martyp
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I've been retired for 1 month now. I'm not counting the last two weeks of December which was a normal holiday vacation. And technically, I'm still on vacation through the end of February . . . however, I have been home alone for the month of January. This is my longest stretch away from work in 30 years. Here are some observations about myself during this work to retirement transition:
1. Every day I am aware of the lack of stress in my life. Some stress is necessary to keep things exhilarating. I was also very aware of my maximum stress level and actively pursued activities to relax such as salsa dancing and "spa days". However, the last few months have revealed to me just how deep, pervasive, and destructive my level of stress really was. The most important observation of the past month is realizing where I was then relative to where I am now. It is very liberating to let the stress go.
2. One of my goals was to get healthy through an exercise program. Right now I am doing this on my own but I've been pretty successful in keeping to alternate days of aerobic and strength training. I am making it a priority for each day and I feel so much better doing it. I am also looking into some sessions with a personal trainer.
3. I am not bored. Of course this is a frequent question of friends and family. I've set aside 6 months to decompress and get my life organized. There is plenty to do each day and I do it at my own pace. I seldom get through my daily list but I don't worry about it. The chores are getting done. My DW is thrilled that I am doing her part of the housework. I am spending part of each day doing something fun. Some stuff I do alone. Some with friends. There is plenty to do in the San Francisco Bay Area.
4. I am not the least bit bothered by my new status and identity. I've been able to leave behind my engineer identity with no regrets. My career was something I did for 30yrs; I am proud of what I accomplished; but now it is history and I am ready to do something else. I had lunch with some past employees. It was nice to see them. I had no regrets that they were going back to w*rk and I was leaving on my motorcycle to go back home and walk the dogs.
5. Facebook. I had a FB account for a couple of years but kept a very low profile. Now I am using it daily to keep in touch with a few friends from work and some friends across country. I sometimes learn about activities through FB as well. It takes the place of the casual conversations that I had with colleagues at work. If kept within limits, it works for me.
1. Every day I am aware of the lack of stress in my life. Some stress is necessary to keep things exhilarating. I was also very aware of my maximum stress level and actively pursued activities to relax such as salsa dancing and "spa days". However, the last few months have revealed to me just how deep, pervasive, and destructive my level of stress really was. The most important observation of the past month is realizing where I was then relative to where I am now. It is very liberating to let the stress go.
2. One of my goals was to get healthy through an exercise program. Right now I am doing this on my own but I've been pretty successful in keeping to alternate days of aerobic and strength training. I am making it a priority for each day and I feel so much better doing it. I am also looking into some sessions with a personal trainer.
3. I am not bored. Of course this is a frequent question of friends and family. I've set aside 6 months to decompress and get my life organized. There is plenty to do each day and I do it at my own pace. I seldom get through my daily list but I don't worry about it. The chores are getting done. My DW is thrilled that I am doing her part of the housework. I am spending part of each day doing something fun. Some stuff I do alone. Some with friends. There is plenty to do in the San Francisco Bay Area.
4. I am not the least bit bothered by my new status and identity. I've been able to leave behind my engineer identity with no regrets. My career was something I did for 30yrs; I am proud of what I accomplished; but now it is history and I am ready to do something else. I had lunch with some past employees. It was nice to see them. I had no regrets that they were going back to w*rk and I was leaving on my motorcycle to go back home and walk the dogs.
5. Facebook. I had a FB account for a couple of years but kept a very low profile. Now I am using it daily to keep in touch with a few friends from work and some friends across country. I sometimes learn about activities through FB as well. It takes the place of the casual conversations that I had with colleagues at work. If kept within limits, it works for me.
