If this is what ER is like, I don't want any part of it!

[thefed]

I've been a bit slow at work lately and have had time to relax. I wake up a bit late, go to bed a little later. No real plans for the day....dinner is my most exciting plan lately. I've been 'working' about 2 days/week recently.

I putz around the house, maybe work for 30 minutes on a project here and there. Maybe get dressed....maybe not. I hear the mailman come and I get excited...nothing but junk. Get ready for my afternoon nap and tv shows. Read a magazine. Whatever....


Well....it's been about a month or so of this and I'm going CRAZY. I mean LAZY. or do i mean CRAZY? I dont know. I just feel so apathetic. Lethargic. Useless. Counter-productive. Whatever. I've even been using the term 'whatever' more than ever.

as much as I despise working when the work is around, I think I still like it? Or maybe I'm just not acclimated to this slower lifestyle? PART of the issue, I know, is that when I dont work, I dont get paid. If I dont get paid, I go crazy. I've been scraping together enough jobs to pay most of the bills and I squirrelled away enough cash for this expected downturn, but I feel counter-productive if I'm not progressing directly and agressively toward my goals of making lots of money, I feel bummed-out.

hopefully I'll be sitting on wads of cash when I decide to hang-em-up for real....and I can concentrate on being lazy. Maybe by then, I wont be 'lazy' as I'll be able to develop new hobbies and things that motivate me, huh?

 

[guest]

Sorry to hear you are having problems, but I don't think ER and off a couple months really compare. Your mindset is different than a person who is retired and planned for it. Speaking for myself, I retired with a list of "now I have time to do..." and I had to wait a long time to get this "time". If I had nothing I wanted to do and was just sitting around day after day, I wouldn't like it either! Pursue some hobbies or go volunteer someplace. Get out of the house.

I have only recently retired but I can feel my time slipping away already. How will I manage to do this monster garden, fish, golf, sleep late, can all the harvest, landscape, goof off and just sit in the sun, exercise, visit freinds, oh, and play on the computer visiting this forum....gee, bored? Not really!

As is said....that's my .02 worth

 

[TromboneAl]

Did you exercise vigorously on each of those off days? Think of that as one of your jobs. That will take care of Lethargic, useless, and counter-productive.

 

[ziggy29]

Some of the things people need to do to prepare for a satisfying retirement are not financial.

Maybe you need to find something to occupy you. Maybe you're still just adjusting to a "new normal." Hard to say.

 

[W2R]

Did you exercise vigorously on each of those off days? Think of that as one of your jobs. That will take care of Lethargic, useless, and counter-productive.

This sounds like great advice for a happy transition into retirement.

I have noticed that while working, when I have a day off I am still somewhat dazed and in the "fog of work" discussed in another thread. All I want to do is sit and let my mind go blank.

Retirement can't be like that for me, or I would expire before my time. I am hoping/planning to exercise first thing in the morning, well, after my first cup of coffee that is. Then after my workout I can shower and change out of my gym clothes. By starting the day with exercise, I will know I have done something constructive and that the rest of the day is mine to enjoy.

 

[Trek]

I push the stoller (with kid attached) 8 km (~5 miles) every morning after breakfast in some incredibly clean, fresh air along dedicated walking/bike paths with beautiful scenery all round. I feel totally invigorated after that. Great start to the day. And I sleep better at night because of it.

 

[Dawg52]

I putz around the house, maybe work for 30 minutes on a project here and there. Maybe get dressed....maybe not. I hear the mailman come and I get excited...nothing but junk. Get ready for my afternoon nap and tv shows. Read a magazine. Whatever....

Ahhh the good life. Throw in 4-5 days of golf per week, hiking with the mutt, and you have my retirement. Life is good.

 

[CuppaJoe]

I push the stoller (with kid attached) 8 km (~5 miles) every morning after breakfast in some incredibly clean, fresh air along dedicated walking/bike paths with beautiful scenery all round. I feel totally invigorated after that. Great start to the day. And I sleep better at night because of it.

That's living, Trek.

The best part of my w*rk day was the commute when I would try to squeeze in a ten minute walk. Now the walk can be an hour or four, I love taking a 90-minute lunch instead of 30-minute.

 

[bbbamI]

hopefully I'll be sitting on wads of cash when I decide to hang-em-up for real....and I can concentrate on being lazy. Maybe by then, I wont be 'lazy' as I'll be able to develop new hobbies and things that motivate me, huh?

IIRC, you are 25 years old. 20 - 30 years from now, you'll find plenty of reasons to retire.

So the answer to the question above, is yes.

