For those near retirement, what do you plan to do all day? (retired, vacation)
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It may seem like a silly question but I'm wondering if leisure will ever get boring for those so accustomed to working for yearsssssss. I've been out of meaningful work for the past 3 years and have enjoyed the time off but am getting ready to ramp back up to full-time status. I've enjoyed being able to nap from noon til two but am way too young (IMO) to call it a lifestyle.
So anticipating real retirement within 15-20 years, I'm trying to imagine what I'll be doing to fulfill my days. Volunteering is great but just like working, everything gets old. I'm curious of what other people's retirement fantasies are. Thanks for playing.
How about consulting part time?
Teaching?
Sports coach?
Fun/easy jobs like a photographer for an insurance company?
Opening one of those little hot dog carts at an outdoor mall?
Docent?
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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near retirement, what do you plan to do all day?
Planning is not something I worry about in retirement, after 42 yrs WORKING, I will hope to NEVER PLAN another day, and certainly never have another performance review !!
Somedays I am VERY busy, some days I am not, NEVER do I PLAN a whole day. I travel alot. I prefer NOT to PLAN that. If I find something I enjoy, I STOP where I'm headed and smell the flowers! I stop and help people, sometimes I will stay an extra week or more in an area to help someone out.
PLANS would most certainly destroy what I value in life (being available for the needs of others).
For some... PLANNING is critical need, for me, spontaneity is more valued at this time of my life (I Spent Too many yrs milking cows at 4:30 AM and 4:30 Pm 7 days / week). Maybe tomorrow I wil go here or there, maybe not . (something better might come up, like a nap!).
As far as work / career... I ALWAYS worked at farming during day, and at a factory at night, I seldom PLANNED ANYTHING,,, I always considered it fortunate to find enough time in the day to work and play. The ONLY thing I planned was vacation / daily time AWAY from work, to arrive JUST in time to go to work, every minute I was there early was WASTED vacation. I would be gone for up to 12 weeks and drive into town 5 minutes before work was to start. NIce thing about work... you can do it VERY tired . You want to be RESTED while at home (thus I could never grasp anyone chosing to work day shift and coming home TIRED, what a waste !!)!
Been retired for almost five years. What is this thing you call a "plan?" I do what I want, when I want, where I want, or not. Thankfully my wife is also retired and sees things the same way I do. Spontaneity is the name of the game. Plans are restrictive and subject to change.
To Maxiale02: Your question is not silly at all - it's an excellent one. However, this subject has been beaten to death here under various guises. Still, you will get various answers. But in addition, I suggest you look at previous thread titles in the retirement forum for threads which may touch on the issue you have raised. It doesn't take that long to browse through several pages of older thread titles.
I ask myself this same question, what will I do with all the extra time? I don't have an answer today.
Do you have interests outside of the workplace today? Perhaps reading, movies, travel, museums, gardening, ice skating, hiking, camping, fishing, woodworking, painting, chess, bridge, helping others through volunteer work, bicycling, yoga, or reconnecting with cousins you used to know well in childhood? If you have no interests outside of the workplace you will need to develop some, and that list contains examples - just some examples I came up with without spending much time thinking about it, which means there are many others I didn't think of.
Yah, I failed to consider that I'll be a lot more tired at the end of the day in 15 years than I am now. I posed the question because I was speaking with my retired father (6 years retired) and he mentioned doing a lot of mall walking, church and visiting friends. I'm the energizer bunny type so I guess along as the money's right, I'll have plenty options, of hopefully no plans.
It may seem like a silly question but I'm wondering if leisure will ever get boring for those so accustomed to working for yearsssssss. I've been out of meaningful work for the past 3 years and have enjoyed the time off but am getting ready to ramp back up to full-time status. I've enjoyed being able to nap from noon til two but am way too young (IMO) to call it a lifestyle.
So anticipating real retirement within 15-20 years, I'm trying to imagine what I'll be doing to fulfill my days. Volunteering is great but just like working, everything gets old. I'm curious of what other people's retirement fantasies are. Thanks for playing.
Having been retired for 5-years after working 42-years (and also on this forum for 2-3 years), it seems to me that most of the folks here are not 'fantasizing about retirement,' but, rather, already retired... or at least only 1-2 years away from retirement. (I play golf, fish, boat, read, study, write, travel extensively, ... and whatever else I want to do). In my 40's, my retirement 'fantasy' was a live-aboard sailboat, traveling around the islands ... but, that was neither realistic - or what I am interested in or able to do now. (Think about it this way: 'Did what you planned to do in life ... in your teens, have any relationship to your life now?)
Everyone dreams, so 'silly' is not really the issue here. However, there is a big disconnect between "dreaming about retirement in 15-20-years" (that's only mid-career for most people) ... and realistically 'planning' for retirement (except financially). As Escort pointed out, this subject has been beat to death on this forum. The bottom line is: 'Very few retirees actually 'struggle' to find something they want to do in retirement' (except for those who never developed any interests apart from work ... Or those who can't really afford to do anything, but, stay at home and watch TV).
That which you find fulfilling and meaningful now (in your 40's?), is unlikely to do the same for you in your 60's and 70's. In my 40's, we were getting the kids through college, building our careers and working towards the financial end of retirement. (Finances are a crucial part the type of 'retirement planning' that must be done BEFORE retirement, in order to answer your question about a 'retirement plan' after retirement.
Take a deep breath and start 'realistically planning' for retirement now --- The 'What will I do while I'm retired?' question ... will take care of itself, if you focus on real planning NOW, rather than fantasizing about life 15-20+ years from now.
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. (something better might come up, like a nap!).
