How to Start Planning Your Career Transition

Silver Creek – 2006

Idaho

Plan Now, Prosper Later

Your career transition is one of those major life events for which it is critical to prepare well in advance. 

Early on, you will recognize that the magnitude and scope of the challenge is significant. As a result, you will realize that to achieve a successful transition you will need to devote focused effort over a significant period  of time. These inevitable, initial questions will arise: 

• How do I begin? 
• What should I do? 
• In what order should I do it?

I am confident that you have learned long ago that great achievements require great preparation.

The First Step of the Path 

To begin, there are three major concerns for which preparation is essential.

The first of these is to prepare yourself, personally, to enter the next great phase of your life. As you do so, it is important to keep in mind that your spouse and in unique ways, your family, are also going through a transition.

The second concern is to prepare yourself professionally.

The third is to prepare your practice, whether you are solo practitioner, in a group or otherwise employed.

The Triad of Plans: Methodology

I have previously discussed what I refer to as a triad of plans that represent a methodology to achieve these goals. They are:

The Post Career Lifestyle Plan _TM

 The Post Career Financial Plan _TM 

 The End of Career Transition Plan _TM

These three plans address your core personal and professional needs.They also focus on subtle, but important concerns of your particular practice. These distinct, complementary plans are customized to deal with your various needs in a logical, practical sequence. 

Here, I will focus on the first of these.

First Things First

The creation of your Post Career Lifestyle Plan is about preparing yourself at a very personal level. It also addresses the needs and desires of your spouse and perhaps your family. It's about describing your hopes and aspirations that comprise your dreams of how you want to live your lives after your career transition.

This is the most enjoyable and valuable thing to do first.  Not only is it rewarding in his own right, but it also forms the basis for subsequent decisions that you will need to make. As you progress, you will encounter a variety of concerns that you will need to address. These matters will affect you professionally as well as your practice.

Practical Matters

These are some helpful, sample questions that you may want to ask yourself as you develop your Plan. They represent a variety of important matters you should address and consider the relevant answers.

I suggest that you begin by writing down the answers to these sample personal questions individually. Then, you can discuss them with each other.  As you go through this part of the process together, your creativities will emerge in the form of new questions and answers that will help you develop your plan.

• Do I want to end my career completely or undergo a gradual transition?
• To what degree do I need to continue to feel fulfillment of my purpose in life, such as I felt during my career?
• What are some ways in which I can continue to fulfill that need?
• How do I satisfy my desires to have fun?
• What interests or hobbies would I like to resume or begin?
• How do I want to live? What environment fosters my remaining active?
• Where is that place that when I am there, I feel in the moment?
• What type type of weather and seasons do I prefer?
• How accessible is the means to travel to and from home(s)? 
• Is practical access available to family, nature, recreation, services, supplies, etc.?
• How accessible is medical care? Routine care? Acute care? Long term care?
• What about state residency status? Voluntary vs. automatic by statute.
• State income tax liability? Property taxes?
• Do I have children with special needs that require my support? What are they?
• Do I have parents with special needs that require my support? What are they?
• What preparations can I undertake well in advance in order to avoid last-minute overload?
• What is the date certain that I will complete my Plan?

On Sunsets and Sunrises

We sometimes think of the end of our career as though it were a sunset…and in certain ways it certainly is. Nevertheless, it is very beneficial to recognize that the sunset of our career is also the sunrise of the rest of our lives. This is very much like the sun, which it is preparing to rise even as it sets.

This process is usually a joyful experience as well as a challenging one. 

Congratulations for taking the first steps to achieve renewal and fulfillment in the next great phase of your life!

Updated: September 1, 2023

PS: Would you like to learn more about how to prepare yourself and your practice for the end of career transition? You may be in solo practice and wish to carry out a succession or outright sale; perhaps you are in group practice or are otherwise employed. I provide consulting/coaching services that are tailored to your specific needs. Click here to request a complimentary introductory conversation.

Madison River – 2009

Montana