I had 44 years of full-time work – a long, long time with a professional persona and rigid schedule – before these first 10 weeks of retirement. As I expected, I’m still adjusting and haven’t yet figured my long-term plan. But, so far I remain pleasantly surprised. The change hasn’t been as jarring as I’d expected.
I’ve already mentioned that retiring in the summer was a good idea for me. It was easy and natural spending new free time enjoying the season’s slower pace and gorgeous weather. Days are getting shorter and temperatures are cooling off now, but so far it’s been mostly lovely early autumn New England weather around here. I’ll see how things go in a month or two when it’s dark, icy and cold! But so far, temperatures have still allowed me to enjoy things like walks with friends, outdoor visits with friends, bike rides, and trips to apple orchards.
Some more thoughts on the first couple of months of retirement:
I still find it surprising almost every night that I don’t have to worry about work the next day (or the next Monday). No emails to check, no work Slack to peek at, no making sure I go to sleep early enough if I have a 9 am meeting the next day, no figuring out what I want to prioritize on my employer’s to-do list, no stressing about trying to get everything done. I’ve discovered that work when I wasn’t working had become a bit like background sound I’m not fully aware of – until it stops. Then when it stops, I notice the quiet. Or in this case, my mind quieting. I didn’t realize what a cognitive load I’d allowed my job to become when I wasn’t working, until I left.
I do miss having a salary, but I’m (mostly) able to 1) remember we have a financial plan and are following it so far, and 2) resist entangling my sense of value around how much I do or don’t currently earn. Not having a paycheck isn’t upsetting me as much as I thought it might. (How I’ll feel during a stock market downturn when the value of my 401(k) plummets remains to be seen.)
I’m more relaxed if I have to wait for someone who’s running late, now that most of my days aren’t so tightly packed. There’s room for unexpected adjustments that I often didn’t have before.
I’m not more relaxed driving in traffic, though.
It’s been a real luxury to sleep late in the mornings. However, once the days get shorter, I’m thinking that I don’t want to sleep away a big chunk of daylight. Based on current patterns, that’s a risk. I may want to start setting my alarm again, at least some mornings.
I’m out of practice having a social life more than a day or two per week! I’ve had to put a surprising amount of effort into making sure I have contact with family or friends outside our home more than a few times a month.
That effort towards more socializing has paid off. I’ve seen/spoken with/emailed/texted with some family and friends I hadn’t been in contact with for a long time, and that’s been great. I’m still trying to keep in touch with some of my work friends, too, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that some (not all!) of those ties will fade.
I’m managing the loss of my work identity better than I’d feared. That hasn’t been seamless: It was a bit jarring seeing myself listed with no title or corporate affiliation at a program I’ll be speaking at in a few weeks. But I got over it. I’m still me, if an evolving me. I may be using my skills for hobby projects and personal social media posts instead of work projects and building a “personal brand,” but I still know what I know. It’s not like I left all my accumulated knowledge behind when I departed the office for the last time.
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