Retirement - What do you do in a day. [Archive]

kally

2-23-16, 9:25pm

Now that I am mostly retired people say "I'll bet you are busier than ever.: I say, no I am lazy. So lazy crazy that life has slowed down a lot and that is how I like it.

So what did I do today. Here goes.

Woke up at 8:15
Drank green tea and read Dr. Michael Greger's Book, How Not to Die
Had a lovely breakfast.
Cleaned up.
Read some more
Played on the internet and facebook.
Prepared lunch for a guest.
Had a walk around the harbour.
Went to play a short pickleball game.
Making dinner now
Clean up
Watch some netflix
Read some more
Bed after midnight

Okay, get the general idea..... much of not much.

Okay, your turn. Who else is crazy lazy?

lmerullo

2-23-16, 10:23pm

I got laid off nine months ago and am still undecided about going back to work. I am alternately busy and lazy...

My typical week looks like this:
Monday - sloth mode, with some housekeeping to restore the home from the weekend
Tuesday - I still consult for a sister company of the former employer, so 4 or 5 hours of paid work, then run errands (try not to drive Monday)
Wednesday - another me day
Thursday - take mom to lunch and see to whatever errands she needs, pay her bills, etc
Friday - I usually go on a motorcycle ride with some friends

Weekends are spent with hubby and or some combination of grandchildren.

kally

2-23-16, 11:04pm

Oh Imerulla that sounds like a lovely balance.
I work hard at doing less.

Simplemind

2-23-16, 11:11pm

Sunday- 12 hours on call for volunteer job
Monday- 9am water aerobics, light weights. 10:30 walk the dog for 3-5 miles. 12:30 yoga. Rest of the day free
Tuesday - " " 10:30 Meals on Wheels deliveries. Walk the dog. Rest of the day free
Wednesday- " " " " 12:30 yoga. Walk the dog. Rest of the day free
Thursday 9:30-12:30 paint class. Walk the dog. Rest of the day free. Spend evening with my father
Friday - 9am water aerobics, light weights. Walk the dog. Rest of the day free. Spend evening with my father.
Saturday - Walk the dog. Rest of the day free. Spend evening with my father.

kally

2-23-16, 11:14pm

Simplemind, that is one lucky dog and those are some serious long walks. Good for you.

mschrisgo2

2-24-16, 5:04am

Great question, and I'm hoping others chime in...
I am off work for 4 weeks nursing a badly broken wrist, and I've been giving lots of thought to what my days would look like if I were to retire in June.

Right now, dogs wake me up at 6, I get up and feed them, take my thyroid medication (1 hour before any food), take the dogs for a short walk; come back and cuddle up in bed, or on the couch with a cup of tea and the iPad. Most often take a nap for an hour or so, then get up around 8, eat breakfast, shower and dress for the day.

By 9, I am making phone calls, on line, taking care of personal business and volunteer (church) business, and writing. And satisfying my curiosity with online research of any of a number of things. By 11, I'm away from my desk, tidying, puttering, thinking, walking the dogs. Lunch at noon, or a little after if I'm meeting someone some where else. If I'm out, I run errands, and try to do them all in one day.

That leaves 4 afternoons for other projects. In the last 7 days, I've filed taxes, filed insurance claims, purged email (a seriously Huge job, vowing Never to let it get that bad again!!), spent 3 half days on medical appointments, and one afternoon on the linen closet.

Before I broke my wrist:

My early evenings are occupied with a meeting and a class at church, tutoring one late afternoon, one evening of dog training. Other evenings of talking on the phone, reading, quilting.

Weekends are totally open: many social activities with family and friends, dog training, church, long hours in nature, quilting classes.

I would like to continue my writing project and perhaps get paid for it; get serious about gardening again (if we're allowed to water outside this year); and complete several in-process quilts.

These latter 3 could add several hundred dollars a month to my income, and seem doable- well, except for the water issue... Once I am really retired, I'll shift the doggy alarm clock to about 7:30 am. Seems like a good plan, easy to slide into, balanced and rewarding.

lmerullo

2-24-16, 8:46am

Simplemind, I'd love to take my dogs on such long walks. Sounds lovely.

