I retired early in my 30s — here are 17 things anyone can do to make planning for early retirement a little easier

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• If you plan to retire early, there are 17 simple things you can do before and during retirement.
• For example, it's beneficial to have a back up plan in case you go through a period of financial strain.
• Pick up a hobby to focus your time in retirement and maintain your sense of accomplishment.
• Be optimistic and enjoy the present. 

Last week, I published my first major listicle. Honestly, it was fun. It's a massive collection of tips to build your blog, and today, I'm publishing a similar monster. This one is about 17 stupid simple ways to make early retirement easier. 

1. Focus on the goal, but appreciate the present

In the early retirement community, we tend to get caught up on the future goal of quitting our jobs and living out the rest of our lives in jobless bliss. And truthfully, that's good. We SHOULD be focused on the end goal. After all, anything that we can do now to better position us for early retirement will come back to us in spades after we finally cut the cord.

But, that also doesn't mean we need to completely ignore our present selves. Sacrifice is necessary to retire early, but it's not all we do, either.

It is important to treat and reward ourselves along the way by celebrating those smaller achievements. Early retirement might be years away, but these small victories are achievable throughout the years, and we need to take a step back, relax, and pat ourselves on the back every once in a while. Trust me, it'll make the march toward early retirement much easier!

2. Get excited about the smaller things in life

Similar to rewarding yourself along the way, appreciating the small gifts in life helps relieve stress and keep us focused.

I approach my life's "spice" a little different than what tradition might tell me to do.  I look for things to get excited about — anything.  Then, I make myself excited for them.  Usually, it's something small, maybe even inconsequential.  But, it gives me something to look forward to, something to say "I can't wait for the game on Sunday — I think my team can pull out a victory in this one!"

Whether they actually can or not is completely beside the point (I'm looking at you, Cleveland Browns fans).  You are wiring yourself up to show some emotion.  Yell or curse at the TV, who cares.  The point is, get yourself into it and have some bloody fun!

I live in Arizona and follow the Arizona Cardinals pretty closely.  During football season, I don't just watch their football games.  I get downright giddy about them.  I plan my day around these games.  For three hours on Sundays, my life is completely consumed by one thing and one thing only — Arizona Cardinals football.  Everything else waits until the game is over.

And I kinda have a man crush on Larry Fitzgerald.

3. Maintain relentless optimism

If you're looking to retire early and enjoy a life outside of the office, you gotta be pretty damn optimistic about the future. The thought that your stash will last you 30, 40 or even 50 years or more without having to work means you're generally positive about the future and believe that things will work out.

This level of optimism applies to everything in life, not just early retirement. Early retirees take a glass half full approach to most things, from making life-altering decisions about work to picking the right wine to sip on during dinner — and everything in-between. They expect things to go well, and as we know from the powerful placebo effect, this phenomenon is very real.

Except when it comes to my fantasy football team, I'm a damn positive person. So is my wife. We believe in the general goodness of the world and don't let the evening news cloud our outlook on life. Over the years, we have realized that attitude is an important key to keeping your head on straight, and our positive attitudes help to bring us through each and every day as we work towards financial independence and early retirement (achieved in 2016).

See Also:

• I found a way to see the total amount of money I've spent on Amazon since 2006 — here's how to do it
• 5 easy habits of early retirees that anyone can learn
• Retirement is the perfect time to travel — here are the top places in 2018 to visit

SEE ALSO: 5 easy habits of early retirees that anyone can learn