How do you survive last x months... Excruciating

[Souschef]

I'm a relatively key employee, and I wouldn't feel right about leaving until my successor is in place and somewhat up to speed....

By the time I left, it was a toxic workplace. Our supervisor would walk through and do what we called "drive by shootings" sniping at us. At the same time we were keeping track of her work, and she was making more errors than any of us.
I worked in Contracts, and had a tremendous amount of customer interface on technical details. I was the only engineer in the group, and I heard that they had to hire 3 people to do my work.
Their loss.

 

[Canoesmith]

I understand as I am in the same boat. I am able to cash out vacation and a percentage of sick so I have been hoarding those hours to pay for health care and help bridge that 6 year gap. SO the clock is ticking - without any timeouts unless I use that booked time.

 

[MRG]

TTA
I'm with you. I'm oversea's and it is 7 days per GD week. With the pooters and GD cell phones it is 16 hrs a day 10 months per year.

I have 7 working months or 10 if I go afew more OMM's - one more months.....

Till then - here is how I'm coping....

Until I can be chasing Ms. gamboolgal around the old 4 poster - buck neckid......full time in Gods Country

Need a better picture of the Camels. I can't hardly see the naked lady on the camel's front leg. If you get an old school picture there's 2 naked ladies, one on each leg..

 

[Kabowest]

From all of the different replies to this thread, there are many varying scenarios and thoughts. I plan to be out by Dec 2019, and policy requires 1 month. I may provide several months to give them time to transition - feel that's important.

Like another poster, I too have many annual tasks (budgeting, tech road maps, and reviews), which I am cycling through the final time for each!

 

[Ronstar]

My last year I worked about 1.5 days a week, and mostly from home. And spent most of the winter in a warm place. These made my last year tolerable. My only responsibility was to train my replacement. I made a transition plan, got it approved by the boss, and put it into action. Really didn’t do much work - just made sure that my replacement was on track.

 

[pb4uski]

I'm a relatively key employee, and I wouldn't feel right about leaving until my successor is in place and somewhat up to speed....

If for some reason they had to eliminate your position, do you think that they would give you 10 months notice or severance?

If you answer is no, you don't owe them anything.

Are there some golden handcuffs behind the 10 months?

If not, then finish helping to hire your successor, help get them acclimated and then ask to downshift to 50% time working from home for a month or two to be available to guide the new person and then get out of the way.

 

[scrabbler1]

The last 17 months I worked, it followed the second time I asked for and was granted a reduction in my weekly hours worked. I had been working 20 hours per week from 2001-2007, sometimes mostly from home, sometimes all at the office (the latter was a turning point to getting me to ER).


When I went from 20 hours per week to 12 in 2007, I knew something big was going to happen by the end of 2008. I had to go on Cobra because I was no longer working the minimum 20 ours per week to remain eligible for HI, and I surely didn't want to be working while buying HI on the individua market (pre-ACA) post-Cobra.


My work assignments, already limited, were down to mainly one big, important project which had about 17-18 more months of my direct involvement. But I also had to create a smooth transition for my other work, mainly the many programs I wrote and oversaw.


Somewhat complicating that transition was the early retirement (age 55, good for her!) of a coworker who ran many of those programs but worked in a support division to mine. She retired in July of 2008, so that slightly sped up my timetable for making the affected programs more user-friendly for others to run.


The pieces of my ER plan were quickly falling into place in 2007 and 2008, so once I figured out when I would be able to get my part of that big project done, I planned my resignation date at the end of October and my official notice date a month earlier (9 working days). I wrote up a short letter to my bosses and put it away until my notice date. It was a surreal feeling making that walk to my boss's office and handing them the letter.


But in those summer months before I gave my notice, I was asking myself all the time, "Why am I still working here?" This was especially true during the long, tiring, and often sickening trips to and from the office on the trains. Once I gave my notice, I was able to stop asking myself that question.

 

[4legsgood]

I gave about 4 weeks notice. I spent most of it documenting my work and cleaning my office. I left that place antiseptic clean, they could've performed surgery in there if they wanted. As soon as you give notice, you kind of turn into a ghost. There is such a thing as giving too much notice, but no matter, you will survive and thrive. I also took frequent long walks, that helped me a lot.

 

[Big_Hitter]

So I I have another 10 months or so before ER... have given notice...and I cannot stand being here. BS bucket is overflowing. How did other folks mentally get through the last several months? Looking for tips. I have to stick it out...and I am blessed to be in the position to ER.. but just looking for suggestions from others.

don't give 10 months notice?

 

[BeachOrCity]

 

[brett]

I knew four weeks in advance that I would be getting the chop. It was a good four weeks. The pressures suddenly lifted. I no longer cared about P&L’s, quarter ends, or people issues. I simply relaxed. Had a few lunches with long time colleagues and customers.

Spent some time getting recommendations from others about selecting a good lawyer to handle the termination settlement.

It was all good. My thoughts quickly turned to planning the first stages of FIRE.
So thankful that I was able to drop out early and move on with our new lives.

 

[Jennett]

I was able to mentor the beautiful, young lady that replaced me. Mentoring was to take place for 6 months to the day of my 60th Birthday. She was such a quick study..it only took me about a month and she was fully able to take over the job. HR let me use a temporary office and I enjoyed having my own office for the first time in my working life..it was my haven. I coasted, especially the last three months. They didn't seem to mind and even let me work from home if I wanted to. I took them up on it. I got up early and logged into my computer from home and waited to see if I got any assignments; I got NONE! My boss even told me I could mow my lawn if I got bored. I was so glad to finally have my party on the last day of employment...everyone was very kind to me and it was a great send off. I obviously was no longer needed and was lucky to leave the way I did.

