It may not be obvious why Technology should be included as a top-level category in a blog about retirement. Financial, Lifestyle, Health & Fitness, Personal Growth, etc., all make sense, but Technology—???—as the saying goes—not so much. But, much like Bilbo’s ring, it could be looked upon as the “One Ring to rule them all”.
When thinking about all of the other categories I was choosing to cover in this blog, it became obvious to me that the use of information technology was critical to my practices under each and every one of them. By way of example, I access, record, and evaluate “Financial” information using a wide range of online resources and computer software. In choosing to develop and maintain a blog, as part of my ongoing “Personal Growth”, I need to develop and regularly use a whole new group of technological skills. I am planning to use the “Health & Fitness” mobile device apps that are suddenly exploding everywhere to track and inform my exercise and general health habits. Some aspect of technology plays a role in virtually every aspect of my life.
We, the baby boomers, will be the first generation to have access to technology that can potentially assist us as we work our way through the last, phase of our lives. It may not be a panacea, but it does have the potential to play a very helpful role in mitigating the normal loss of cognitive function as we age.
A simple example of this is the common scenario where I say “what the heck did I come in here for?” . Rare is the individual who has not walked into another room to fetch an item only to discover they have completely forgotten why they are there. I now eliminate any chance of being sidetracked in a situation like this by verbally asking my smart watch to remind me in one minute about what I am planning to do. .
I recognize that technology is not everyone’s “thing”, but it works for me.
