Do you have structure or routine in retirement?

[nuke_diver]

So far yes. But I have a dog and the dog has a stronger routine than I do. Therefore I am up around 8, have a coffee and a bowl of cereal and then take the dog for a walk which is typically 1 hour. If it is Mon/Wed/Fri on returning I get my bike out and ride to the gym where I do a work out and ride back. It will now be about 12:30 and I eat and do whatever else I need to do during those days. On Tues/Thursday instead of the gym I do yardwork/shopping reading whatever I want. Sat/Sun I have 2 walks since my wife doesn't want to walk her dog then but preps dinner etc. Sunday mornings are always a long bike ride day while the weather is ok for it

But really except for the morning and night walks for the dog it's pretty open. I currently NEED to go to the gym regularly though sometimes I swap wed legs day for another long bike ride

[Sea Kayaker]

As long as I get my 30 minutes of cardio and 1 hour of strength training in...after that, the day is mine to pursue as I see fit. Gardening, hiking, chillin', reading, cooking, kayaking...a steady rotation of these, in no particular order.

[braumeister]

After nearly 14 years, I find that I haven't developed any retirement structure at all. I'm as likely to wake up at 5 am as to sleep until 8. Breakfast can be any time from waking up to noon or even later. And the rest of the day follows that lack of routine.

Since my first career was in the military, I guess I got my fill of structure then. Don't need or want any now, and I'm very happy this way.

[Philliefan33]

For the most part I go to bed when I'm tired and wake up when I'm not. My goal is at least 30 minutes of exercise (choosing from running, cycling, strength training, HIIT, yoga, kayaking, or paddleboard) each day. Beyond that I've got no routine.

[jjquantz]

DW is still working so up about 6:45, 3 days per week. Telecommute days and weekends we sometimes make it until 7:30. Golf four or five days per week, tee time is always about 10:30 - the frustration there is that I would prefer either 8:00 or 1:00. I like having big blocks of unstructured time. Harpsichord playing usually for about an hour in the morning and the afternoon. I usually start dinner about 5:30 to have it ready about 6:30 shortly after DW gets home. Evenings are usually centered around the Cubs schedule during baseball season, DW is a huge fan. During the fall and winter, evenings depend somewhat on what the recital/concert/opera offerings are - also, astrophotography happens more during the longer nights. To bed shortly after 10:00 most nights.

So, in short, yes there is structure, but it's loose, and, as someone mentioned earlier, it's MY structure, not someone else's.

[Bamaman]

Usually up by 6:00 a.m.
Wake up the wife by 8:45 a.m.
Let's Make a Deal @ 9:00 a.m.
Price is Right @ 10:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m.--thinking about making a decision on what to do in the afternoon.
3:00 p.m.--nap time for an hour
5:30 p.m.--fix dinner
Late Night--on the internet reading the many websites on items of interest.

That's a simplified schedule, but some times of the year we're doing heavy labor cutting grass and doing heavy maintenance on 3 homes. We are like so many others that work very, very hard seasonally maintaining assets.

[Ronstar]

Lately it's been:
Computer stuff- online, photography, etc 5:30 - 7
Breakfast
Water plants 7:30-8
Bike or hike 8-10
Woodworking/ putzing in workshop/yard work 10-5
Dinner
TV/online 6-10



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[MRG]

I lived on others schedules since I was a kid. I don't think I'll have a schedule unless it adds value to my life! I do get groceries the same day, eat around the same time, but because I'm hungry not to be somewhere. I go to bed when I want, get up when I want, seldom with an alarm. I don't know what date or the day of the week it is, other than avoiding busy places on the weekend. Heck, I just found out it's August!

[mystang52]

I generally take one day off from exercising. The other days I endeavor to do some combo of swimming/cycling/running. DW still w*rks, but she's a schoolteacher. So during the summer we do morning walk together or easy bike ride [she's not as serious a cyclist].
I also started something I did when I w*rked: I give myself a daily to-do checklist. This is not as evil as it sounds. I make it a point not to to make it extensive. But it also helps me stay on top of things I want to see done, be they errands or odds and ends things around the house.
To the original question, I consider all of this a routine but I don't adhere to a fixed time schedule.

[BTravlin]

I wake up when I want, usually between 6 and 7:30 am each morning. I then have my morning coffee while reading the news online for an hour or so. Take care of some household finances and then devote some time to exercise (walk, bike ride, paddle board, etc) and the rest of the day is taken as it comes. I do what I want, when I want.