I need to add that I go to the gym probably three times a week and have rediscovered the dog park. I try for every other day there.

lessisbest

2-24-16, 10:18am

I have the greatest make-work program in the world - without having a job or being "officially" retired - because I'm a homemaker. I'm here in limbo - not employed and not drawing social security. The way I see it, I'll never really get to "retire" since being a homemaker IS my fulltime "job", and all the things it entails.

I start my day at 3 a.m. everyday, and I find more things to do than I have time to get done by the time I go to bed at 9 p.m. Most things are done on a regular schedule. We exercise between 4-5 a.m. M-F. Eat meals at the same time each day. We do two loads of laundry while watching TV in the evening and hang it in the basement to dry Tuesday night and Saturday night. Saturday morning we change the sheets and wash them with the bath towels, and hang them in the basement to dry. I vacuum M-W-F, and on Friday I clean the whole house. Get groceries on Wednesday. I bake on certain days, and follow a meal plan each week. Add to that indoor and outdoor gardening, food preservation, home food storage, food and nutrition classes I teach...... The word "bored" has never been in my vocabulary.....

Ultralight

2-24-16, 10:25am

pinkytoe

2-24-16, 10:28am

I am only three weeks into "retirement" and still adjusting to being out of the hurried lifestyle. Still getting up early for coffee and web surfing for about an hour. I only have one planned activity scheduled - group hikes on Monday mornings. The rest of my time seems to be spent on all the various aspects of getting ready to sell a house and all its stuff which feels like a job in itself. Waiting now for an electrician to show up. I want to go back to work part-time so I guess I'm not ready to acccept full time laziness or the retirement busyness I always hear about just yet.

jp1

2-24-16, 10:34am

A good friend of my is 60 years old and retired about 3 years ago. Since then she is volunteering for a bazillion causes to the tune of about 60 hours a week. She is exhausted, complains about it often, and seems kind of unhappy.

What's up with that?

Did she work that hard before she retired?

That reminds me of a friend I've known for about 20 years now. He's had probably 8-10 jobs during that time. Each one starts great. Then he really gets into it, is given cool projects to work on. They're demanding and require a fair amount of overtime, but fun. And the work appreciated. Then he's given more projects, requiring still more overtime. He starts to feel taken advantage of and starts complaining. Then the mother of all projects comes along, he's working 16 hour days, he hates his boss and eventually he finds a new job and the whole process starts all over.

iris lilies

2-24-16, 10:39am

I spend a lot of time in front of video screens. :(That said, I have tons to do and I do enjoy my volunteer efforts and my life enrichment efforts.

Over a 5 day period, last Friday to yesterday evening, I had 6 car trips involving sick dogs or sick humans and spent a total of 20 hours in veterinary or hospital clinics. Fortunately, all is well with all patients!

One of our rescue dogs had a tail amputation and while that serious surgery went well, he also, the next day, injested the contents of a trash can which caused complications. It took a while to sort that out, and for us all to figure out that his discomfort did not come from his rear end but from the rag in his gut. What a dope.

He is here with me now, snoring away, after eating a normal breakfast. Later today I'll return him to his foster mom, now that we know he is ok. Later this week I will take a trip of two hours to have the vet take out his stiches. Our bulldog rescue vet is wonderful but is far away, thats the downside of working with him.

The human who I ferried around to orthopedic appointmtnets this week is the head of bulldog rescue and a friend. She was hit by a car and is now recovering. I cant wait for her to get better so that she can take back a lot of these dog duties.

Ultralight

2-24-16, 10:45am

Did she work that hard before she retired?

Yes, she was totally addicted to workahol. She often complains about how hard she worked and how it made her miss out on so much.

That reminds me of a friend I've known for about 20 years now. He's had probably 8-10 jobs during that time. Each one starts great. Then he really gets into it, is given cool projects to work on. They're demanding and require a fair amount of overtime, but fun. And the work appreciated. Then he's given more projects, requiring still more overtime. He starts to feel taken advantage of and starts complaining. Then the mother of all projects comes along, he's working 16 hour days, he hates his boss and eventually he finds a new job and the whole process starts all over.

