How do you train yourself to endure your last few years before retirement

[Walt34]

Deep inside I get a great deal of satisfaction from my job....I am a teacher....I still love being with my students....and I think I am very good at my job. Plus I don't golf so...what would I do with my time...

Where I worked we had a saying: "When it is time, you will know". In that case, very true. You like your job, the people are good to you, no reason to leave yet. But having the option is always a good thing if things go south on you.

Saw this article this morning, a lady age 102 and still teaching. I's say she missed the ER boat.

Sundance School Students Adore 102-Year-Old Teacher Agnes Zhelesnik « CBS New York

 

[FreeBear]

I have coined the term ADULT DAYCARE. That sums up what it is like to run the gauntlet of busy work useless tasks.

You guys are killing me!

Yep, I felt the same way during the last few years before I ER'ed. I took my job very seriously for most of my career. I worked hard and reasonably smart and was granted the freedom to do my work as a professional. I was fortunate to be able to lead a few great teams in critical roles.

Of course, things gradually changed as I moved through the technical ranks and was starting to get sucked into management against my will. The politics finally engulfed me and I bailed when the micromanagement & BS grew overwhelming. Fortunately, the market was good in 2014 and I hit "my number" that year financially. Now life is great

I started savings aggressively for ER in the early 2000's. What a rough decade! Honestly, I didn't think much about it at the time since ER seemed 20-25 years out. I was too busy working and living my life, I almost forgot about ER since my savings plan was on autopilot. Fast forward to 2014, I woke up realizing I hated my job and would have enough $$ to stop the hating, so I left within a year. One of the longest years of my life. I just focussed on my milestones of ER planning and started to emotionally decouple from w*rk.

FB

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I'm in the same situation except I have 4 years to go. I'm financial advisor so this week has been particularly bad. When I started this job I never thought I'd act as a therapist, but i have spent the last two weeks explaining, reassuring, patting hands, and sometimes begging people not to sell out of the market when its down. Its exhausting. Usually its not so bad. My outlet is dreaming of retirement and designing/researching vacations I will take when I am done. I have never been on vacation long enough to be ready to come home- I wonder what that's like

 

[Major Tom]

When I started this job I never thought I'd act as a therapist, but i have spent the last two weeks explaining, reassuring, patting hands, and sometimes begging people not to sell out of the market when its down. Its exhausting.

For your sake then, I hope this doesn't turn into an extended, deeper downturn. Imagine how much counselling you would have had to have done during the 2007-2009 decline!

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I don't have to imagine it. I have been a broker for 19 years. I have been through every kind of market except a bad bond market which I suspect is coming. The upside is that people are extremely grateful for talking them out of bailing in 09.

 

[DrRoy]

I am about a year and a half from RE. I had an interesting experience yesterday, when I was meeting with my manager for my annual performance review. Usually it goes fine, but occasionally I get some "areas for improvement" that I am just not motivated to do, but I do not want my rating to fall either, and it makes for some stress. This time, it generally went fine, but when we got to "improvement" I was saying 'sure, sure, I'll do that' but I was thinking 'I don't need to do it this time because now it doesn't matter'. That was a pleasant change.

I have never been on vacation long enough to be ready to come home- I wonder what that's like

Decades ago DW and I had a two week trip to Britian. We were constantly pushing to see the sights, tour museums and castles, walk trails, and get from place to place that we were exhausted by the time it was over and we were quite ready to come home. We just wanted to do everything that we possibly could while we were there. Nowadays, we try to pace ourselves more, and not get worn out. Our stamina is not what it was anyway.

 

[Sasset]

I feel the same about annual performance reviews. I either want to stay right where I am or retire, so why would I want to work on improving anything. Maybe the next review will be the cure for my OMY virus I may have contracted.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Decades ago DW and I had a two week trip to Britian. We were constantly pushing to see the sights, tour museums and castles, walk trails, and get from place to place that we were exhausted by the time it was over and we were quite ready to come home. We just wanted to do everything that we possibly could while we were there. Nowadays, we try to pace ourselves more, and not get worn out. Our stamina is not what it was anyway.

yes- exactly. By the time we recover from jetlag its time to go home already

 

[Sarah in SC]

I'm in the same situation except I have 4 years to go. I'm financial advisor so this week has been particularly bad. When I started this job I never thought I'd act as a therapist, but i have spent the last two weeks explaining, reassuring, patting hands, and sometimes begging people not to sell out of the market when its down. Its exhausting. Usually its not so bad. My outlet is dreaming of retirement and designing/researching vacations I will take when I am done. I have never been on vacation long enough to be ready to come home- I wonder what that's like

Boy isn't that the truth! Only 11 years as a CFP for me, but long enough to know the therapy side of the business.

But I've been lucky to manage really long breaks for overseas trips quite a lot, and definitely been ready to come home a time or two. And I agree, sometimes the best part of vacations is the planning ahead of time!

Let's hope it looks better soon, for us and the clients!

