I'm with Shabby on this one. When I turned in my retirement date, I felt a tremendous weight lift off my shoulders.
The Last Days at W**K
- Thread starter Shabby
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WestUniversity
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Hang in there guys. It will be here and gone before you know it. I felt the same thing in anticipation of my departure. I’m now about 4 months into retirement and it seems so much longer ago that I left...
OP
OP
Shabby
Recycles dryer sheets
Any advice for those first months? I was trying to put a bit of a plan together or maybe guidelines. No sleeping past 10AM, no drinking wine before 5PM, lunches with friends that are working, focus on the house repairs, etc.?
ExFlyBoy5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Yeah...here is some advice...RELAX. Stop with the rules, you will finally be free to do WHATEVER you feel like. Do you remember the first day of summer after you got out of school? The freedom? The ability to do whatever? Well...you will soon be there, but this time it will be SO MUCH BETTER. I can't offer specifics as to what you should do when you are finally free, but here a few suggestions...
-Get up when you feel like it
-Drink whenever the hell you want
-Lunch? Sure, if you feel up to it...don't COMMIT yourself, though
-House Repairs? Only if the roof is leaking
You will have plenty of time to find your "groove" without having to plan anything out.
As far as the countdown goes, I had a whiteboard that I had the remaining number of w*rk days written on it. Everyday before I would leave, I would update it. When it was all said and done, I was very surprised at how fast the last couple of months went.
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Shabby
Recycles dryer sheets
I like how you roll. OK, no rules!
WestUniversity
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I have been so stressed out for so long that sleeping in is not an option. I still wake up anywhere from 4:30 AM to around 6 AM. I imagine it will take more time to decompress from my j*b.
I set up a a weekly calendar using one of the standard templates in Word. MWF I am at the gym from about 7:15 AM to about 9 AM. This has really helped my blood pressure. On a daily basis I do the grocery shopping and cooking as DW is still working part time. I generally don’t drink any wine until 5 PM. I have a few other regularly scheduled activities as well.
Additionally I’ve been catching up on a long list of projects around the house that accumulated while I was w*rking. I think I have probably a couple more months of projects to finish. There are two volunteer opportunities through my church that I want to pursue, but after I catch up on the house project list. They have simply drug on too long. We also have several trips coming up that will complicate my calendar for the next 6 or 7 months.
I watch our finances and track the market on a regular basis. My estimates of our expenses appear to have been on track in total but with some variance in types of expense. I’m looking forward to getting through the first year to get really comfortable with our retirement finances.
Hope that helps...
trumpeting_angel
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I'm currently w*rking 3 days/week as well as some freelance work (that I will continue). Cutting to 2 days May 1, and FREEDOM on June 27.
I don't think it would be good for me to just go with the flow. I have always needed to push myself a bit (except in w*rk - I've been dedicated and over-achieving for decades). I can let my free time build up and get nothing done (e.g. unswept floors, accumulating paperwork, sitting around on the internet instead of moving around), and be quite unhappy about it afterwards.
I have a list of projects (cartons of old paperwork, for example!) that I intend to tackle in a disciplined way, to declutter this life. And by the end of June I'll be gardening (hooray!), which I never neglect.
What do others do? Is it easy to get the irritating tasks done, or are they still easily avoided? Do you need to impose some structure to take care of business?
I don't think it would be good for me to just go with the flow. I have always needed to push myself a bit (except in w*rk - I've been dedicated and over-achieving for decades). I can let my free time build up and get nothing done (e.g. unswept floors, accumulating paperwork, sitting around on the internet instead of moving around), and be quite unhappy about it afterwards.
I have a list of projects (cartons of old paperwork, for example!) that I intend to tackle in a disciplined way, to declutter this life. And by the end of June I'll be gardening (hooray!), which I never neglect.
What do others do? Is it easy to get the irritating tasks done, or are they still easily avoided? Do you need to impose some structure to take care of business?
OP
OP
Shabby
Recycles dryer sheets
Yeah! I am so excited about emptying all the things in my house that don't get used. Goodbye to all the linens, clothes and random items that have accumulated over the years.