No good deed goes unpunished. That is why I try to be in the middle of the pack at my workplace. I am not a shining star nor am I a slacker.

freshstart

2-24-16, 11:37am

oddly, much of my day passes and by nightfall, if I haven't written down things on a to do list and crossed them off, I am uncertain of what I did all day, unless queued by something or someone else. Other days I remember fine. I am no ball of fire, if I push too hard, cleaning, bending, lifting, standing my BP drops and I start falling. So I do things in very tiny increments. I make myself read for 1-2 hrs because I am losing my "thing" and I want it back. But reading often turns into napping, lol. If anyone ever told me I would be living life so incredibly slowly, I never would've believed it. It is a bizarre way to be and I look forward to the old me coming back. She had a lot more fun and she got sh** done, lol.

Rogar

2-24-16, 12:20pm

I am an early riser, bad work habit I haven't shaken. Usually do a few domestic chores early and catch up on current events and articles of interest. Most days even through winter I can get out for excersize and either bicycle usually on a nature trail near my house or take a short drive to the foothill open spaces for a hike. If there is nothing else pressing I usually take a short afternoon nap. I volunteer for some wildlife programs in the spring and summer and that usually takes a couple of days a week and that is just starting as well as thoughts of gardening. I spend more time in retirement doing food management and cooking, although I don't get fancy it's probably healthier. Evenings are reading or netflix. I'm actually about done with How to Die, myself. It's inspiring me to do some adjustments to me cooking and diet. There are other things with entertaining, social events, or short travels, but that basically a typical day for me.

kally

2-24-16, 1:29pm

Interesting to see the wake up time for everyone is very different.
Today is a crazy busy day for me. I have TWO things to do.
Wow
One is to go for coffee with a friend and discuss a workshop she is doing.
Two is to play pickleball tonight.

Do you think I can fit it all in. ha ha.

I actually do play pickleball 3 times a week and walk if I don't play. I could walk a lot more though, but I have to figure out how to hear those books on tape while I walk.

This Saturday I actually have to work. AAAAAH. I am running a workshop for 3 hours, man that is just too too taxing. But I have done this workshop about 6 times before, so it really isn't that hard.

So life this week is a veritable whirlwind. I think back to when I was young, worked full time and did so many activities in the evening. It was fun. I am glad it is over.

Simplemind

2-24-16, 2:20pm

I have a long legged, high energy dog (half newfie/half shepherd). We live right next to two of the best nature trails (one paved, one not) that go for miles through woods and by creeks. We are also about two miles from town so we walk for errands (bank,library) we can do with the dog in tow. We are always up for a walk, rain or shine.

freshstart

2-24-16, 3:08pm

freshstart

2-24-16, 3:12pm

Interesting to see the wake up time for everyone is very different.
Today is a crazy busy day for me. I have TWO things to do.

I could walk a lot more though, but I have to figure out how to hear those books on tape while I walk.

I can relate to the first sentence, I'll look at my calendar and get mad at myself for over scheduling, ah man TWO things AND errands, what was I thinking? lol

we have to figure out your audio book thing. What kind of portable device do you have?

nswef

2-24-16, 3:50pm

Freshstart and kayy, my schedule is similar to yours. It's been 15 years retired and at first I did substitute teaching at least once a week, but now I just volunteer there one afternoon a week, and an hour or so at the little food pantry, 2 book clubs once a month, writers' group twice a month and then social. I do NOT like doing more than one thing a day any more. It just wears me out!

nswef

2-24-16, 3:51pm

I do do about 1/2 hour of stretches and schedule some walking. Had been doing 7000 steps, but in the last 2 or 3 months barely making 3500.

freshstart

2-24-16, 4:00pm

I have to start in earnest the only exercise the cardio will let me do, using a recumbent bike. I have to make a life change and just do it.

I thought I would be a volunteer by now, actually I thought I'd be at work again by now, but I think trying to volunteer just would not work yet. What could I do, stuff envelopes? I admire all the volunteers on here.