 

[Nords]

I've been a bit slow at work lately and have had time to relax. I wake up a bit late, go to bed a little later. No real plans for the day....dinner is my most exciting plan lately. I've been 'working' about 2 days/week recently.
I putz around the house, maybe work for 30 minutes on a project here and there. Maybe get dressed....maybe not. I hear the mailman come and I get excited...nothing but junk. Get ready for my afternoon nap and tv shows. Read a magazine. Whatever....
Well....it's been about a month or so of this and I'm going CRAZY. I mean LAZY. or do i mean CRAZY? I dont know. I just feel so apathetic. Lethargic. Useless. Counter-productive. Whatever. I've even been using the term 'whatever' more than ever.
as much as I despise working when the work is around, I think I still like it? Or maybe I'm just not acclimated to this slower lifestyle? PART of the issue, I know, is that when I dont work, I dont get paid. If I dont get paid, I go crazy. I've been scraping together enough jobs to pay most of the bills and I squirrelled away enough cash for this expected downturn, but I feel counter-productive if I'm not progressing directly and agressively toward my goals of making lots of money, I feel bummed-out.
hopefully I'll be sitting on wads of cash when I decide to hang-em-up for real....and I can concentrate on being lazy. Maybe by then, I wont be 'lazy' as I'll be able to develop new hobbies and things that motivate me, huh?

I think part of the problem is that it's February and still the middle of freakin' winter in the frozen wasteland you inhabit. I grew up in Pittsburgh, my grandparents lived in Cincinnati/Milford their entire lives, and I don't miss that "Dark Ages" belt of the country one little bit this time of year.

Another part of the problem is that you're stuck waiting for the phone to ring so that you can go out and make money. No ring, no money. Kinda hard to make long-term plans when you have to be ready to drop everything to answer the phone.

I know a finish carpenter who's spent the last five years piling up projects around his house for the "lean times". Now that the real estate market has cooled off around here, he's taking care of the clients who didn't care about a six-month delay or he's working on his home. I don't know how much long-term planning your house has room for, but maybe in future slack seasons you could have your own To-Do list of projects & supplies stashed in a garage.

Are your current businesses seasonal, mainly warmer seasons? Any new business opportunities for the cold, frozen months? Any business/college classes or online distance-learning courses you'd want to take? Indoor workouts at a YMCA or a fitness center with lap pools, spinning classes, or rowing machines?

I don't know about the rest of the board, but this time of year I spend most of my free time [-]avoiding[/-] working on our tax returns...

 

[Danny]

hopefully I'll be sitting on wads of cash when I decide to hang-em-up for real....and I can concentrate on being lazy. Maybe by then, I wont be 'lazy' as I'll be able to develop new hobbies and things that motivate me, huh?

if you are sitting on a lot of cash - watch that old tv series - run for your life to get some ideas of what to do to fill the time.. Ben

 

[NotReady4Purple]

I'm only 3 months in, so take this with a grain of salt.

I think ER has taught me that I am responsible for my own happiness and making plans to get what I want and need. (What I want and need is definitely not the same as what anyone else wants and needs. ) I am sure that there are folks who enjoy their work more than anything else in the world. If that's your case than I think you should not retire.

Having said that time off work is not retirement. The time frame makes all the difference.

This is the time for that list of things you made that you always wanted to do - as long as you know you have the rest of your life to accomplish that. Personally, I stay away from daytime TV and naps. I start each day with a ToDo list - and some of that I actually do. If not, well that just means something better came along that day.

 

[freebird5825]

...I start each day with a ToDo list - and some of that I actually do. If not, well that just means something better came along that day.

"The list" is invaluable. I actually set individual calendar reminders (via email calendar function) for things I think of to do. Sounds crazy, I know, but for Miss Structured Brain here, it is my electronic nagging device.
The task could be watering houseplants, making dinner, petting the dogs, ordering replacement Brita on Tap filters and a book at Amazon, reading my magazines, or anything else that pops into my head.
If I feel like doing the task, I do. Or I chuckle like a madwoman when I snooze it for 2 hours or 2 days or 2 weeks...
This practice keeps me from climbing the walls up here just south of the Arctic Circle.

 

[thefed]

Nords: I certainly do have an 'off-season' to-do list for around the house. See my previous thread about the home deteriorating around me without me noticing. with my limited income, I've done all I can do....to the tune of $7k!!! It included a new bathroom, carpet in 2 rooms, woodwork in 3 rooms, doors throughout the home, kitchen floor, etc. I've been slowing down a bit lately....not enjoying it too much. I basically just need to paint the new bathroom and install fixtures....then I'm done! I'll post some pics in a week or so when I get around to it!


Trombone Al: Good point! I've slacked a bit, and really feel my best mentally when I do exercise....plus I need to gear up for the upcoming season

 

[Walt34]

I think part of the problem is that it's February and still the middle of freakin' winter in the frozen wasteland you inhabit. I grew up in Pittsburgh, my grandparents lived in Cincinnati/Milford their entire lives, and I don't miss that "Dark Ages" belt of the country one little bit this time of year.

That's part of it here too, February is without question the worst month of the year if one has any interest in being outside. I'm just hunkered down waiting for spring.

 

[Stevewc]

One more week and February is gone.
The March winds will blow in a new season.
That should brighten you up.

On March 16th I turn 55.
My 20 year old son came in the other day asking me when I would be 55 years old.
I told him and ask why he wanted to know.
He tells me good dad you can buy meals at (crystal hamburger) on senior citizen card cheaper.
At least he found something good about me getting older. Its seems he was in their place and noticed a sign about a discount. He was excited I would soon qualify.
The DW and I had a good laugh about it.
Steve