45 Days Left. I must say this number sounds doable.
trumpeting_angel
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Indeed! I started to choose more clothes to toss. I figure I'll need 3-4 semi-professional outfits for winter and the same for summer. And one each (most professional) for going to court. It only happens once every few years in my freelance w*rk, but best not to need a new suit!
So many of my clothes were purchased at deep discount or at thrift stores; it resulted in having far more than I needed. Now I need even less!
I have 10 weeks left, but since it's part-time and diminishing to 2 days/week on May 1, it only amounts to about 21 days. I'm spending the time getting my financial ducks in marching formation.
I just attended a co-w*rker's retirement luncheon. There will be one more retirement luncheon before mine on June 7th. The face of this organization is really changing, as there will be two more retiring shortly after me. That's five senior people leaving in the span of about three months. I'm down to 23 working days and they sure are dragging. Lol
ER Eddie
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I'm on a short countdown, too. I've got six weeks left.
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My last day at work is next Thursday 5/30/19. My office is almost emptied out; I brought my emergency suit and tie home today. I still have few odds and ends to clear out of my desk drawers and a few files to hand off to others.
My last day is May 31. I just cleaned out my desk today, except for the barest essentials for the next two weeks. I gave away lots of supplies. I asked around to see if anyone wanted to claim my now empty shelves and tables and file cabinets.
This process is making it all so final...getting a little anxious about it!
This process is making it all so final...getting a little anxious about it!
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I’m sorry to say that you can never retire. You are going to have to wait a long time for June 31st. LOL!
OMG, that is so funny! What a silly error...thank you for pointing it out in such a sweet way! Now I know that I really DO need to retire (very big grin!)
!'ve edited my post to correct my retirement date from the originally posted June 31st to the actual date of May 31st!
!'ve edited my post to correct my retirement date from the originally posted June 31st to the actual date of May 31st!
Ditto- word for word! I am very fortunate to have a Voluntary Retirement Package so while I am technically employed through 7/31/19, the last 2 months are Approved PTO, and Friday 5/31 is my day off. Get paid for all unused holiday & vacation days, plus a $5k bonus and 12 months of pay severance through 7/31/20. Company HI cost me $270/m until I turn 65 in 3.5 years. Pension starts on 8/1/19 and turns out to be more than I had planned for various reasons. The white board outside my cube had one big number each day. Today says “9”. I have to say it is a bit surreal for me. To have this fall in my lap (along with 1699 other co- workers) 11 months earlier than planned is invigoratingly tense. Wrapping up the last small project this week. 20 out of about 86 in our dept are taking the package, so there is no singling out for any reason, and most everyone is happy for us starting our next phase. I hope it is a long one for us all!! I hope I don’t wake up from a long dream!!
BigNick
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
If I know my Hollywood tropes well, on your last day you will spill tomato juice on your shirt at lunchtime and the CEO will pay an unexpected visit to your office at 3pm.
SumDay
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And he won't care even a little bit. In fact, I'd make sure to stand up and point it out.
Make 'em glad you took the package.Late to the party here.. but can I play too?
Filled out the separation forms yesterday -- July 2 is last day. I haven't mailed the forms back to corporate yet, my wife is copying them all today (a lot of paperwork) and our FA is taking one last look. Will mail them Tuesday after Memorial day and also make the formal announcement. The only big decision left is what music should be blasting from the car stereo on my last trip out of the parking lot.
Due to (boring info about PTO and stuff) I have 16 actual workdays left.
Best wishes to the May, June, and July class of 2019!
Filled out the separation forms yesterday -- July 2 is last day. I haven't mailed the forms back to corporate yet, my wife is copying them all today (a lot of paperwork) and our FA is taking one last look. Will mail them Tuesday after Memorial day and also make the formal announcement. The only big decision left is what music should be blasting from the car stereo on my last trip out of the parking lot.
Due to (boring info about PTO and stuff) I have 16 actual workdays left.
Best wishes to the May, June, and July class of 2019!
BigNick
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
WestUniversity
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Shabby, you started this thread and you’re getting awfully close to your date! How are you doing as your coming down to the finish line?
