I want to share something I have learned since retiring in December 2011 - it's the "Do One Thing" philosophy. A new friend (one of our neighbors) used this phrase in conversation a couple of months ago and now I use it all the time. It's a mantra for me! As there are SO MANY things to do when we are here, and it is Mexico so things frequently don't go on a set schedule, many of us believe that it is not realistic to plan to do more than one thing every day. For example, if the Carnaval Parade is today - that's it. You can fill in grocery shopping, laundry or cooking in addition - but not ALL of those things. Don't commit to multiple other things as you will just be frustrated and stressed, and let's face it, we did that for too many years before we retired. Another example of what can throw a day into the dumps - you have your one thing planned and your car has some unexpected minor issue that you must take it to a garage/mechanic to fix. Now not only can you not get to your one scheduled event, you are without transportation for an unknown period of time because that is common when minor repairs are needed in this area. Places may be closed when you had every reason to believe they would be open. This can throw a monkey wrench into your whole week as well. Maybe you can't get a part for your computer - ANYWHERE nearby. You need to copy and scan a document that you promised to hve ready for someone today. Who knew, until you are in that predicament. So, rather than it being the choice of a (lazy?) retiree to just plan One Thing, perhaps you are getting a feel for why it is the sensible thing to do. I will return to this theme as it is so relevant to our daily lives here...
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