Did leisure time activities change much after retirement?

[martyp]

What I am constantly telling people is that ER is not like vacation and it is not like weekends. I transitioned to ER by taking the same energy I used to organize my day at w*rk and used it to organize my days after w*rk. I've slowed down my rate of activity so that I'm not stressed in any way.

A couple of people have mentioned that there are things did for stress relief that they no longer do. I used to go up to a wine country spa for a "spa day" once per month in the summer to de-stress. I stopped that when I ER'd because I was no longer stressed. I also danced to de-stress. I still dance but it now I do it to socialize rather than de-stress.

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moscyn What you do during retirement and how busy you want to be is very much up to you. When I was working, I resented the job because it was keeping me from doing activities away from office and rushing my routine personal life so much so that taking a shower or house activities feel like chores. Everything is so different during retirement. I get to go out as much as I like or stay at home and just enjoy my home. I am traveling a lot, exercising a great deal, meeting up friend and trying out new restaurants a lot, I also watch a lot of movies and TV which is what I always wanted to do when I was working. I do household activities and don't look at them as chores. I take long baths, enjoy spa time, take time to breathe mor, golf during week days and weekends.......Yes, being retired is wonderful. I do more variety of things now and enjoy them.

This resonates with me! Since I'm still working, I feel like I have to maximize my enjoyment of personal time. It makes it hard to just sit quietly and relax and do nothing. I sometimes second guess myself and ask "isn't there a higher and better use to my time than sitting around for hours drinking beer with friends or enjoying a few quiet minutes on the deck to chat with the DW?". When I know the answer is "no". I have to remind myself to seek balance.

That can be hard because at bed time on a work day, I feel a little better having accomplished something concrete (read 2 chapters of a book, watched 1 tv show, completed x recreational activity, etc) rather than think "I did nothing all evening and it was awesome!". It is like I am trying to metrics and attain goals for my productive recreation!

[Delaney]

When I worked, I really tried to carve out a few hours on Sunday that wasn't devoted to chores or other responsibilities and I almost never managed to succeed. That's why Sunday nights were always so depressing.

When I first retired, I made Sundays leisure days--no chores, no exercise--just like I had dreamed of for years. After a few months of that, I realized that I actually prefer to do some exercise and some chores everyday. Every day was pretty special.

I have always travelled a lot--I loved that feeling of looking out at the ocean while on vacation, but oddly I get that same feeling reading in my backyard on a sunny day. I'm surprised I'm not that interested in travelling now but I think that in the past vacations were an escape from work.

I also have the feeling that time is just more precious now which seems counterintuitive and I don't really understand that feeling. I mean, now I have all the time in the world. But I think I now want almost every minute to be fulfilling. When I worked, there was so much wasted time---in meetings, while commuting. Now, there's no need to "kill" time.

[tangomonster]

Like W2R, I have discovered physical fitness and the gym. I never thought I'd be a gym person. I always just walked or used a stationary bike at home. But every morning at the gym has added so much to my life. It gives me needed structure and socialization, as well as a great workout (classes every day for 1 to 2 hours: yoga, pilates, kick boxing, step, weights, Zumba, water aerobics, cardio). Finished off by the hot tub and sauna, it's one of the highlights of my day. And at $114 a month for the two of us, we want to make sure we get our money's worth!

When I worked, I did exercised, but it was more to just keep well enough so I could keep on working. Now I exercise because it's fun and because I want to be healthy for the sake of being healthy, not just so I could function enough to earn a paycheck.

I always cooked, but cooking has become even more of a joy. Never eaten better!

And while I didn't have the energy to socialize while working, now I do. I've joined a lot (too many) Meetup groups, with mixed results, but I'm glad I tried and now I can fully accept my introversion.