Responding to "What will you do?"

David1961

David1961

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I think ever single person I've told I'm planning for early retirement asks the same question, almost word for word. "What will you do?". I usually respond by saying something like "whatever I choose to do". Are there any good clever one-liners you folks have used to respond to this question?
 
Unless you're announcing your imminent retirement, what's the point of telling people?

If you don't want to be asked questions about how you'll handle your new status, don't bring the subject up.
 
squirt said:
I think ever single person I've told I'm planning for early retirement asks the same question, almost word for word. "What will you do?". I usually respond by saying something like "whatever I choose to do". Are there any good clever one-liners you folks have used to respond to this question?
Click to expand...

Q: "So what are you doing?"
A: "Not a damn thing and loving every minute of it!"

Q: "Aren't you bored?"
A: "Are you trying to do that?"

Q: "How do you keep your mind active?"
A: "I'm playing vegetable these days."

and on and on and on....:LOL:...I'm never at a loss for a one-liner.
 
The other day, I got, "Why?"

Why? WHY? :nonono: I wasn't expecting that response at all.

"Because I have a life!!" :whistle:

Wish I could have thought of a better answer.

As for "What will you do?", I tell them about how I am going to get my house ready to sell, then sell it and move north, and when I get there, how I am going to buy a house and decorate it and sleep in and go to the gym and start a garden and start playing piano again and volunteer and spend time with Frank, and on and on... usually they lose focus long before I get this far into it.
 
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I just say "the same thing you do on Saturdays..........everyday".
 
travelover said:
I just say "the same thing you do on Saturdays..........everyday".
Click to expand...

To a large number of people this would not sound very appealing. Wouldn't sound very appealing to me come to think of it. The essence of pleasure is contrast

Ha
 
I just assume they are running the question through their own experience. One neighbor said, "um, ok, if you can do it," another just grinned like a Cheshire cat.:D I've known them both for 15 years, guess which one is a better friend?

What do I do all day? Well most days I have to stop for a few minutes and just enjoy the realization of not being at w*rk, not being on the way to or from w*rk, of not having to deal with, "OMG, I'm going to w*rk tomorrow," etc. The rest of the day is good to great to amazing. I leave a lot of room for serendipity and have a lot of choices handy. My days are free but have dinner with SO every evening. Sometimes i like to just go outside and then decide with way to go, there are so many interesting streets to travel on.
 
The topic of "what will you do" has been covered a number of times, but it's always good to revisit, since it's a question often asked. It also relates to Nord's "fog of work," since the reason this question is even raised is because somene can't visualize their life outside of work -- or, better said, work has fogged their eyes to their real life. For some, real life may much in common with their work, but the work environment has probably introduced so many constraints that they can't pursue it freely.

So, this is such an individual question that it can't be answered, because it varies so much. For me, I made a list before I retired of everything I've wanted to do but have not been able to do it, or have been constrained, due to work. I'm now going through that list, and have had to prioritize it because I can't get to everything. So, in a sense, I'm in my own fog of retirement, trying to figure out what's most important.
 
haha said:
To a large number of people this would not sound very appealing. Wouldn't sound very appealing to me come to think of it. The essence of pleasure is contrast

Ha
Click to expand...

I never said I was recruiting - we need [-]suckers[/-] citizens to continue to work and pay payroll taxes. As for me, when I was w*rking, I LOVED Saturdays.
 
Q: What are you going to do today?
A: Nothing.
Q: You did that yesterday!
A: I wasn't finished.
 
travelover said:
I never said I was recruiting - we need [-]suckers[/-] citizens to continue to work and pay payroll taxes. As for me, when I was w*rking, I LOVED Saturdays.
Click to expand...

Don't tell anyone, RE discussions are not always about retirement, they are sometimes about not retiring. For some of us, retirement is not about not working, it is about living.

BTW, I had a post-retirement dream last night, the DOW, or was it the S&P, went up 45%! The chart was shown everywhere, beautiful young women were holding long sticks tracing the line, the way it went down and now suddenly it shot up.

What will I do today? Check RE Forums, and look at my dreams, then go out and do a couple of the things on the list. It's a little cool today but the sun is out.
 
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Want2retire said:
The other day, I got, "Why?"

Why? WHY? :nonono: I wasn't expecting that response at all.

"Because I have a life!!" :whistle:

Wish I could have thought of a better answer.

As for "What will you do?", I tell them about how I am going to get my house ready to sell, then sell it and move north, and when I get there, how I am going to buy a house and decorate it and sleep in and go to the gym and start a garden and start playing piano again and volunteer and spend time with Frank, and on and on... usually they lose focus long before I get this far into it.
Click to expand...

Move North:confused:?? You're suppose to be moving south when you retire! :)

Mike
 
I just tell people that my 9-5 "employment" is in the way of my social life, so it needs to get out of the way as soon as possible!! ;)
 
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