ER Eddie
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2013
- Messages
- 1,788
I'm a couple years from retirement, and I'm wondering if my retirement life will resemble an enlarged version of my current leisure time activities -- basically doing a lot of nothing -- or whether I will be struck by inspiration and filled with energies previously directed to work, filled with enthusiasm and a venturesome spirit, set to climb figurative mountains.
Most of my leisure time now is spent in what I would call "leave me alone" or "I don't want to be bothered" mode. I accomplish very little aside from routine household chores. I don't socialize much. I rest; I nap; I eat; I watch TV and fiddle on the internet; I read a little. Mostly I just take it easy and don't do anything much of anything.
So I'm wondering, is that what I have to look forward to in retirement, just more of that? I am hoping that all the energies I expended on work will be freed up, and I will be motivated to do the things I tell myself I will be doing in retirement (but which I have no energy for now) -- writing, camping, travelling, socializing, building relationships, taking classes, etc.
I guess another way of saying this is, I have dreams for what a retirement leisure lifestyle will look like, but when I compare it to my current leisure lifestyle, there is a huge gap, and I have to ask myself, if I don't feel like doing those things now, why do I think I'll do them in retirement? Will being retired change things all that much, or will I just continue to do what I'm doing now in my leisure time -- just more of it?
I know no one can tell me what I will be doing in retirement, and that's it's ultimately up to me. But I'm curious what people's experience has been. If you compare how you spent your leisure time before retirement to how you spent it after retirement, is there a big difference there? Or was it just basically an expansion of what you were already doing in your leisure time?
Most of my leisure time now is spent in what I would call "leave me alone" or "I don't want to be bothered" mode. I accomplish very little aside from routine household chores. I don't socialize much. I rest; I nap; I eat; I watch TV and fiddle on the internet; I read a little. Mostly I just take it easy and don't do anything much of anything.
So I'm wondering, is that what I have to look forward to in retirement, just more of that? I am hoping that all the energies I expended on work will be freed up, and I will be motivated to do the things I tell myself I will be doing in retirement (but which I have no energy for now) -- writing, camping, travelling, socializing, building relationships, taking classes, etc.
I guess another way of saying this is, I have dreams for what a retirement leisure lifestyle will look like, but when I compare it to my current leisure lifestyle, there is a huge gap, and I have to ask myself, if I don't feel like doing those things now, why do I think I'll do them in retirement? Will being retired change things all that much, or will I just continue to do what I'm doing now in my leisure time -- just more of it?
I know no one can tell me what I will be doing in retirement, and that's it's ultimately up to me. But I'm curious what people's experience has been. If you compare how you spent your leisure time before retirement to how you spent it after retirement, is there a big difference there? Or was it just basically an expansion of what you were already doing in your leisure time?