Ultralight

2-24-16, 4:09pm

If I was retired (but I am not and nor will I ever be) this is what I'd like my day to look like:

-Wake up leisurely
-Make some oatmeal with a banana and some organic milk
-Take the dog for a walk
-Read a book
-Make some lunch, perhaps just a bagel with creme cheese and an apple with PB
-Go visit some friends
-Take a nap
-Go fishing
-Come home and make dinner, maybe the fish I caught
-Listen to music
-Read some more
-Hopefully spend some "alone time" with a significant other
-Go to sleep

Teacher Terry

2-24-16, 5:37pm

Since we semi-retired 4 years ago i have trained my dogs to let me sleep to 8. This took much time. I take care of them and then have coffee and news. Then I do a combo of real paid work, internet surfing and housework. By 3 I take my big guy for a walk. He is old so we walk at the same pace. I have met many of my neighbors by walking him daily and it helps me hit my goal of 10,000/steps/day. Some days i do errands if my hubby can't but try to put them on one day. On Friday night it is dinner and spend the evening with a close friend. Sat my hubby and I do something fun often with friends. Most nights by 5 after dinner I am watching TV and maybe doing laundry etc. I try to cook enough food at a time that lasts us for a few meals. For the past 4 years I had 3 sick friends i was helping. 1 has died, 1 is in a home but still needs time for a visit,many phone calls, etc. 1 I had to finally back out because after great effort on my part to find her a wheelchair accessible apartment that she could afford, in the part of town she wanted, that was nice etc, so she would be independent for awhile instead of going into a nursing home she refused to move. Then it hit me -her other friend and i were working harder then her. She would have had access to the disabled bus and been more independent and not have to rely on everyone driving her around. I never get sick and i have had 3 colds and the flu since Nov so I think the universe was telling me something. I used to regulatory volunteer with 2 animal groups but don't anymore. I still love teaching my online uni class and doing a very small amount of consulting in my previous field. One thing I enjoy is that if someone wants to have lunch I can say yes most days. I really love the balance I have. I buy most things online as I no longer enjoy shopping. My hubby grocery shops and will do many of the errands which is good because he sucks at housework.

ctg492

2-24-16, 5:37pm

I loved reading what everyone does each day.
My days are lucky now to have settled:
up at 4am read the net
5am walk each of three dogs 1 mile each
feed dogs do assorted house stuff till,
7am walk each dog 1 mile or maybe the lucky one gets a 2 miler
Depending on weather I ride a 21 mile loop ok winter has put a damper on that but I am still above 200 miles so far this year
through out day assorted household stuff, errands
Dogs again get walks at noon and 3pm, perhaps 6pm
I run treadmill or road
Drink a lot of coffee, Call my dad daily, drive over every two weeks, started at Humane Society walking dogs somedays, Summer is lots of yard and gardening.
I live a lucky life though I forget it often.
YES I walk a lot, I love walking my Dogs I passed 1 million steps on my Garmin with them since Jan1. I really do run almost every day, so I can eat cookies and be ready for the 1/2 marathon, I really do ride almost every day and pedaling to 4,000 miles this year.
I hope I can continue this for many years>8) Oh and yes by 8pm I am pooped and hit the bed at 9pm.

ctg492

2-24-16, 5:41pm

Teacher Terry

2-24-16, 6:14pm

I close the bedroom door with them inside. We stay up later then we used too. So if they try to get me up at 6 am I would not get up until 6:30 no matter how much they fussed. It took 4 years but now we are at 8 which is perfect. The 3 little ones are pad trained and i keep a pad in our room but they rarely use it. The big guy holds it. If the big guy is sick or really needs to go out he will come nudge my hand but that has rarely happened.

kally

2-25-16, 12:49am

Teacher Terry what time do you go to sleep? Sounds like a great plan with the dogs.

