The Retirement Newsletter: Did I reach my goals for the first year?
Issue Number: 200 (53) — how did I do?
Welcome
Welcome to issue 200 (53) — Did I reach my goals for the first year?
Last week, I was shocked to have hit the fifty-second issue of this newsletter since I had retired — so, one year of retirement — and this week, I can’t believe this is the 200th issue.
Anyway, did I hit my first-year goals?
What were my goals?
I started my retirement with two sets of goals: things I wanted to do in the first few weeks and some long-term goals.
Short-term goals
My short-term goals were things to do on the first day, or in the first few weeks of retirement, and I outlined these in November 2021 (Issue -114 — 10 things I will do on the first day of my retirement). So, how did my plans go?
1. Have a leisurely breakfast
As I said, back in November 2021 — “I can't remember the last time I had a leisurely breakfast.” Well, this still hasn’t happened. Commitments have meant I have had to rush every breakfast since I retired. I will put my failure down to a lack of time management and taking on too much.
2. Delete all Microsoft products from my computer and phone
This is a yes and a no.
In the first week, I removed all Microsoft products from my desktop computer but still have them on my laptop and phone. My desktop computer now seems to be running better, and it is nice not to use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
I kept the programs on a laptop and my phone in case I needed them in the following months. Well, a year later, I have used them a few times, and they are still on my laptop and phone, and they annoy me no end. Why do they keep reminding me to sign in when I am not using them? I keep signing in to stop the annoying pop-ups.
3. Not look at work email
I didn’t look at work email on the first day of being retired, or even the first month. I occasionally drop by, about once a month, to see if there is anything I need to address. There never is….
I achieved inbox zero as I approached my last few days of work. I had nothing in my email inbox, and it felt odd. I kept checking my email to see if it was still working. Sadly, my old work in-box is now full of stuff from automated systems, none relevant to me. I guess I could clear it out again?
When I first retired, I was freaked out by ‘calendar zero’ — I had nothing in my diary—whole weeks of nothing. After a year, I still have the occasional empty day, but most weeks have something in them — mainly medical appointments!
4. Stare out of the lounge window for 10 minutes
Well, this is another yes and no. I did spend 10 minutes staring out of a window, but it wasn’t the lounge. I still treat myself to the occasional log stare.
5. Go for a long walk and not feel guilty that I am out walking on what would have been a workday
Yes, I did this on my first day, I took the long route from my home to town across some fields and through a wood. I still go out for long walks two to three times during the working week and the novelty hasn’t worn off.
6. Not look at my to-do list
I no longer have a work to-do list, so I didn’t look at it. I now have a retirement to-do list and look at my ever-increasing to-dos most days.
7. Not look at my watch
This was an impossible ask — I looked at my watch. I mean, who doesn’t look at their watch? One year in, I still look at my watch but maybe, just maybe, less often.
8. Meet a friend for a very lazy lunch
Yes, I did this, I went for a lovely lunch in a pub with a friend. It could have been lazier. However, compared to my lunches when working, it was very lazy.
9. Go to the cinema in the afternoon
I tried to go to the cinema, but there was nothing on that I wanted to see. A year later, and I still haven’t been to the cinema in the afternoon. I have not been to the cinema at all in the last year.
10. Sit by a river, eat an ice cream, and watch the world go by.
This one was originally going to be tough, as I had planned to retire in January — the middle of the winter. However, it was late March, and, on my walk, I found an ice cream place open by the river. Tick, done. While I don’t regularly have an ice cream by the river, I can often be found sitting by the river drinking tea.
Overall, I think I did pretty well on my short-term goals.
So what about my long term goals?
Long-term goals
In Looking forward and staring into the void, I set out some things I wanted to achieve in retirement.
The aims were pretty broad, and were:
Health
When I retired, I was significantly overweight, and I had a few niggling health issues that I needed to address.
In my first year of retirement, I wanted to lose some weight. I needed to drop about 10 kg (about 22 lbs, or just over a stone and a half), possibly more, but doing so would be tricky due to my commitments.
I planned to do more walking and cycling to lose weight and get fit. I had already started ramping up my walking before I retired.
Then, shortly after I retired, I got some blood test results that suggested that things were worse than I thought. I had to do something quick.
Luckily, my local health provider (GP surgery) is relatively proactive and enrolled me on a nine-month “Evidence-based digital health programmes for chronic disease management” called Liva. Their tagline makes things sound worse for me than they were.
Anyway, the programme has been fantastic. The programme is not focused on weight loss but on lifestyle. It was all about eating right and getting exercise. There were information sheets on exercise, healthy eating, and lifestyle, and quizzes to complete. Once a week for the first half of the course, I had to check in with a coach, give a report and get feedback. This dropped to every other week for the second half of the nine months. There were also online support groups to join. It worked well.
Thanks to the course, my blood pressure is down, and my blood results have normalised. Through the programme I lost nearly 40 lb (18 kg; 2 st. 12 lb) and I think I have about 10 lb (4.5 kg) to go. So I have smashed my 22 lb (10 kg) target for the year. Result.
My other health worry was the stories about people retiring and dying. They get hit by a bus on the way home from their last day at work. Or, a week after retiring, they die of a massive heart attack. Well, I am still here!
So, overall, tick done, I have hit that target. I have gone further than planned and hoped, but I have a little way to go.
Money
Money is a worry. (When isn’t it?)
I dodged a bullet and didn't lose 12% of my pension (see issue -0.5 — Have I lost 12% of my pension?).
Money has been going OK. I am struggling to switch from a saving to spending mode (see Moving from saving to spending), and I have made one big purchase — see Don’t do as I do, do as I say — I bought a narrowboat. Buying a boat was in my plan, but not for a few years.
As part of my long-term goals, one thing that I wanted to do was get some side-hustles going. And boy it has been challenging. I’ll say more about that in a future issue.
So, money has not been as much of an issue as I feared and I surprised myself by making one big purchase!
Starting a paid newsletter
I did, and it bombed. There are no subscribers. Again, I will say more about that in a later newsletter. This one is a fail.
Travel and Holidays
Another thing I want to do in retirement is travel. I love travelling (see Nick’s Wanderings on Medium).
I have no fixed travel plans; apart from that my travels will be mainly UK-based. I had planned to travel around Europe in a camper van, but Brexit (the UK leaving the European Union) has caused me to change those plans.
Part of my reason for buying the narrowboat (Don’t do as I do, do as I say) is to travel in the UK. So far, I have not had the opportunity.
Wrap up
Overall, I think things are going well.
I hit most of my short-term goals, and my long-term health goal has been met. Money worries have not been an issue, I haven’t done the travelling (but that is on the cards) and side-hustles have been a bit of a disaster, but I am getting there.
How is your retirement going? Why not let us know your successes and failures in the comments?
Next week
Next week, in issue 201 (54), I look further at being retired and ask if my retirement is what I expected.
Thanks
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Until next time,
Nick
PS: If you would like to contribute a story, give advice, or provide anything else to the newsletter, please get in touch.