vwkittie Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Get some new hobbies, my parents are both retired and have busier lives than me by far - they moved to another country, made new friends and took up new activities e.g. dancing and sailing, and getting involved with community/voluntary activities too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellar Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 reading this post makes me feel that i have done the right thing staying part time for a good company. I am now 68 but dont feel ready to stop work or the odd jobs at home. Got myself a little greenhouse and have grown so many things this year and already planning what i am growing next year. Keep having holidays whenever i can.The moral to all this is the dream of retirement should not be to stop and waste all the things you have learnt pass the experience you have on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treatment Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I, like the prick that I am, retired when I was 46. Amongst my worst decisions ever, which takes some beating. I've been working 3 days a week for the last 8 years, but I still regret it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treatment Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I, like the prick that I am, retired when I was 46. Amongst my worst decisions ever, which takes some beating. I've been working 3 days a week for the last 8 years, but I still regret it. If the 4th word of my post gets deleted then that will be me done with SF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithy266 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 If the 4th word of my post gets deleted then that will be me done with SF. sounds like that's what you want to happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medusa Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 So many people have said to me that they were jealous when I was pensioned off from my job in my early 30s, but it took me a very long time to learn to live with the boredom and to create a structure to my time that enabled me to still use my brain and continue to learn and develop whilst not working. Everybody I know who has retired whilst being really busy has longed for a few months to themselves to do lots of things that they don't have time to do whilst working, but has them found themselves to be going a little off the rails because of their lack of focus, targets and aims. As a result of this they throw themselves into other things to regain the focus and most of them work just as hard once they're retired as they did when they were 'working'. My mum runs a voluntary help centre with over 150 volunteers and 600 clients who they help in all sorts of ways, from transport to hospital appointments to a lunch club for the elderly, my dad is now chair of their parish council, my aunt and uncle have made similarly large commitments and it all goes to show that facing your future with no structure to your life can be daunting in the extreme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandad.Malky Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 it all goes to show that facing your future with no structure to your life can be daunting in the extreme. The sad thing is that there is a whole generation of young people in precisely that position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treatment Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 So many people have said to me that they were jealous when I was pensioned off from my job in my early 30s, but it took me a very long time to learn to live with the boredome and to create a structure to my time that enabled me to still use my brain and continue to learn and develop whilst not working. Everybody I know who has retired whilst being really busy has longed for a few months to themselves to do lots of things that they don't have time to do whilst working, but has them found themselves to be going a little off the rails because of their lack of focus, targets and aims. As a result of this they throw themselves into other things to regain the focus and most of them work just as hard once they're retired as they did when they were 'working'. My mum runs a voluntary help centre with over 150 volunteers and 600 clients who they help in all sorts of ways, from transport to hospital appointments to a lunch club for the elderly, my dad is now chair of their parish council, my aunt and uncle have made similarly large commitments and it all goes to show that facing your future with no structure to your life can be daunting in the extreme. Very well put Medusa. I, when I went back to work part time, I was asked, why I hadn't asked my company, for a Sabbatical year. My work was in the Construction Industry, and the person asking the question was from the Personnel, now known as HR, function, of a Government owned High Street Bank; this also demonstrates the difference between reality and the Ivory Tower world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithy266 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 You can't just retire, you have to plan for it. Mrs Smithy266 has gone half way, works 2 days a week now, and has started new hobbies: curling, walking etc. One of my pals called in today, and said he could never see me retiring (I work from home, for myself) and I quickly told him that if I had the chance, I would walk away quite easily. Which I will do if my main machine dies, as it won't get replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillsbro Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 I can't say that I actually planned for retirement - I just couldn't wait. Once I turned 50, I decided there was more to life than working, and began to make tentative enquiries. HSBC were holding on to staff that that time, but four years later I got my ticket-of-leave. And I never looked back. Looked after my mum for four years until, bless her, she died aged 87, and the following year (thanks to friendsreunited.co.uk) married my former teenage sweetheart. So this grumpy old bachelor has mellowed a little... Sure, I've put on a little weight, but moderate exercise helps and Mrs hillsbro and I travel quite a lot (we're off to the Orkneys on Thursday). Needless to say the garden has benefited (well, two gardens - we still have my Sheffield bungalow) and plenty of D.I.Y. has been done. As of next month I'll have been retired 9 years and I've never been busier (just written a book!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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