2 months into retirement

[old medic]

and still playing catch up... feels surreal still. Got alot to get done today.. leave in the morning for 4 days of camping out with friends 4wheeling and shooting.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Ain't it great.... Still ups and downs but the baseline level of happiness and contentment is remarkably higher! I'm at 7 months and and don't know how working people do it... I'm busier now than when I was working.

 

[wearefinishedworking]

Congratulations! DH and I are in month 2 of retirement and there are definitely adjustments! But overall it is BLISS.

 

[caninelover]

Just finishing one month of retirement! Same as you, still feel like I'm catching up and adjusting. But I love it so far!

 

[pacergal]

Congratulations to all of you!
I am on Year Six and still loving every day!
The ability to plan or not plan your day however you wish is wonderful.

Life is Grand and I feel so blessed.

 

[street]

Two months than just like it will be two years. The time has gone so fast since I retired just about 6 years ago, I can't believe it.

So much to do so little time to do it.

 

[teej1985]

Ain't it great.... Still ups and downs but the baseline level of happiness and contentment is remarkably higher! I'm at 7 months and and don't know how working people do it... I'm busier now than when I was working.

What sorts of things are you doing to stay busy?

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Congratulations to all of you!
I am on Year Six and still loving every day!
The ability to plan or not plan your day however you wish is wonderful.

Life is Grand and I feel so blessed.

+1000.

I don't think there is a greater freedom than being FIREd.

 

[Dtail]

Congrats. This is the way to go.
Just came back from 10 days in Vegas and remarked to the DGF that there is not a lot of difference between a vacation and daily retirement living.

 

[punkinhead]

Retirement makes vacations better too. No thinking about being back in the office on Monday and if a day gets rained out you just stay a day longer.

 

[skyking1]

Those are all good thoughts

 

[BruinBones]

Retirement makes vacations better too. No thinking about being back in the office on Monday and if a day gets rained out you just stay a day longer.

There are no Mondays in retirement. Every day’s a Saturday!

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

What sorts of things are you doing to stay busy?

Paddling, Working Out, Running/walking/bike (leisurely walk on non-running days), practicing/guitar lessons (been slacking on that), enjoying coffee/tea each morning rather than rush the caffeine shot, planning/taking day-trips and longer trips, Euchre club, reading, catching live music a few times a week. I'm also starting to give bike history tours for a friend's business but so far that is ramping up slowly. Sweet spot for me would average twice a week (takes up about 9:30-2:00 of my day but a lot of fun and I'm happy getting paid to do something I'd almost do for free. They are scheduled 3 days a week but not all days are booked and I can refuse tours if I have other plans. The tours fit well as late morning and early afternoon are usually unstructured free time for me after my morning routine of coffee/working out and before afternoon activities start.



Started dating another retiree so that's taking up even more time and messed up my routine a bit as we spend more time together. I'm feeling guilty not practicing guitar as much as I'd like and I've had to renew my last library book 2x as I've been so busy.

 

[old medic]

There are no Mondays in retirement. Every day’s a Saturday!

LOL... I ask my wife regularly... "What Saturday is it ?"..
Its funny that I look at the calendar more frequently now than when I was working.

 

[Midpack]

For me it was roughly 2 weeks, then 2 months and finally 2 years - a series of adjustments, before I was completely used to it.

• 2 weeks to realize I didn't have to get up at 4:45am, and not dreaming about work deadlines.
• 2 months to start to have a new routine, adjusting to a flexible schedule - able to do things during weekdays and avoiding cramming everything into weekends, and
• 2 years to settle into a new network of friends (I retired WAY earlier than my friends from my working years) and activities, among other final adjustments.

 

[folivier]

"LOL... I ask my wife regularly... "What Saturday is it ?".. "

Well today would be 1st Saturday....

 

[caninelover]

For me it was roughly 2 weeks, then 2 months and finally 2 years - a series of adjustments, before I was completely used to it.

• 2 weeks to realize I didn't have to get up at 4:45am, and not dreaming about work deadlines.
• 2 months to start to have a new routine, adjusting to a flexible schedule - able to do things during weekdays and avoiding cramming everything into weekends, and
• 2 years to settle into a new network of friends (I retired WAY earlier than my friends from my working years) and activities, among other final adjustments.

I'm just about to the 2 month mark and have to say I agree. The first 2 weeks, work thoughts kept creeping into my head. Now that's gone and I'm just starting to adjust to life without the structure of a work schedule.

 

[Koolau]

For some reason, I adapted quickly to "no schedule." I'm sure it's better to have an ER schedule, but I've just never done it. I keep track of stuff on the calendar so I don't miss any appointments, etc., but my "goal" is to accomplish one thing each day. If I do that, I'm satisfied. It can be a simple chore or just going someplace. Simple is best for me but YMMV.

 

[corn18]

We look forward to the weekdays more than the weekends now. Everything is a lot less crowded during the week. We love to camp and the campgrounds always have a spot during the week but are packed during the weekend. Same with the local bike trail. And Costco. And...

 

[street]

For some reason, I adapted quickly to "no schedule." I'm sure it's better to have an ER schedule, but I've just never done it. I keep track of stuff on the calendar so I don't miss any appointments, etc., but my "goal" is to accomplish one thing each day. If I do that, I'm satisfied. It can be a simple chore or just going someplace. Simple is best for me but YMMV.

I like that thinking. I have not tried to gauge my day by accomplishing something for that day. I think it is a good exercise to do.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

We look forward to the weekdays more than the weekends now. Everything is a lot less crowded during the week. We love to camp and the campgrounds always have a spot during the week but are packed during the weekend. Same with the local bike trail. And Costco. And...

This. I have found that Tuesday has become my favorite day of the week. Monday seems to be a little busier with the older set getting out and doing things. But Tuesday? Almost always quieter/less busy. I went to Costco a couple of weeks ago and there were about 10 customers total in the store and no lines at the register. You are NOT going to see that on a Saturday!

Case in point...Google's take on how busy it is at our local Costco.

 

[tmitchell]

For me it was roughly 2 weeks, then 2 months and finally 2 years - a series of adjustments, before I was completely used to it.

• 2 weeks to realize I didn't have to get up at 4:45am, and not dreaming about work deadlines.
• 2 months to start to have a new routine, adjusting to a flexible schedule - able to do things during weekdays and avoiding cramming everything into weekends, and
• 2 years to settle into a new network of friends (I retired WAY earlier than my friends from my working years) and activities, among other final adjustments.

Im only in month 2 and so far enjoying it, though the adjustment is real!

Im curious how you and others worked out the social portion of your life in RE? I know a few retirees but they all live out of state. For now I’m making the rounds to connect and getting in some travel fun. But most of my good friends are still working locally. I’m not super social but I do enjoy having friends and now that socializing at work is gone I can see a gap down the road.

 

[TheWizard]

[*]2 weeks to realize I didn't have to get up at 4:45am, and not dreaming about work deadlines.

This is an interesting one.
Even in my ninth year of retirement, I still have *infrequent* dreams related to my former engineering work.

Sometimes I'm going through all the steps needed to complete this project. Other times I can't seem to remember the charge number to use for my hours worked.

And most annoyingly, I can't seem to find my paycheck.
It's possible the secretary put it in my mailbox but I can't recall where that is anymore...

 

[Dash man]

I’ll have been retired nine years at the end of this month. We both often forget what day of the week it is. Without my iPhone calendar I’d miss too many appointments. We do remember to go to mass on Sundays though, so that keeps us grounded.

 

[old medic]

I AM A RETIREMENT SUCSESSS!!!!!!

I must be... retired twice as long as Tom Brady and no where near the money he has...