Being retired; painful

Or don’t retire at all
Or do semi retired
Entrepreneurs don’t seem to ever stop completely
And if you still can’t think of anything, get the old bicycle and credit card and a pair of socks out from the shed and cycle to the S of France leaving next week.
Sometimes you need to go away in order to come back to a question as it were !
 
Perhaps one needs to think laterally. Get the wife fully occupied. Before we both became ill last year She with serious cancer & me with everything else , she played golf. She would go away for a few one week hols ( maracesh, Spain Portugal etc)with friends as well as long weekends golfing. That meant that I could go off SH sailing for a few weeks at a time to the CIs, camaret etc or Ostend for the Paulusfeesten, Round Uk ( the short one) Plus club cruises. I hate single day only sails & much prefer to lay the boat up for a couple of weeks or so then disappear for a while. It suits me & the wife knows she can go off as & when she wants.
The trick is not to live in each others pockets. We never have.
It works well for the 2 of us.
 
Daydream believer said:
Join an RC model flying club. Meet club members. Fly on nice days. Build models at home on bad ones. Go coarse fishing. Do jobs for the sailing club. There are always loads of things to do. Buy a lathe & mill & take up model engineering. Steam engines etc. Make bits for friends as well. I have become a go to for lots of little jobs.
Click to expand...
Or take up RC Model Yacht Racing - depending what clubs there are near where you live you might be able to race nearly every day of the week summer and winter. You may find you have no time for anything else if you get into it seriously.
 
Apologies. My replies will take time to be posted because they are “invisible to normal visitors” awaiting moderators’ approval …

usual protocol on forums for newbies I find.

I am off to search Americas Cup YouTube vids. Too late for a walk in the dark.

In fact I am looking forward to bedtime… old age seems to speed up life I find.
 
Stop watching TV. Better still, get rid of it altogether.
It’s a passive occupation which can devour many hours of your life. It doesn’t matter how much effort you put into watching it, it will never ever give anything back in return.
Mike
 
mikegunn said:
Stop watching TV. Better still, get rid of it altogether.
It’s a passive occupation which can devour many hours of your life. It doesn’t matter how much effort you put into watching it, it will never ever give anything back in return.
Mike
Click to expand...
I absolutely agree 99.999% of the time.

Boredom is also a habit as is tv.

There has been some tv in my time that affected my life greatly if not actually changed it’s path…. but 0.001% of the time .

It may not have been colour tv.
 
My wife retired about 10 years ago went back part time for a short while. I am coming up to retirement now.
My wife has been busy with friends and family (we have five grandchildren) , going to the gym and other activities. Its very rare for my wife to have a day where she doesn't leave the house.
I have reduced my working to 2 days a week since May 2024 and will fully retire in a few weeks from now. I see full retirement as a big change but also an opportunity to do things without the constraints of work and associated pre-arranged holiday dates.

I had taken a 4 week holiday last summer and it passed without any boredom.

Retirement doesn't have to mean no work at all. I do some exam marking which I have been doing over 20 years. It's a twice a year thing and I intend to keep up with that.

It's not too late to start some new activity to keep some interest going each day. But I am sure its fine to have a lazy day now and again.
 
Never watch daytime TV unless to catch up on something you missed.
Keep moving. Tidy that garage. Plant some veg or make some raised beds. If there is no DIY then raise your game.
I can recommend some voluntary work- must towns have a voluntary services hub where can find something useful to do. Don’t underestimate your own skills.
 
mikegunn said:
Stop watching TV. Better still, get rid of it altogether.
It’s a passive occupation which can devour many hours of your life. It doesn’t matter how much effort you put into watching it, it will never ever give anything back in return.
Mike
Click to expand...
Even if you watch quizzes and pitch yourself against the contestants? I find it tough to understand the answers on "Only Connect"... OCDB – The Only Connect Database
 
Cerebus said:
if retired before one’s spouse what suggestions do people have to quell boredom?
Click to expand...
I grayed part of your sentence just because that's (imho, of course) irrelevant.
That aside, I don't think it's possible to answer your question with any ideal suggestions, because the "WHAT" very much depends on individual preferences/interests.
In my experience, it's the "WHEN" that is crucial.

I mean, as we get old, we tend to dislike changes, and try to avoid them as much as possible, sticking instead to our routines, whatever they are.
Nothing surprising with that, it's just part of the human nature.
The problem is that retirement, for most of us, is one of the most radical changes we must deal with in our whole life.
So, when you are in your 60s and you are still actively working, retirement comes as a shock, because regardless of whether you liked your job or not, by then it's so embedded in your daily routine that without it you feel like you're missing an essential part of your life.
Sure, having other interests can help to plug the hole, so to speak. But more than likely, you will still perceive the missing work routine as a hole.
The only way to avoid living with that sensation for the rest of your life is retiring as early as possible, when radical changes still aren't as annoying as when you're older.
In fact, they can actually improve your quality of life, not only in practice, but also in terms of perception/awareness.
To the point that if you will retire at the peak of your working career, say in your late 40s/early 50s, the change will be even more drastic at first, but rather sooner than later your only regret will be to not have done that even earlier.

Now, I appreciate that if you already are in your 60s, you can't turn the clock backwards, and my suggestion is as useful as a chocolate teapot - sorry, if that is the case.
But hey, you asked for suggestions, and this is the best I can give! :)
 
Cerebus said:
Yes. So my GP agrees.

I did look up tennis (I have been told that exercise that is of interest is likely to to be of good or greater use) but the prices are very steep where I live; simply to hire a court for an hour let alone join a club. Squash would probably kill me AND my bank account. I should sell my excellent racquet.

Then of course is the body up to it? Try and find out. I chose to retire early so most parts still work…

I wish I could go skiing but not sure that will ever happen again.

I am a good house DIYer; better than many contractors I have paid, but it does become a bore.

Car maintenance I used to enjoy but it is so much more complicated and difficult now even though I have some electrical diagnostic tools.

Pondering…
Click to expand...
If you have a garage maybe get a "classic". You can kid yourself its an investment.
Or just an engine. If I had the space I might have been tempted by something like this at 150 quid, for example.
Or a wooden boat, even if only a tender (though the kidding might be a bit more of a stretch there)
Just avoid spending all your time on the Internyet...oh wait
 

Attachments

  • 1746752570941.png
    1746752570941.png
    1.4 MB · Views: 21
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top