I'm leaving for 3 weeks to England just before tax season--really tempting fate with that one, but the analyst in our office will be coming off maternity leave then, and I'll surely need the break!

 

[ugeauxgirl]

THREE weeks in England- ugh I'm so envious! I do hope it gets better soon- short corrections are easier for keeping clients calm and sticking to their plans than long ones like '08 to '09. And I already dumped my spare cash in... Have a lovely time on your trip!

 

[Bamaman]

Ah, risk management. I used to be in a bank's risk management department but we were credit risk so we only bothered the customers.

Unfortunately, at least at my old MegaCorp, it was adult daycare. There was a round of layoffs of the tenured people so I found myself trying to train a bunch of new hire developers to replace them.
. . . . . . . .

So, my advice is to stay detached and maintain your sense of humor. I did take on some high risk of failure projects (at least one did) since they were different and I didn't care if they would hurt my career down the road. I also trying to do a lot of retirement planning outside of work hours so that I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I too was in risk management for a large captive finance company. When 2008 business downturn hit, top management decided they'd retire all the new hires and all the over 55 year old's. I was 58 1/2 but was paid until age 62. The timing was perfect for me but we employees had long since lost our sense of humor.

Now they're trying to run a $13 billion sales company without experienced people. So far, the pension payments are being made and that's all that matters to me.

 

[fh2000]

Due to gov't regulations after the financial meltdown, the entire bank is filled with useless overhead disguised as risk management.
Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

I work in IT with Megacorp. I work with many segments of the organization that deal with Sarbanes-Oxley mandate: external auditors, internal auditors, Information Security. The amount of overhead and waste is mind-boggling. One system alone reached more than 20 million, and there are countless systems like that in Megacorp, all in the name of Sarbanes-Oxley.

I am 60. My job is not too strenuous and I work from home so it makes it more tolerable. I am waiting for the involuntary separation but it may not happen soon.

 

[Danmar]

It can be really tough. I had to work about 3 more years after I had negotiated my retirement. It went very slowly. They treated me well though and paid big comp in accordance with our agreement.

Only advice I would give is don't count the days as it will only make it seem longer. Try to stay engaged (difficult for sure) maybe mentor some newer guys, become the older voice of reason who isn't afraid to call a spade..... ? Every workplace is different and each employee has a different position in that workplace. Be an adult and try not to do anything you might regret as you will have plenty of time to think about it once retired. Always take the "high road". Good luck.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Only advice I would give is don't count the days as it will only make it seem longer. Try to stay engaged (difficult for sure) maybe mentor some newer guys, become the older voice of reason who isn't afraid to call a spade..... ? Every workplace is different and each employee has a different position in that workplace. Be an adult and try not to do anything you might regret as you will have plenty of time to think about it once retired. Always take the "high road". Good luck.

So I guess I should delete the retirement countdown timer on my phone, huh?

 

[MichaelB]

So I guess I should delete the retirement countdown timer on my phone, huh?

Ever just sit and watch water boil?

 

[Milton]

Meadbh's advice is excellent. Instead of futilely seeking re-engagement at work (where you have very little real control), develop one or two new outside interests that will allow you to feel some sense of personal growth and fulfilment. Richard Sapolsky suggests this in several of his publications (see generally the National Geographic documentary Stress: Portrait of a Killer, which you can watch free on YouTube).

 

[Teacher Terry]

I had a calendar on the wall and marked off everyday.

 

[Pellice]

Maintaining motivation for that final couple of years

I had a calendar on the wall and marked off everyday.

I see that I am requested to think carefully before bumping this thread. But I haven't seen anything more recent, and THIS thread was the one that led me to this forum Teacher Terry, I too have a calendar with *workdays* marked off before my "Possibility Day." Yes, I calculated the workdays minus weekends, vacations and personal days. I started off at 255 days, and have marked every day off since then.

However, "Possibility Day" is only the day that I *can* retire. I plan to work another year or so to ensure more travel money. I may have made a mistake in starting my countdown to *Possibility Day,* but I don't think so. A boss that I like is returning for that final year, and I will also have double vacation days due to a quirk in how vacation days are counted. That's 50 vacation days! I'll manage.

Anyway, I am sure that I am not alone in facing this issue. I want to be a good employee for these last couple of years, but I am so tired of the Kabuki Theater. E.g. there was a mention upthread of performance evaluations and how people are not sweating them. Well, I've written almost all my own performance evaluations for the last 20 years because my supervisors are too busy - but it doesn't even matter, because no one reads them, and a union contract actually controls most of these matters. The evaluations are just there to make some sort of symbolic point for management.