Routine is nice but I'm more of a spontaneous type person. DW, on the other hand, likes more of a routine but we make it work somehow.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BTravlin .......... Routine is nice but I'm more of a spontaneous type person. .........

Spontaneity is nice, but it has its time and place.

[Car-Guy]

No routine here. Go to sleep when I'm sleepy, wake up "whenever", eat "whenever" I want, pick up and go anywhere I want, whenever I want, etc, etc. With the exception of live sporting events (football, NASCAR, etc) I don't even watch TV on a schedule. Just use the DVR and watch it whenever.

[martyp]

I have a loose structure.

One of my plans for ER was to make sure I do something social every week which I have kept to. I also attend classes throughout the year for a couple of days a week and volunteer for the organization that puts on the classes. DW works so I clean house on Friday mornings and I prepare dinner every night and walk the dog. I attend a book club and have a theater subscription. I take one or two trips someplace during the year. Still, there is plenty of time reserved for myself and being spontaneous.

[Moemg]

I have things I do every week but I can vary the day depending on my mood or the weather . I do get up at the same time 9am & go to bed at 12 everything else varies .

[youbet]

My life is totally unstructured other than when it intersects with other people. I have a simple system so I don't miss appointments, lunch dates, etc. I've scheduled with others. But otherwise, no schedules, no routine sleeping pattern, no fixed meal times.

DW and I spend a week in the early spring and a week in the autumn at an American plan fishing camp "up Nort." It's quite a shock to have our lives revolve around meal times! But, we fall into line after a day or so......

[Cassie]

I mall walk on Tues and Fridays, then have coffee with the other retirees. During hot months I get errands done early, during cool months I start errands around noon. Either way I'm home by 2:00 pm to watch TMZ and avoid traffic, then I putter for an hour until Judge Judy at 4:00pm. Denny's every 3rd Tues with the walking group. Oh, I go to Weight Watchers Saturday morning then I'm in until Monday....I let the working people deal with the stores and crowds. I make a casino run for a 3 night stay about every 4/5 months and a week in Vegas once a year to break up my routine.

[freebird5825]

The first year of FIRE, I put To-Do reminders in my email calendar so that if I got a little bored, it would chime and tell me something needed to be done. That got old very quickly.
8 years later...my mornings are spent tidying up the kitchen, running laundry, computer use, and playing with my plants. My wakeup times are now dependent on how bad the night sweats were, so my get-out-of-bed time is variable. I enjoy it when I happen to awaken at sunrise to hear the morning birdie symphony. Sometimes I stay up, sometimes I go right back to the pillow.
I like to get my chores done in the morning, before I talk myself out of doing them. I leave myself reminder notes on the counter so I will see them first thing in the morning. I pick and choose what I feel like doing, all or just one task. I do my meal planning around noon.
In winter, I return to my daily exercise regimen in the living room. I have a timer set up for 9 AM to remind me to get off the laptop and exercise.
Once my stuff is done or put off until the next day, I go into free form for the remainder of the day.

Never a dull moment...I stay occupied and productive.

[Teacher Terry]

AFter 3 years I get up when my dogs make me-usually between 7-8 am. I go to bed between 9-11. I walk everyday with one of the dogs. I teach a uni class online & do some p.t. consulting but I choose when I want to work. On Tues we go to cheap movie & eat out. Every Sat we do something different for the entire day. I spent Fri nite with a good friend. I also fill my days with some volunteer work & taking friends to doc appointments for a few that are too disabled or sick to drive. Also usually abut 1x per week I have friends over for dinner. I like being able to choose when & if I work & also having complete control over my time.

[LinCella]

I have no routine at all, which after 1 year and 8 months is starting to get old and unhealthy. I stay up until 1 a.m. reading and then sleep in until 10:30 or so. This is becoming tiresome in many ways - I AM a morning person so getting up late kinda screws my day. So I am trying to return to a more normal sleep pattern and not wasting the morning. I have my coffee while surfing the Net, have some form of food, do some chores/errands (definite avoid shopping and chores on weekends - what a joy!), read some more, take the dog for a walk, think about what to make for dinner, cook, watch a few DVR'd shows, get in bed and read again.

I don't know what day it is most of the time, don't care. I do know the year and the approximate month.

The one thing I find pretty gross is - because I get up so late, I tend not to take a daily shower like I used to when I worked. Now I can sometimes go for a few days if I'm not seeing any humans so I'm getting worried that I might be becoming eccentric in that regard!

It's just SO NICE to not have any HAVE TO'S!

[grasshopper]

With 4 dogs who are up at 4 am to chase the last critter that went through the hacienda yes.

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