How long did it take?

[World Traveler]

How long did it take to realize that you were retired? It has been a week and I still feel like I have to go to work.

 

[W2R]

How long did it take to realize that you were retired? It has been a week and I still feel like I have to go to work.

Thirty seconds. As soon as I put both hands on the steering wheel, in the parking lot at work, it hit me. But then we are each different!

I have to admit that I was afraid to contact anyone from work for a long time, because I was afraid I'd get sucked back into it. And then, less than six months after I retired there was a terrible, huge, accidental multi-billion dollar catastrophe for which I would have been front and center in passing on information for mitigation (had I still been working), so I continued to hide and not contact a single soul from work from then on, like a total coward.

 

[Ronstar]

The realization came to me on the drive home on my last day of work.

 

[unclemick]

About five years. BUT - I was layed off at 49 1/2 - did a variety of things CUT EXPENSES BIG TIME, nursed cash savings, sold and consumed a rental duplex, did about a year total temp work, took my early retirement small non-cola pension at 55 and so on.

Hindsight being a wonderful thing - this forum(Dory36's posts) and a few others helped me make the mental shift to ER.

heh heh heh - most have been gradual cause I can't put an exact date.

 

[jim747]

Realizing I was retired was a matter of days but my job had lots of critical deadlines so it took a year or more to get rid of the nagging thoughts that there must be missing a deadline. I was getting better but the thing that killed the nag for good was a three month RV trip to Alaska. Getting totally immersed in the trip seemed to shake any lingering thoughts of the J...O...B.

 

[pb4uski]

If you asked my boss he would probably say I realized it a year before I resigned and was off the payroll.

Not an issue for me at all.

 

[Nemo2]

A couple months before my last day working.....I had what I considered my viable FU money, and being secure in the knowledge that I could, if I so desired, stand up and walk out, was quite relaxing.

 

[Bamaman]

MegaCorp decided they could run a $15 billion company without experienced people, and sent home everyone 55 years of age and older (in 2008.) They paid dearly to get rid of everyone with no prior notice. No gold watch, no goodbye meal, nothing. Had I not been "on the road", two security guards would have just shown up at my desk and escorted me out of the building on the spot--heartless.

It was totally impersonal and the best thing to happen to us all. And it took 1 day for my mindset to change. I'd been preparing to retire for 36 1/2 years anyway.

 

[braumeister]

Since I retired twice, it was a bit different each time.

First time, retiring from the military, it took as long as necessary to turn in my security badges and walk out the door.

But then I got antsy after about six months and decided to get a real job. 12 years later I had enough of that and was lucky enough to have the company bought out. About a third of the work force was laid off and I was even luckier to be included. They provided a couple of months worth of services to help people get another job, and I felt obligated to participate since I was collecting unemployment. But after a couple of months I decided it just wasn't enjoyable any more and joined the ranks of the happily FIREd.

Never looked back in regret. As they often say around here, Time > Money.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Thirty seconds. As soon as I put both hands on the steering wheel, in the parking lot at work, it hit me. But then we are each different!

I have to admit that I was afraid to contact anyone from work for a long time, because I was afraid I'd get sucked back into it. And then, less than six months after I retired there was a terrible, huge, accidental multi-billion dollar catastrophe for which I would have been front and center in passing on information for mitigation (had I still been working), so I continued to hide and not contact a single soul from work from then on, like a total coward.

Looking at your profile it's easy to guess what that was. The only person from work I contact regularly is my former medical director. But she left too, in 2015. And the group continues to disintegrate. I finished my last orientation earlier this month.

 

[pb4uski]

MegaCorp decided they could run a $15 billion company without experienced people, and sent home everyone 55 years of age and older (in 2008.) They paid dearly to get rid of everyone with no prior notice. No gold watch, no goodbye meal, nothing. Had I not been "on the road", two security guards would have just shown up at my desk and escorted me out of the building on the spot--heartless. ....

No age discrimination suits?

 

[Car-Guy]

Pretty quick (days). I still thought about work for the first few weeks but that faded to almost nothing by the 3rd month. And now (~5 yrs) later it's just a distant nightmare.

 

[Souschef]

Two days. On Friday I took the last commuter train home, and Sunday we were on a plane to Santiago Chile for a 14 day tour. And NEVER looked back

 

[mamadogmamacat]

The happiness and satisfaction gradually enveloped me as I went through the check out procedure, or "off boarding" as my mega corp called it, on my last day of work. It was both surreal and beautiful, simultaneously. perhaps all the planning leading up to the day, and the knowledge that I would in fact do it for several years before the day actually came, contributed to the feelings. That, and a bit of amusement, as i watched the reactions of mgmt and some colleagues who just could not believe it until I actually did it. Have had plenty of social contact with both fellow retirees with whom I once worked and also a few still working there, in the nearly a year since. But, not a single thought of my former work itself, none at all, from the moment I left.

