The Last Month Before ER

[Which Roger]

As I mentioned on my "Hi, I am" thread, I gave notice a couple days ago and my last day of w*rk is 4 weeks from today. I'm interested in hearing others' experiences, feelings, and emotions in their final month.

For me, making it official felt GREAT, and I've had no doubts or buyer's remorse since then. The last few days have been emotionally draining (most of it positive emotions) and fairly stressful (but a lot of that is positive stress). Getting the word out has been exciting, and sometimes a bit awkward, but I think I've done it very well. Co-workers have been generally supportive (and most wish they could do what I'm doing). When I get a quizzical look I say "I know I'm too young to retire, but I'm not too young to take a break", and that takes care of it. Boss has been understanding, but of course concerned about someone else picking up my work. I've assured him that I am committed to a smooth transition, and I think he sees that I'm motivated to do that. In fact, I've been more motivated on the job this week than I have been in a long time. It's good for me to wrap things up ASAP so I can relax and enjoy the ride!

And of course there's a little anxiety and thinking things like "what if human resources drops the ball and things get tied up" or "what will I do if they try to talk me into staying longer?" (just say no). But that's natural, and it's certainly not excessive. Excitement and anticipation are the main feelings.

The most fun is telling my already-ERd friends that I'll soon be joining them. In fact, I'm looking forward to more of that in just a couple of hours, over a cold beer.

[scrabbler1]

I, too, gave 4 weeks notice and I had some of the same reactions as you did. I was working only 2 days a week at the time, so my coworkers were already used to not seeing me in the office several days a week. I was working mainly on one project, so my goal was to complete it in the 9 days I was still going to be at the office.

I had some conversations with coworkers like those you had but very few attempts to get me to stay. It was no secret I was unhappy working there, especially ater I switched from working 3 days a week to 2 days a week 17 months earlier. There was no real support in my transitioning my other work to other coworkers besides my boss telling me which person(s) to send my stuff to.

My other big tasks in those last 4 weeks were filling out all the forms relating to my 401k account and company stock, all of which I was liquidating or rolling over. I also had to deal with COBRA and my last paycheck as well as a lengthy exit interview with HR to air my gripes.

But I got everything done including my big project, barely, and left quietly with my personal items. Nobody accompanied downstairs to the lobby so I had to remember to turn in my ID badge after I left the turnstiles. Then it was my long and awful commute for the last time, nearly putting me in tears on the walk home from the train....and FREEDOM!