The Retirement Newsletter: Now what?

Issue Number: 3 — Thinking, planning, doing

Nick

Apr 14, 2024

Photo by Author — spring is finally here

Welcome

Welcome to issue number 3.

This week, I face the big question of retirement — now what?

Now what?

Well, here I am. Retired.

Last week, my first week of retirement, was easy as it was Easter, and I would have been off work on annual leave. This week, before I retired, I would have been back at work busy preparing for exam season — a stressful time. Why were exams stressful for me? Well, I worried about making sure things were set up right. Plus, I used to get a lot of emails from stressed students, and their stress rubbed off on me.

Last week, I was in holiday mode, but now the holiday is over, and I am starting to feel I have retired. The truth is sinking in. Or is it? I don’t feel retired. Imposter syndrome?

So, now what? If I can accept I am retired, what am I going to do to fill my days?

Moving forward, I need to think about what I am going to do and how I will manage my time.

Thinking

As I said last week (Issue 2: OK — this is it, my first week of retirement), on my first morning of retirement, I woke up, and the ‘voice’ had gone.

The ‘voice’ that had been in my head for as long as I can remember had fallen silent. The ‘voice’ that nagged me about the workday ahead had gone quiet. I now had the headspace and the time to think, and I realised I needed to plan. I had to treat my retirement as a job — a new career. I had to show the same discipline and time management as I did at work. If I didn’t, I would be in danger of letting my days drift away and merge into one. You may think that is not bad, but it terrifies me. I had to plan.

Planning

This comes down to time management. After all, a lot of planning is time management.

As I said in issue -5, What do I want from retirement?, when I told colleagues and friends I was retiring, I usually got one of three responses:

You lucky @#!$£%.
You can’t be retiring; you are far too young.
What are you going to do with yourself? You’ll get bored.

And I do feel lucky; I did feel I was old enough to retire, and I was confident that number three wouldn’t be an issue. But now I am not so sure. I am being too efficient! I am applying ‘work mode’ to my retirement. I need to unlearn 40-plus years of working.

I am adapting to my new way of life, but it will take time. I need to redefine how I use my time.

I have made some changes.

The other Friday, a friend called me and asked if I wanted to go for a walk and have lunch. Usually, I would have said no as I was working. But now, I can say yes, so I did. I went for a lovely walk and a pub lunch. Bliss. And it felt all the better because it was a week day.

But, I am still wedded to the working week.

I go to bed and get up at the same time as when I worked — but I don’t think that is bad thing.

I have breakfast and start my ‘working day’ when I am up. Yet, I have no work. Well, I do, I have some side-hustles I am trying to get going, and I am currently treating those as work.

I still think in terms of a working week.

I am one of those annoying retired people who go food shopping on a Saturday morning when I could go any day of the week. I used to moan about retirees who clogged the aisles and the cash registers at the weekend, and now I am one of them.

The other day, I spoke to a retired friend, and they asked me how I had spent my day. I rolled off a list of things I had done—three loads of washing, going for a walk, cooking lunch, decluttering three drawers and a cupboard, and writing a couple of online articles. I felt proud of my efficiency and achievements. They laughed and said that I needed to remember I was retired and that I should pace myself. They might have a point.

Doing

I am only a couple of weeks into retirement, and as I have said, I am viewing retirement as a job or a new career, so I guess I am leaning on the job. It will take me some time to settle in and adjust to this new way of life.

I will get there, but I need to find my path. My way of doing things.

I am having a lot of fun and enjoying my newfound freedom. Long may it continue.

Travel — Nostalgia Corner

From Bali, I moved on to Hong Kong:

Hong Kong — The Harbourview Hotel, Hong Kong 香港灣景國際 — My base in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong — Breakfast in Hong Kong — Trouble finding breakfast — a technology failure that resulted in a great breakfast.
Hong Kong — Post-Breakfast Market — First day exploring Hong Kong — I do like a good local market, and this was a great example.
Hong Kong — Reunification Monument, Hong Kong — An odd place in Hong Kong. It is tucked away and mainly for Chinese visitors.
Hong Kong — Goldfish Market 金魚街, Hong Kong — Looking to buy a pet fish in Hong Kong?

Next week, more stories from my first visit to Hong Kong.

Next week

Next week, in issue 4, I am back asking — should I launch a paid newsletter?

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Until next time,