ctg492

2-25-16, 5:53am

Teacher Terry, I guess I am doing the same thing. I started locking the dogs in the room with me at night. Embarrassed to say this but for 14 years, yes 14 I was up at 2am letting dogs out. I had Chihuahuas during that time and I would justify it by saying they are tiny and have to go. I know now it was me that set this terrible time table up, not them. They just got used to it. The big dogs I have now I have worked and changed that till 4am. I can't stay in bed any longer and once I get up their world starts. SO perhaps I am doomed to 4am till I can change my sleep and I have worked and worked on that.

catherine

2-25-16, 7:39am

Terry Teacher, how did you train your dogs to sleep till 8am??? Mine go out the doggie door at 4am sharp , I wake earlier at 2am many days since I don't sleep well but read in bed so I do not wake them OR out they go. Did you just let out later at night and keep them in later each day?

I think dogs adjust to expectations. My dog wakes me up with the daylight and I get right up and take her for a walk, followed by breakfast. Like ctg, I always reasoned that when I get up, I have to go to the bathroom right away, so why wouldn't my dog?

But, interestingly, when I'm on the road, DH isn't as willing to just jump when the dog says jump. He wakes up, gets coffee, reads the news, and waits to walk the dog until after the kids in the neighborhood are in school, which is 9:30. Meanwhile, our dog knows she's not going anywhere until that time under DH's watch, so she just stays in bed, and when she hears DH putting on his jacket or shoes, THEN she meets him at the door.

So, getting the dog to wait until daylight or beyond is probably just a matter of training.

iris lilies

2-25-16, 12:32pm

Get a bulldog, they like to sleep in and they have big bladders. Haha.

freshstart

2-25-16, 2:58pm

it's funny how they soon learn who will tolerate what. My mother is not a dog fan, she is up in the middle of the night a few times, sometimes it's daylight. The dogs have learned not to "ask" her for anything, she won't even look them in the eye. I wake at 6, get up for a moment, tell them to stay and then take care of them as soon as I am up for good. Buddy just loves to be outside, even in the middle of the night, he goes out and then refuses to come in for half an hour. We all stuck to our guns and now he doesn't get up barking and begging when someone is up after hours. Bernice will hold it for 12 hours and sometimes has to be dragged out of bed to go, lady of leisure.

Teacher Terry

2-25-16, 3:16pm

WE go to bed anywhere between 9-11. Then i get up between 7-8:30. I trained the small dogs to potty pads because i was working f.t. and did not want to have a doggie door since they are only 5-10lbs. I actually love that because we can go away for many hours and don't have to worry. Now that we have my son's big guy if we are going to be gone too long we put him outside when we leave.

Ultralight

2-25-16, 3:17pm

My dog, Harlan, started an annoying habit of waking up earlier and earlier each day to try to get his breakfast sooner. He'd hop off the foot of the bed -- immediately disturbing my sleep. Then he'd pace around the room. If that did not work he'd whine.

And that was a whole bunch of habits I simply would not tolerate.

So what I did for a couple weeks was this:

As soon as he woke up early and jumped off the bed I'd carefully pin him down so he wouldn't pace or start whining. I certainly would not give in and serve him breakfast at 5am!

Harlan hated being pinned. After a couple weeks he would hop off the foot of the bed, but quietly. Then he'd quietly walk to the door and curl up and sleep in front of it. No pacing. No whining.

When he misbehaves I never hit him. I either pin him or spray him with a water bottle. As a result I have a quiet, mellow dog who cuts loose by going on mad sprints in the back yard. :)

freshstart

2-25-16, 7:03pm

a dog trainer my parents had taught them the water bottle trick, which really works. Well, on Buddy it takes a very long time to work and doesn't stop the future behavior on several things. But I've seen it work well on various family dogs. However, no matter what she has done (usually not much, she is a great dog), I cannot bring myself to spray Bernice. my family wants her sprayed because she barks when strangers come in. That's a pretty normal dog thing and I admit, she goes on longer than most dogs because she is really scared or not happy about the stranger. I put her in another room, no big deal. Once my mother squirted her and I was so mad, I had the other bottle and I squirted her in the face. It was instinctual, I swear. We didn't speak for a few days, lol