 

[sgstaley]

Blessed In Many Ways

So I I have another 10 months or so before ER... have given notice...and I cannot stand being here. BS bucket is overflowing. How did other folks mentally get through the last several months? Looking for tips. I have to stick it out...and I am blessed to be in the position to ER.. but just looking for suggestions from others.

It seems that when I decided on a retirement day, the days just crawled by, especially when I got within a few months of the big day. Man, what was I to do?
I often thought of how grateful I was to have had a long and prosperous career without any major upsets. But as the time was ticking down to within a couple of weeks, I REALLY wanted to "be gone."
One of my most entertaining and comforting things was a "countdown clock" app on my phone. Whenever I was having a stressful day, or had to cancel something that I wanted to do with the wife, I would look at my countdown clock . . . "Only XX days to go until retired." It seems a little simple, but it got me through many stressful days, especially as I got closer to "the end." On the day that I retired, having put my best foot forward for the entirety of my career, I walked (or did I run?) out knowing that I had finished strong. I was once again grateful that I had not let myself down by lowering my standards of character and work ethic on those last and most difficult days.

 

[steelyman]

I used one of those countdown apps too (Big Day, iOS) and liked it a lot although it seemed to make time slow down!

I still have it installed. After my big day, it continues counting (up, not down) and changed its label from “Days Until” to “Days Since”.

As of today, it’s been 2,770 days for me. And counting!

 

[sgstaley]

I used one of those countdown apps too (Big Day, iOS) and liked it a lot although it seemed to make time slow down!

I still have it installed. After my big day, it continues counting (up, not down) and changed its label from “Days Until” to “Days Since”.

As of today, it’s been 2,770 days for me. And counting!

I actually put my retirement date on the calendar on computer, to be repeated every year. I retired on "tax day" so mine won't be hard to remember.

 

[steelyman]

I actually put my retirement date on the calendar on computer, to be repeated every year. I retired on "tax day" so mine won't be hard to remember.

Good idea. And should help take a little of the sting out of “tax day”. [emoji4]

 

[ugeauxgirl]

My replacement is finally through with the hiring process. She'll have several months of corporate training and licensing before she's here to train with me. Lately I've been thinking of things to tell her- which I know I'll forget if I don't write them down. So I picked up a notebook and I'm writing down all the things I wish someone had told ME when I started.

 

[imoldernu]

So I I have another 10 months or so before ER... have given notice...and I cannot stand being here. BS bucket is overflowing. How did other folks mentally get through the last several months? Looking for tips. I have to stick it out...and I am blessed to be in the position to ER.. but just looking for suggestions from others.

No help here... sorry. My last 7 months were arguably the most fun of my entire career. The position was special project manager to close 2400 stores. About one or two hours a day giving presentations to regional managers in 38 states. Plenty of time in between flights, to travel and explore hundreds of cities and towns using a company car.

"Working" my way out of my job was really great! Since my meetings were with people in the same boat, it was friendly, welcoming, and rewarding.

 

[Sarah in SC]

My replacement is finally through with the hiring process. She'll have several months of corporate training and licensing before she's here to train with me. Lately I've been thinking of things to tell her- which I know I'll forget if I don't write them down. So I picked up a notebook and I'm writing down all the things I wish someone had told ME when I started.

Congrats to you! Ah....so jealous. Looks like end of next year for me at the earliest.

Nice of you to want to help her, and I agree, so much I wish I knew back when I started.

 

[Fireup2020]

I'm a relatively key employee, and I wouldn't feel right about leaving until my successor is in place and somewhat up to speed....

Hmmmm - we received a notice in the mail one of the partners at the firm who does our accounting is retiring...are you in NJ??

I feel your pain!! In same boat here, but no one knows yet that I am leaving in 3-6 mos!

 

[HI Bill]

For my last six months I made sur I had a three day weekend every three weeks. I used holidays, comp time and vacation time. That way I would tell myself only two weeks until a three day weekend, and I stayed focused on the short term.

You are in the home stretch, breath a sigh of relief!

+1! With something like 5 months to go, I just went on an 18-day trip to New Zealand. Before, I was grumpy and feeling worn out. A vast change of scenery has helped a lot. I plan to take 2 or 3 more vacaitons in the next few months!

 

[WestUniversity]

Hang in there. Your last day will be here before you know it...

 

[Foodie]

- Write a letter to your future self to remind you why you wanted to retire
- Make a list of the things that you want to do when you are done
- Throw away work stuff that you have been filing and keeping just in case
- Smile, smile and smile.

 

[AS2019]

I'm in the same boat. Mentally, I'm done. I'm ready to go. But it takes a while to replace me, and I just don't feel good about walking out and leaving my partners in a bind for months until they can recruit and hire a replacement. The replacement is hired but won't start for 3 months. Then it will take several months to get her up to speed.

In the meantime, it's very difficult to concentrate on work. But I just take it day by day. I try really hard to just concentrate on the task at hand and not think about how much longer I have. Then I remind myself that in one year from now, I'll have been retired for 3 months at the very least. At that time, when I look back, these last few months (which are dragging by right now) will seem like a very short period of time in my life. As for the BS bucket, I just try to make it to the end of the day. When something annoying happens, I take a deep breath, remind myself that it's not affecting my health or my physical well being, and try to let it roll off my back.

When all else fails, I look back at the last 6 months and remind myself that in retrospect, it does seem like those 6 months passed rather quickly. Even though each individual day has crawled by.

I wish I had some better advice (I'd follow it!) but I don't. Best of luck though.

 

[Bir48die]

Had a countdown calendar. Loved putting the "X" in each day.