 

[FreeBear]

The realization came to me on the drive home on my last day of work.

If you asked my boss he would probably say I realized it a year before I resigned and was off the payroll.

+1

Yep, I pretty much checked out a year out, once I had picked an approximate exit date. Just did my job and counted the days... Was funny that crappy projects were dumped in my lap, but no one knew I wouldn't be there to deal with them. Oh, what a great feeling after being a dumping ground for years...

My last day at w*rk was one of the best days of my life. I too enjoyed that last drive home. Never been back since...

Oh, it has taken me some time to fully adjust to retirement, even though I've been out almost 2 years. Still get an occasional w*rk-mare at night, but overall I'm loving life. Everyone notices I'm now so happy!

 

[6miths]

Had been planning my exit for quite awhile so it was pretty instantaneous. Took the alarm clock off my night table within a week.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

I really had no plans on retiring until 2022. Then as I realized more about how I could take advantage of certain assets I already had,namely my condo, my perception shifted. I was more than willing to relocate to retire. I retired in May of this year. I never really planned on getting another job. I am always thinking how I can make a good situation even better. So I am physically retired, but mentally no, I am always thinking about ways to increase knowledge. That will be a lifelong pursuit.

 

[Nemo2]

So I am physically retired, but mentally no, I am always thinking about ways to increase knowledge. That will be a lifelong pursuit.

Knowledge and employment are not necessarily conjoined.

 

[marko]

Two years.

My criteria personal is this: if you feel like every day is Saturday/vacation, you're still looking at it from a work context.
Once you stop feeling like that and begin a "this is how I live" feeling, then you're 'really retired' and moved on from the work perspective. YMMV

 

[Senator]

I had been mentally preparing for well over two years. My countdown calendar started ~650 days. I updated my calendar every month with the number of days.

I went into full countdown mode at 100 days, with a chart I could 'X' off each day. I 'worked from home' much more. I envisioned myself retired everyday, and asked myself what I would be doing if I was not working.

I am just now starting to feel like Sunday evening is nothing special, other than trash night. And sometimes I have to refrain myself from heading out to a restaurant on Friday and Saturday to avoid the crowds, as I generally opt for Sunday-Thursday.

 

[scrabbler1]

Even though I had been working part-time for 7 years prior to my ERing in late 2008, the high point of my realization that I was actually retiring began happening near the end of my train ride home. I was struggling to hold back tears as I realized that the awful and despised commute I had so badly wanted to get rid of was actually minutes away from happening.


I was tempted to run home from the train station but I had a bulky tote bag which would have made it tough to run. But when I stepped inside my apartment and shut the door, I threw my tote bag down, threw up my arms, and yelled, "I'M FREE!"

 

[kcowan]

14 years ago I had to create a new personal todo list. Gradually I have found that accomplishing only one item per day is enough. When I go for several days with zero I start to feel really retired.

 

[Dawg52]

If you asked my boss he would probably say I realized it a year before I resigned and was off the payroll.

Not an issue for me at all.

Probably closer to 2 years for me. When I finally hit the magic 'number', I pretty much put it on cruise control. I worked a couple of extra years for the added buffer, but the stress level was gone during that time. When I retired I never looked back. Hard to believe it's been almost 10 years.

 

[mystang52]

In a sense, 2 days, otherwise 0 days. ER'd on Friday, and the weekend was nothing unusual. Then Monday came and But I had practiced, mentally, for such a long time about that fir. st Monday that it was beyond easy. One small disclaimer: about 3 weeks into ER I got a call from a headhunter with a very enticing opportunity; it took me about 5 seconds before I realized pursuing that would mean going back to w*rk .

 

[street]

It has been 10 months for me and I still at times think I'm still working at a career of 35 years. Lol I still wake up in the morning sometime and really have to think that I don't have to go to work. Lol

I left my job when I was on top really with no other reason to leave then I can I don't have to work to live anymore. It really has been a hard thing to adjust for me a times. I have a lot of hobbies and have a isolated cabin in a remote setting I have sent a lot of time at. I also got a part time job I 2016 to help me let go but still not easy for me.

Winter right now is being a real test for me but I also very blessed I don't have to have all politics and stress and long days I had with my job.

So for me it might be a while but it is getting better all the time. New adventure and challenges make it better.