Teacher Terry

2-25-16, 8:07pm

That is too funny. My big guy is so well trained that he never wakes me up unless he is sick. He does bark when someone is at the door which is his job. His 3 little maltese evil sisters on the other hand are a whole different story. UL: C. Milan says to use the pinning and growl in the dogs face if they are aggressive. So when my 5lb was young i did it many times but it never worked for long. She is the bully of the bunch. If she was big it would not be tolerable. Good thing she is all growl and no bite.

frugal-one

2-25-16, 8:23pm

Usually try not to get out of bed before 7am. If I am awake earlier I watch the news and then get up at 7. Tues and Thurs do exercise class so get up early ... 6:30am. Twice each day walk the dog 2 miles each time. Tues main grocery shopping for the week as well as meet friends to play mah-jongg. Joined 3 recipe groups that meet one time per month. Could be gone every day ... there are so many activities in the area. Have to limit myself. Evenings spent reading or tv. Life is good!

kally

2-25-16, 9:28pm

we have cats that try hard to get us up in the morning. I don't know if there is anyway to train cats

ctg492

2-26-16, 5:59am

I love my dogs, Life is great right now before 5 am and they have all been out, now snoring peacefully but the light of the kerosene lamp and my Mac Book :)

Gardenarian

2-26-16, 7:29pm

I'm semi-retired, working two days per week. I work the two days together, Friday and Saturday, and I make it a rule to go out and do something fun every Friday night (tonight dd is babysitting and dh is out of town, so I may go to a movie....tempting to stay in and enjoy having the house to myself.) I also have a 5 month old Border Collie who is demanding a lot of my time at the moment. I take a few classes, and have a daughter in high school.

So yesterday was like this:
Got up around 7, had a cup of tea and read the newspaper and did the crossword. I can spend an hour easily with tea and the paper.
Walk the dogs for around an hour (my dd also has a dog.) It's beautiful with all the violas and hellebores and cherry blossoms coming out right now. There are several parks near our house; I usually walk the dogs around the back alleys which are quiet and pretty. It's quite rural here for a small city.
Do some quick house cleaning, vacuum.
Dance class 11:00-12:30 - learning old country dance, the kind of thing they did in Elizabethan times.
Have garbanzo bean salad for lunch.
Parent teacher conference 2:00
Work in the yard while continually being interrupted by puppy with tennis ball for an hour or two.
Dinner - chicken/quinoa curry
Archery practice 6:30-7:30
Reading and throwing tennis balls and wrestling puppy till 10ish.
To bed.

Most mornings are the same; the activities afterwards vary - Sundays I have Puppy school and French Conversation group; Mondays I volunteer at the public library, Tuesday is art class, and so on. Wednesdays I have entirely free and usually go on a long hike.

I'm falling into an easy early bird pattern that I was never able to establish when I was working (7 feels early to me.) There was always laundry or something to do and I was always tired. I sleep so much better now!

DH is a musician and not fully connected here, so neither retired or really working. We sometimes grate on each other; we're working it out. I do wish I had the house to myself more often! I can't wait till he gets his studio set up.

kally

2-26-16, 8:11pm

sounds like a good life. These dogs are great for getting everyone walking. I am harnessing up the cats and see if they will hike with me. What do you think my chances are.

Williamsmith

2-26-16, 9:59pm

I have been retired for four years and ten months. It took me eleven months to adjust to not being who and what I was for 25 years. My health immediately improved as soon as I started getting up the same time everyday. It also helped greatly when I stopped trying to sample every type of bourbon Tennesee and Kentucky had to offer. I have had part time work since then. My current situation is six months on in the summer and fall and six months off in the winter and spring.

Rather than say what I do every day, it's easier to say that whatever I do.....I do it almost as a sacrament. I can make and enjoy a cup of coffee as if it were the last drink I will ever have. I can sit and watch it snow. I can walk and concentrate on my breathing almost as if it were a prayer. I can spend a morning trying to get a chickadee to eat black oil sunflower seeds from my hand. I can watch clouds pass over head and make shapes out of them like a kid.

I have to think hard about what I did yesterday in order to tell you. Nothing is important but everything seems to be interesting.