This year has been, without a doubt, a milestone for me. It’s the year I transitioned into the next phase of my life.
People often refer to retirement as one’s "second innings" or "second phase", but I believe it should be counted as the fourth phase. The first three being pre-school, the long years of formal education, and finally, a demanding career.
WELL-MEANING ADVICE
Over the past eight months, I have been asked one question more than any other: “How are you spending your time?”
I have also received plenty of well-meaning advice to "keep busy", with friendly warnings that having nothing to do can be more than just boring; it can be detrimental to one’s health and well-being.
In fact, several people have suggested various work opportunities specifically to keep me occupied.
TIME FOR MYSELF
But the truth is, I don’t want to return to formal work. I have been eagerly looking forward to this retirement phase for a long time, primarily for two reasons.
One, my sleep cycle. Because my work schedule typically ran from 6 pm to 2 am, my internal clock was completely out of sync with the rest of the world. When I was younger, my body could cope easily. However, that hasn’t been the case over the last few years. Undoubtedly, that erratic pattern of sleep has impacted my health, and I am now hoping to reverse some of the damage.
Two, I want time for myself to pursue the things I love: simple, ordinary pleasures like reading books, watching movies, taking relaxed walks, doing basic exercises, watching sports, solving word and number puzzles, brushing up on my French lessons, travelling, and catching up with old friends.
WORK AT HOME
So, to answer the question of how I am spending my time: I am very much occupied, in a healthy and productive way. I am finally doing all the things I never had the time for during my working life.
The irony is that there is so much on my plate that I still find myself having to prioritise! The difference, however, is that the pace is now entirely up to me.
During the last eight months, I’ve managed a fair bit of travel, visiting Pune, Aurangabad, Shirdi, Thane, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Vizhinjam, Kovalam, Noida, Gurugram, and Jaipur. I haven’t even found the time to blog about them all yet. In fact, there are quite a few posts sitting in my "Drafts" folder! I shall get to them in due course.
THE CHALLENGE
Of course, there is a flip side to this relaxed routine: the temptation to slip into "lazy mode". Without a boss fixing schedules or deadlines, I have to motivate myself every single day. It isn't always easy, but it is certainly doable.
FESTIVE TIME
There are a few things lined up for the coming year, but for now, I am fully soaking in the festive air.
Wish you a Merry Christmas and a delightful New Year!
Every person I know who has retired has told me they don't know how they ever worked, they are so busy in retirement. I hope you're enjoying your time.
ReplyDeleteYes, Liz, making the best use of all the time I have now! Thank you!
DeleteWhen my dad retired he took to researching our family tree, when he had lung cancer and chemo he took to reading, he didn't read more then a couple of books during the first 66yrs of his life but during the last 10yrs he was always reading
ReplyDeleteResearching my family tree is one thing in my mind. Maybe I will get to it someday! Yes, reading is such a good habit. It not only opens our mind to the world but also engages our brain in a very healthy way. Thank you!
DeleteI have never regretted retirement, not even for a minute. It’s perhaps the best time of my life.
ReplyDeleteSo far so good for me. My aim is to make the best use of all the time I have now. Thank you, David.
DeleteI'm one of those people Liz A described, but I do realise I allow things to expand to fill time, perhaps better phrased as not rushing. Unless I really needed advice, any suggestions about what to do in my retirement would be very unwelcome. As a former rotating shift worker, I know what you mean about time normality.
ReplyDeleteYou are very right, Andrew. I too realised that work tends to expand to fill the time. You put it very nicely - "not rushing"! Thank you, Andrew!
DeleteLuckily in your case, there seems to be to be no need to work for money. Not all have this privilege but have to seek work to supplement the reduced income. Many tend to spiritual development which has always been in the backburner during career years. There is no mention about it unless you are into it already.
ReplyDeleteHave happy times devoting a part of your time to the society wherever you can.
Thank you so much for your comment, KP. You are absolutely right: having the freedom from financial pressures in retirement is indeed a privilege, and I’m deeply grateful for it.
DeleteRetirement has become a journey of rediscovering priorities for me. I am already doing my bit to give back to the community in whatever small ways I can.
As for spiritual growth, while I do pray and visit the temple, I believe that true spiritualism is in our words and actions. So I try my best to live by that as far as possible.
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteAgain I find myself thinking 'here is an echo of me'! We have such similar thoughts, and, I suspect, interests, with an openness to continue learning when it presents, without the urgency of need. We are fortunate indeed. I agree, too, that we need a motivation in each day, else it fritters away and before we know it, the year is gone! (It manages to move fast enough without us helping it along...) Wishing you all the joy of this day - which reverberates through Love Universal - and on into 2026. Fondly, Yamini xx
What a pleasure, as always reading your blog. And as a 12 hour rotating shift worker before I retired, I know full well what you mean. When I retired, I felt like a race horse in the close stable running and running, fruitlessly. I simply wasn't used to not occupying every minute of every day with work or chores that needed to be done at and for home on the few off days. I learned to manage all that beautifully and actually missed it one retired. BUT...I got used to not having to rise at 0315 or on midnights, at 1515 in the afternoon. And it was pleasant. Sleeping 5 hours was a luxury! I do bot wish to work formally. Pradeep...concinued joy in your retirement and many wonderful travels and projects to come!
ReplyDeleteMost sincerely,
Carole
sorry for the missed typos!!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the retirement days and happy holidays.
ReplyDelete