What were your signals?

[FreeBear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by COcheesehead Too many other things I wanted to do, but couldn't because of work time constraints.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 ...Must be at your desk at specified hours (despite the full work-on-the-road technological enablement in place), must complete the pointless 8 page form in triplicate, must sit through pointless and excruciating conference calls every day, must be on-site on the road for weeks at a time even though 90% of the work could be done at my desk/home, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Which Roger +1 Work was unfulfilling, and I couldn't pursue things that would provide that fulfillment while I was sitting at a desk. So I spent a lot of time sitting at my desk reading this forum, then I was really prepared when I pulled the plug.

Yep, this pretty much covers it! W*rk, for all the usual reasons, was going downhill for at least 6 years, with the last 2 years being the worst. When I first started working I knew I wouldn't make it in the corporate world into my 60's. It wasn't a good fit for my personality and I had other things I wanted to do. When things got especially bad at w*rk, I realized that DW and I were close to FIRE. I made a 1 year exit plan, and the rest was just execution.

Two years into retirement, and we've never looked back!

Oh, I used to think that I was a "hard worker". Now I'm learning to let this go and just do what I really want, even if it's nothing, at least by other people's standards.

[Ronstar]

Biggest signal was when the boss turned over the company reigns to his son. The son's plans included getting rid of employees over 50. I made that easier for him.

[jollystomper]

A couple of mental milestones for me this year:
- I turn 59, and it mentally I feel good about being able to retire before 60.
- Our youngest child should be graduating from college. That final college bill means the end of major financial commitments to our kids. The remaining obligation is not large(around $12K), and wouldn't hinder me from retiring if the kid does need additional term or so (which would be part time as it would only be 1 or 2 courses).

[VFK57]

When I fell from a 6' ladder for a second time in 3 month with scratches and bruises (likely did not break anything or worse), I decided to quit a highly physically demanded job (HVAC tech). I tried for another 6 month to find a sedentary job in related field but being 55 had no luck. Then I realized it is time.

[hankster]

I'm getting the signals loud and clear now. Too many years of shift work have taken a toll. It's harder to get adequate rest.

The job is interesting, but I just don't enjoy it like I used to. Every calculator and spreadsheet says I'm good to go (Firecalc 100%).

[Nemo2]

My first day at work as a young guy I thought to myself "This has to stop".

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 My first day at work as a young guy I thought to myself "This has to stop".

With that attitude/outlook, I wouldn't have lasted a month!

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hermit With that attitude/outlook, I wouldn't have lasted a month!

A month? Wow, you have staying power!

[Cap_Scarlet]

.... reading the definition of 'burnout' and ticking 7 out of 10 boxes.

[Big_Hitter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB I was going on 4 years after my wife died and the frequency of my weeping was getting less.

sorry to hear that - if DW predeceases me I'll be in a world of doodoo

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big_Hitter sorry to hear that - if DW predeceases me I'll be in a world of doodoo

Been there...not a fun experience....thought I was handling it (relatively) well....a year later I realized "Wow, I was really ***** up".

[street]

I wanted more time for the outdoors and my life. I had enough money but really never ever would of thought I would of retired before 62. I just had 62 on the mind but retired at 58 10 month's ago. I sat down and did a lot of number crunching and found out I had way more then I could ever spend. That was it I had to give the company one year notice before I retired. So I gave them one year notice and one year later I walked out the back door. I should of done it sooner.

[2017ish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by street ... I sat down and did a lot of number crunching and found out I had way more then I could ever spend. ...

Let me introduce you to my wife!

(But, to be fair, she is the one who made most of the money that went into our investments.)

[Ginny]

My signs were: My hands hurt from using a computer, my weight was increasing due to sitting, my back hurt from sitting and I do not want to talk about death & dying anymore (my job.)

This site helped me realize that I could do it. I woke up one morning and I knew.

[scrabbler1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 Uh, finding myself in tears 2 or 3 days a week as I parked the truck to hop onto the commuter train.

This, and what cocheesehead wrote most apply to me.

Even after twice reducing my weekly hours from 20 to 12 (and days per week down to 2), doing my awful commute even twice a week was terrible.

Working two days per week still gave me some scheduling conflicts between my midday, weekday activities and hauling my sorry ass to the office. I had to reduce that to zero.

And all the time, I was asking myself, "Why am I still working here?"

[MikeWillRetire]

I started my engineering career in 1985, sitting at a drafting table, performing hand calculations and hand drafting. Slowly the computer crept into the office, and now I find myself sitting at a desk with two computer monitors and multiple computer programs running simultaneously, running programs that do all of the work that I used to do manually. It's just not for me anymore.

[Paracelsus]

For me, it was how many times I swore in my head (or frankly out loud in my office ) when a new work request came in vs celebrating or smiling when a new request came through. The swears: yeahs ratio got to >10:1 when I decided I'm out of there.

[kcowan]

For me I reached my "date". I liked my job but I had another life to start. I had trained my successor and so had made myself redundant.

[ugeauxgirl]

I developed a giant case of "I don't care". A colleague congratulated me the other day on achieving whatever Mega Finance's latest goal was. I looked at him blankly. I didn't know there was a goal since I have been avoiding meetings and reading company newsletters.

I don't care has become the most frequent answer to all the questions running around in my head. Ex- What will (fill in the blank) think when I quit? A- I don't care. Q What if we have to cut back? A. I don't care. What if we don't get to go on vacation anymore? A. I don't care. Probably time to quit. 406 days left- but who is counting...

[brett]

I stopped looking forward to going to work. I no longer enjoyed it.

The notion of an attractive severance package and how to get it moved from the wishful thinking stage to the planning/plotting stage.

Worked for me.