Here are the measures I am taking for the final couple of years:

1. I am taking workshops and/or training myself in various computer programs and applications that are part of my job, but will also serve me well after retirement.
2. I am drawing up a guidebook for anyone who will succeed me - although my conviction that it is needed has been much diminished by the advent of new systems which will render much of what I write useless
3. I am going to finally beautify my office after having the clutter accurately reflect my anxiety for most of my working life
4. I am keeping a record of the absurdities I encounter in hopes that will defuse my feeling fed up with having to deal with them
5. I am keeping up with retirement issues at work, new benefits, timelines, etc.
6. I am working through all the health examinations I should have gotten finished off. I've almost gotten through them!
7. I am keeping a shred file of old documents about issues were particularly anxiety-provoking in order to burn them afterwards. One particularly horrible document I am keeping dates back to 1990, when I was new! Some day, I knew I would be able to burn it! I have another file of old, expired papers from which I occasionally pull a paper out and shred, so I can say, "Another painful memory gone."

I *think* this is the right forum for this thread. Please let me know if there is a better one. I am sure some of you can contribute to it!

 

[retiredtuna1]

I have two retirement days. One has already passed. I retired 1.5 years earlier than required from my former overseas job and returned to America. To prepare, I also had a count down on the number of days left. I also switched departments at work to one which allowed me to pick up a few more skills that I could use in my post-retirement years. I also took a few, quality, free business classes on Coursera.org. Nonetheless, I had not realized the extent to which I was burned out by the time I left.
My second retirement date is when I will complete withdraw from working for a salary. There is a near date and a far date. It is unrealistic (for our situation) to plan (financially, in concrete terms) more than 3-5 years in the future, although I have attempted to make some very uncertain projections out to year 70, 75, 80, and 90, etc.

 

[eleighj416]

I showed up with the thought in mind that "it is my sandbox and whether you get to play in it is my choice not yours." It made it very easy to deal with an arrogant CEO!

Ed

 

[EastWest Gal]

I started a countdown in my iPhone calendar. I also made a list of things I wanted to do when I had the time. When things got annoying at work, it was much easier to cope by realizing that even the worst day always ends and I get to go home.

Do not make a handbook for those who will follow you. No one will read it, and you also should begin to let go of your emotional investment at work. It is the company's job to replace you, not yours. It helps more to plan your adventures and interests going into the future.

 

[Senator]

I downloaded a countdown app for my phone. It started at ~630 days. I do not even look at it any more now that I am FIREd. Most of my co-workers and bosses knew I was retiring and how many days I had left. It was almost a running joke. I was already very FI by that time.

I had a printed calendar on the wall. The first business day of the month was written in. When I got to under 100 days, I had a 100 day count down chart. And my monthly calendar had the days each week. Wen it was under 30 days, it was written down every day.

I checked my FIRE plan at least 5 times a day. Most days I suspect it was more. I zeroed in on the day, and the reason for the exact day. Be sure to account for pensions anniversaries, 401K matches, bonuses, holidays, etc.

Make damn sure you know the date you can leave without looking back. If you have to go another year, after counting down for several years, it will nearly kill you.

Keep a positive attitude. If you are not yet FI, and get laid off, that may also kill your life plans.

Focus ion the mental preparation. If you are just leaving to leave, know what you are leaving to Far too many people need the structure of work. And they cannot live normally without it. Depression, drinking, etc. all are risk factors of lack of structure.

 

[eleighj416]

I downloaded a countdown app for my phone. It started at ~630 days. I do not even look at it any more now that I am FIREd. Most of my co-workers and bosses knew I was retiring and how many days I had left. It was almost a running joke. I was already very FI by that time.

I had a printed calendar on the wall. The first business day of the month was written in. When I got to under 100 days, I had a 100 day count down chart. And my monthly calendar had the days each week. Wen it was under 30 days, it was written down every day.

I checked my FIRE plan at least 5 times a day. Most days I suspect it was more. I zeroed in on the day, and the reason for the exact day. Be sure to account for pensions anniversaries, 401K matches, bonuses, holidays, etc.

Make damn sure you know the date you can leave without looking back. If you have to go another year, after counting down for several years, it will nearly kill you.

Keep a positive attitude. If you are not yet FI, and get laid off, that may also kill your life plans.

Focus ion the mental preparation. If you are just leaving to leave, know what you are leaving to Far too many people need the structure of work. And they cannot live normally without it. Depression, drinking, etc. all are risk factors of lack of structure.

I made an Excel Spreadsheet that counted down the days, my wife and I reviewed our plan it seemed like on a daily basis, made sure we maxed out all retirement accounts, vested and received all bonuses and most importantly we took a 2.5 week trip to Europe. The trip was supposed to happen after I retired, but for a positive financial reason it happened first.

Ed

 

[Pellice]

Taking in all these great perspectives! I know I'm not the only one in this situation, and it really helps to see the different approaches. Some of it is dependent on personality, some on the work situation, many other factors. Off to work I go, marking another day on the calendar. (Loved all the elaborate differing countdowns - obviously there are mind games at work!

 

[Senator]

I made an Excel Spreadsheet that counted down the days...

I did the same. It helps.

Number of days until FIRE. K1 being the cell with the FIRE date in it.
=K1-TODAY()+1

Number of work days K1=FIRE date. D2=Holidays, E2=Vacation days
=NETWORKDAYS(TODAY(),K1)-(D2+E2)