Research on cognitive maintenance consistently shows that engagement matters. But not just any engagement. What seems to protect cognitive performance over time is encountering unfamiliar territory: so, problems you haven't solved before, contexts you don't control, conversations that challenge rather than confirm. During a long career, particularly in professional services, unfamiliarity is built in. New clients bring new problems, market shifts force adaptation, regulatory changes require learning. You might work in the same field for decades, but the field itself keeps moving. And so, although your expertise deepens, the work stays challenging.

A study published in Nature this week found that the brain’s capacity for sustained attention is undiminished across contexts, but that environment and habit are the determining variables. So what changes isn’t ability; instead, it’s the conditions under which that ability operates. The distinction matters for anyone leaving a long institutional career.

I ran a workshop recently on preparing for retirement from equity partnership. One of the participants, a partner close to retirement from the partnership, became indignant when I suggested he might experience uncertainty in the transition. As he explained, he had a plan. He knew exactly what he was going to do. His certainty was absolute. I found his certainty puzzling. Not because his plans weren't sensible. They were. But because having a plan for what you'll do is different from knowing how you'll experience the transition.

When people step back from full-time work, they often struggle with whether they're using their time "usefully." I hear it regularly. Sometimes from clients, sometimes from friends who've made the transition. The guilt isn't about being idle (though that may come into it). Rather, it's about not being useful enough. But useful to whom?

Some ten years ago I wrote a short post about the tension between Urgent and Important. I was then Chair of Trustees at Bridge Support, and I framed my role as encouraging the Executive Team to stay focused on the Important - the strategic work that could all too easily be displaced by firefighting.

My perspective has shifted.