Retirement: an unsettling experience

[BLUETIT]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

Oh God. A few years of Homes Under the Hammer and Loose Women and you'll wake up one day wondering if you could have done something, well, ANYthing worthwhile. :hehe:

Na, not that rubbish.

Dickinson's Real Deal. :thumbup:, then Alibi for the antique shows

Some people will buy any old sh!t

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

Have you considered the G word? (Golf)

No need. I have more than enough interests to fill my time, thanks.

[BLUETIT]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

Who turned it on for you? :hehe:

It is an effort, sometimes it's got a mind of it's own

[BLUETIT]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

Have you considered the G word? (Golf)

I'm more into the G spot (how do you find it :hehe:)

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

It is an effort, sometimes it's got a mind of it's own

I remember watching the Olympics on TV before remote controls existed. I used to use a long stick with a rubber end to push the channel buttons from the sofa.

[splott parker]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

I remember watching the Olympics on TV before remote controls existed. I used to use a long stick with a rubber end to push the channel buttons from the sofa.

My old man used to think he was some kind of television engineer. When the old box went on the blink, a firm bang on the top of the set with his fist always seemed to do the trick.

[A Quiet Monkfish]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

Well, after 48.5 years of solid work and 6 months from State Retirement Age I'm hanging up my pen and cursor this week. I feel far from 'shot/knackered/spent' and I've been looking forward to escape my partly-mundane, sedentary and often frustrating work and replacing it with a myriad of things I enjoy but which I have vowed to shut my trap about on here.
I went part-time four years ago and haven't been into the office since March 2020 so it's not the same as the sudden jolt of going from full-time to fully-retired overnight. Most of my peers have already retired (and stepped up their physical exercise with the extra hours of leisure and as I intend to) so the former 'craic' at work wouldn't be the same if I returned.
The next few months are chocker with trips planned around the UK (seeing friends, attending gigs and City games and engaging more in one of my pastimes) and next year, if it is safe to do so my net will be casting even further afield and for longer periods.
Retirement for me and for many others means getting involved in more activities (and pleasurable ones) than ever before. No inept management to answer to any more, no frustrating and laborious work processes to endure any longer and no confines of any description (although they were minimal compared to many people's work environments).
So what's the problem I hear you not asking.....
It just feels weird thinking that:
1. One's expertise at work won't ever exercised or sought after again
2. Not working seems like a guilty luxury to this person of working class stock when many people around the world are scratching about for a living
3. I don't feel old and decrepit enough to cease work. (A strange notion for some people but it was a concept that which was familiar to many of our parents)

I have already created a timetable for me to indulge in physical and intellectual tasks every day but am I going to end up typing on here every hour of the day dressed just in a string vest with fried egg stains on it and with my goolies hanging out?
Answers on a post card, please.......

As you eluded to, the impact of retirement upon each of us can be significantly different depending on the working environment we've just left. As one who hardly spent any time in an office for the past 30yrs, retirement seemed no different except I had a lot more time on my hands. The funny thing is, I seem to have all sorts of little, trivial things to keep me busy which I really don't know how I did them before. I go to the gym 3 times a week, just an hour, and then the missus & I go out for a coffee. This f****ng covid thing hasn't helped, but I'd recommend taking a few short breaks - out of school hols time- and search out a few local walks. There are loads around here. Don't 'take up a hobby' just for the sake of it, though.

[dandywarhol]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

I retired in 2012,Went straight to working 3 days a week in a community centre/food bank.I hung my boots up aged 69 a weeks ago.
Getting itchy feet already.It's the winter is the worse.

[Lawnmower]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

Great thread .

TBG - good luck with your retirement, looks like you have it sussed.

Long way to go for me, but it’s still a massive worry. I do long hours and it’s intense, I wonder how I will cope with it just stopping.

I can’t sit still or shut off now !

Nice to read other people’s views on it too and I know so many ( some very close to me) who didn’t get the chance to have that time to themselves. Seems a good idea to plan your time .

[Dublinblue]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

Nice thread, and good luck TBG. Am hoping to jack it in myself fairly soon. I imagine I'll have plenty to keep me busy, but I will only find out when I get there!

Am going back to college part-time to study psychotherapy. It'll be 4 years to a qualification (if I stick it that long) and then I'd need to build up hours to become accredited, but whether or not I go the distance, it will give me a focus for the next while. I have a few other projects that I'm keen to kick off too.

[Pearcey3]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

Don’t feel guilty TBG. None of us know how long we have on this earth. Enjoy not being restricted to what you can do because of work. Embrace your freedom.
I will be retiring just before I hit 60 in a couple of years time and cannot wait.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

Don’t feel guilty TBG. None of us know how long we have on this earth. Enjoy not being restricted to what you can do because of work. Embrace your freedom.
I will be retiring just before I hit 60 in a couple of years time and cannot wait.

Slacker :hehe:

[Des Parrot]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

Keep us informed TBG, although not Onslow style! I’ve set my date in April ‘24, it’s later than I planned some 45 years ago but I don’t have the balls to go earlier, I’ve been working 60 hour weeks for 20 years and the void would be a mental challenge!

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

Keep us informed TBG, although not Onslow style! I’ve set my date in April ‘24, it’s later than I planned some 45 years ago but I don’t have the balls to go earlier, I’ve been working 60 hour weeks for 20 years and the void would be a mental challenge!

I can't keep you informed as two of the three major things that will occupy me I can't mention - after seemingly boring people to death on the chosen subjects. Let's just say that I will be ultra-mobile when circumstances permit.........

On the other hand, you need to get some in before the Grim Reaper comes a'calling...........

[The Bloop]

Re: Retirement: an unsettling experience

I can't keep you informed as two of the three major things that will occupy me I can't mention - after seemingly boring people to death on the chosen subjects. Let's just say that I will be ultra-mobile when circumstances permit.........

On the other hand, you need to get some in before the Grim Reaper comes a'calling...........

I cant remember whether youd visited every European country or not, but I quite enjoy your travellers tales.
Which continent is next?