 생성 by 낭만자두🌳 The way Darwin took a short walk on a walk
According to the records left by Charles Darwin's son Francis, after middle age Darwin divided his day very evenly according to his physical condition. After concentrating on research and reading the letter in the morning, I walked along a path called ‘Sandwalk’ near my house around noon. The number of walks depended on my health that day.
Rather than working for long periods of time, he alternated between relatively short bursts of attention spans, walks, and rest. Looking at historical research results, it may seem like they worked non-stop, but their actual daily routine also included time to rest on the sofa or listen to their family read to them.
Darwin's health problems and living conditions were different from those of today's readers, so his timeline cannot be recommended verbatim. However, it is worth noting that between the two choices of giving up or overdoing what needs to be done, there is a way to adjust the frequency and time depending on the condition.
🩺 There is a difference between enduring painful signals and taking it slow
You should not blindly endure pain or abnormal symptoms just because you are told that moving your body is helpful. If you experience symptoms that are different from usual, such as sudden or severe pain, difficulty breathing, or dizziness, you should stop your activity and seek medical help. Even if you have a chronic illness or want to start a new exercise routine, it is important to consult with a medical professional who knows your condition.
The ‘reduction’ mentioned in this article is not a method of replacing treatment, but an attitude of adjusting one's life without overdoing it on an ordinary day when there are no special problems.
In the following cases, you should stop and get help first rather than cutting back on your plans and continuing.
- Sudden or severe pain that is different from usual
- Difficulty breathing or severe dizziness
- Status of cessation of activity by medical staff
AI 생성 by 낭만자두📝 If you write it down, you will feel less inclined to blame your body.
Write down briefly what you did that day on your calendar. This means recording what you actually did, such as ‘5 minutes of stretching at home’ instead of ‘couldn’t go for a walk’, or ‘calling a friend’ instead of ‘cancelling an appointment’. If you collect a few days together, you will find that there are more days where you continue to live a big or small life than days when you do nothing.
Keep records not only of your activities but also of what helped you recover. If you write briefly about whether it was difficult to sleep at night because you took a long nap or whether you felt better the next day because you rested quietly after going out, you will see a pattern that suits you. Keeping track of your scores on a weekly basis rather than daily can help you avoid becoming overly anxious about small changes in your body.
It's okay to leave blank the days you shortened your plan but couldn't keep it. There is a reason and value to resting. Your records should not be a ticket to watch yourself, but should be data that makes your next plan realistic.
When your body slows down, it sometimes feels like your mind stops. But life isn't just about speed. Days off, days to cut back, and days to start over all come together to form my life.
☕ One thing to leave behind today
If there are no special abnormalities, leave one little thing behind before zeroing out your plan. It's also good to get some fresh air outside the front door instead of going for a 40-minute walk, or to give a brief hello instead of a promise. That one thing can be your bridge back to the rhythm of tomorrow.
