my 2 weeks off opened my eyes. just a couple yrs from retiring I am sure that I am not ready for it.
I had a plan for the two weeks. work around yard, house and cars in the morning after a good breakfast and brisk walk. Then take the afternoons off to do whatever I wanted. hikes, lakes, watch movie with wife....whatever.
worked fine for first week. second week was boring. said to wife that I can't do this in retirement.
so , what do you retirees do to adjust to retirement? have a small business on the side? work part time? volunteer?
my Dad was the same way. Retired at 55 which only lasted a couple years and then worked another 25 years at a part time job that he enjoyed.
I've spoken to retirees around here and most of them seem happy at first then after a couple years they tell me how bored and they seem to age faster. One guy told me there is only so much hunting and fishing and travelling you can do.
any suggestions?
I almost retired in 2007 and then again in 2010 and my current plan is 2013.
When considering retirement in 2007 (buy-out), I was awakened to the same concerns that you expressed. The buy-out offer was poor so I stayed on but I read a book by Ernie J Zelinski - The book is
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Financial Adviser. It is on Amazon for $9 (link below).
http://www.amazon.com/How-Retire-Happy-Wild-Free/dp/096941949X/ref=la_B001H6SY7M_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347457461&sr=1-1
Read it and carefully consider and go through the thought process he talks about in the book.
The main thing is that when a person retires, they must replace three things that they got from their job:
1) A sense of community
2) A structure in daily routine
3) A sense of purpose
Using the advice in Zelinski's book, I listed all the things I enjoyed doing in the past, what I enjoyed doing now and what I wanted to do in the future.
I decided I would get into motorcycles and I wound up with 3 and enjoyed myself but "motorcycling" just did not do it for me.
Community - yes, Structure - not really, Purpose - no
I turned 55 October 2009 with 37 years and in 2010, UPS offered a buy-out again but my group was excluded and so I ran the calculations and decided that I would work an additional 18 months to recover the money I was denied in the buyout.
In early 2010 I realized I had not found that "something" that would create a sense of purpose in my life.
Again, I revisited the list of all the things I enjoyed doing in the past, what I enjoyed doing now and what I wanted to do in the future.
This time, I gave considerable thought to the Community, Structure and Purpose in making my selection.
I came up with Photography.
I investigated the business of photography and developed a 3 year development and business plan.
Set up a business and a website - Commitment
Joined 4 Photography clubs - Community
Developed a commitment to post one photograph per day - Structure
Set up a Photography processing station in my house - Structure
Enter contests - Structure
Photography jobs - Weddings, Senior pictures, Pet pictures, Portraits, etc. - Structure and purpose
Posted my images on facebook to bring a little pleasure to my fb friends each day - Structure and Purpose
Conduct photography walks and workshops - Structure and Purpose
I teach Photography at a local college in the Continuing Education program - Structure and purpose.
I am busier now than I have ever been in my life since college and I feel very comfortable with the transition into the next stage of my life.
I know this was a bit long-winded but there is no magic solution, you have to make it happen and it is a process.
Get busy planning, thinking it out, put your plan into action, measure the results and get ready for retirement.