The Retirement Newsletter: Can you get post-vacation blues when you are retired?

Issue Number: 178 (31) — If retirement is a permanent holiday, why do I still feel down after my vacation?

Photo by Author — a sunny beach in Norfolk, UK — post-vacation blues

Welcome

Welcome to issue 178 (31), where I look at the post-vacation blues. Can you still get them when you are retired?

Well, spoiler alter — yes, you can. Well, I did after my most recent trip.

Post-vacation blues

We all know the post-vacation (holiday) blues. I’m sure we have all experienced them. I know I did before I retired. I would go away on holiday and return to a full email inbox. I would be there in my office looking at all the emails and the work I had to do, and I could feel all the good my holiday had done evaporating.

In issue 170 (23) — Can you go on holiday (vacation) when you are retired? — I asked if you can still go on holiday when you are retired. My conclusion was that you can, but that it felt different. I reasoned that if you were going away and changing your routine, it would be a holiday.

In the post, I commented that I had taken a few holidays since retiring and noticed that I didn’t get the post-holiday blues — the sadness that the holiday is over and you have returned to everyday life.

Anyway, after my recent holiday (two weeks away walking and having fun around the southeast of England and in Norfolk), I was surprised at how ‘blue’ I felt when I came home. I came home; I had no work to contend with (apart from a large pile of dirty clothes that needed washing) and no bursting email inbox. (if you look at issues 170 (23) — Can you go on holiday (vacation) when you are retired? you will see that I am convinced email was the cause of my post-holiday blues and of a lot of the stress and anxiety I experienced at work.) And yet, I still got the blues.

So why now? What has changed?

Well, in life (as we all know), we have responsibilities and obligations. These continue when you are retired, and you get to park your responsibilities and obligations on holiday, even in retirement. But they will still be waiting for you when you get home. They are there, sitting on the doormat, waiting for your return.

Plus, the fact that I experienced post-holiday blues could be a sign that I had a great holiday — which I did. An alternative theory is that I have come back to some awful grey and rainy weather, which is enough to make anyone feel a bit down. Add in the fact that the nights were drawing in, and it may be no wonder I felt slightly down.

Hence, my conclusion is that even in retirement, you can get post-holiday blues, and the fact that you can, I think, is more evidence that you can take a holiday once you are retired.

As I have said before, retirement is not one big long summer holiday (see issue 9 — Is retirement a long summer holiday?), so you should take your holidays when you can, even when you are retired.

What did you think? Can you take a holiday in retirement and experience the post-vacation blues? Please let me know in the comments below.

This week in the Retirement Hustle

This week in The Retirement Side Hustle, I look at how you can go from a mind map to a full-scripted video.

In the video, I show how I use a mind map to generate scripts for a series of plagiarism-related videos. I show the Excel/Numbers spreadsheet I use to break down the mind map into videos and scenes and how I generate the text for each scene.

The Retirement Side Hustle Newsletter is subscription-based. However, each video comes with a free minute or so that allows you to confirm the content, and if you take out a free subscription, you get full access to one edition.

Travel — Nostalgia Corner

More stories from my wonderful time in Laos:

• Laos — Dinner at the BBQ by the Old Bridge, Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ), Laos — Time for some local BBQ.

• Laos — Royal Palace Museum, Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ), Laos — I was not welcome…

• Laos — Saffron Café, Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ), Laos — Time for an iced coffee after a disappointing museum visit.

• Laos — Ferry across the Mekong from Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ), Laos, to Ban Xieng Man — Time to explore, a rip to Ban Xieng Man

• Laos — Ban Xieng Man, Luang Prabang (ຫລວງພະບາງ/ຫຼວງພະບາງ), Laos — Exploring the village.

Next week, I start to wrap up my time in Laos.

Next week

Next week, in issue 178 (31), I ask — does retiring early take courage?

The reason I am asking this is because several people have recently said to me that my decision to retire early was a brave move. Was it? Do I feel brave?

Thanks

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Until next time,

Nick

PS: If you would like to contribute something to the newsletter — a story, advice, or anything else — please get in touch.