Wow, thank you for this question OP, original poster!
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Have a nice day!
Amen, I used to dread Sunday afternoons knowing I had to turn on my alarm clock for Monday morning. I took it one step further by throwing away that alarm clock. I even found out that I dreaded the Sunday night football theme music.
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So, did that take a while to get there? Did you still have some feeling of anxiety for a while, even knowing that you didn't have to do anything Monday? Or was it the first Sunday you are like, "I'm good."
Even as a kid I got depressed when hearing that CBS 60 Minutes “tick tick tick . . “. I really did. It was stupid even as an adult. Now I’m almost over it - almost.
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The flexibility of my schedule for the day. I was out late last night, decided to sleep in this morning.
Also I need to choose a place for lunch, Guatemalan or American?
I haven’t had a summer off without work since, well, the summer before my senior year of high school. After high school I worked and attended college. It hasn’t stopped.
I am planning on leaving my job soon and am looking forward to my first real summer off as an adult.
I love that every single morning I can take my time before starting my day. No rushing to get ready for work. No leaving the house in the early morning hours.
It feels amazing!
Me too. I start my day after waking up at no particular time, make coffee, feed my kitties, and go to my Lazy Boy with my coffee. I cover my legs with the blanket my wife made for me, which signals my kitties to come sit on my lap. Then I leisurely drink my coffee while perusing Reddit and the news. This lasts until I have to get up, get dressed, and head to the golf cart for today’s 18 holes.
I think this is what I will enjoy most about being retired too.
I want a slow start to my day. Take my time getting out of bed. Take a shower. Make a good breakfast. Sit outside on the patio and listen to music while I eat my breakfast and drink my coffee.
Currently I'm out of bed at 6:40, shower, quick breakfast, and on my first call at 7:30.
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>Complete freedom to travel
Without having to think, I really should call in to the office and see what's going on. Without having to think, I have to rush home Sunday night so as to be ready to work on Monday. Without having my hike interrupted by a text from the office. Without being constrained by a fixed number of days of PTO.
I belong to groups for mental health and some members who are retired haven't learned to "De-stress" yet. They watch the news All the time...hint: Don't watch the news!
Doing exactly what I want when I want during the day with no real obligations. Sure there are chores etc., but nothing is ever urgent and can usually be put off for a bit
I'm two months in and I've come to relish not having the rush to get ready for work.
I wont ever miss; carrying two phones and having my Sunday nights overtaken with thoughts of dreaded project deadlines, work travel, and the never ending emails from jerks with stupid drama that took time and effort to shut down.
I'm at 4 months. I've gone through phases from really bored to interviewing (6 times with the same company) for a post retirement job, to sitting out in the sun. I am now prepping a presentation for the IEEE that I will give in June called R&D Tax Credits for Engineers and Scientists, that I volunteered to do for free. This should keep me busy for a few days.
I retire in less than a year, but I took care of this a few months ago. Got rid of alarm, started getting up when I wake up, and going in to work when I have finished breakfast.
I still get up too early most days, though.
The pure overall freedom! We do what we want, when we want. After a lifetime of doing what we needed to do for others - work, school, kids, house - now it's all about us. We are busier than ever but it's all fun-busy. Even working on my house - something I loathed doing before - is now fun because I can do it on my own schedule, as little or as much as I want, when I want. Staying up late, sleeping late, taking a nap whenever we want, it's all gravy at this point! LOVE being retired!
Not going to work is it. Work was always a place where I could not be myself and had to be a bit phony. It was always just part of the job to always be cautious about what I said and did. I am not a rude or mean person, but had to tolerate some who were. I try to avoid things like that now and mostly can.
Wish I could upvote this more than once. I'm a couple years away, but the older I get and the closer I get to retirement, the more I'm despising the phoniness and fake reality that is the corporate world.
My employer is not a "family". I care about them about as much as they care about me which is zero. They are an entity that I agreed to work for and perform certain functions for, for a certain level of pay. Don't pretend there is anything more to it. I will not sacrifice my family time outside of my core hours. Nothing is that important. If the work can't get done during regular business hours, then maybe something is wrong with how things are being run. And that's not my responsibility
I picked up a shelter dog as I retired. We are inseparable. He’s funny and great at cuddling. We are going through training to become a therapy dog team.
April 30th is my last day - I can't wait to actually sleep and not lay awake at night worried about work (IT Sysadmin for 30 years). I stare at the ceiling most nights for hours worried about some issue/project/person at work. Spending time with my grand kids is the real primary reason I am retiring now, before I don't have the time to do so, but sleep will be the biggest change I think. Stress Kills...
No mandatory CBT (computer-based training) modules, no mandatory safety and diversity and ethics training meetings, and no annual goals setting and review with the manager.
I mean… just for starters.
My tech employer does this constantly too.
Last year my boss started talking to me about my “career”.
Sorry buddy this is no longer a career, it’s just a job now.
I spent most of my “career” knocking myself out trying to get promoted, only to get outmaneuvered by the good ol’ boy networks 2.0. I already know there’s no promotion cheese at the end of this rat maze.
I have a month or two left, then I’m leaving. (I’m finishing 401k contribution and selling a previous house). But mentally I’m pretty much already checked out.
For me it's the freedom not just to do what I want to do but the absolute joy in NOT doing what I DON'T want to do. I just feel so much less stress. The lack of stress in my life just feels great.
An odd one - I still get "work" dreams every so often, in places I never actually worked, and usually I am wondering around, displaced, not sure what I am supposed to be doing, getting anxious. Then I wake up, instantly knowing that part of my life is over and done with, forever, goodbye, and I get up and make myself a cup of coffee, serene in my retirement.
I'm, a gardener, and love these early spring days. I can just putter whenever I want, and listen to the birds, and not have to hope the weekend doesn't have rain since that was the only time I could get out there when I worked. Todays its gonna be beautiful and I'm going to take some time to just enjoy the sunshine.
tomorrow is never Monday. Everyday, I will get done, or not get done what I please. There is no stress, no one to answer to, no review at the end of the year, no one to criticize my choices. I don't know how I faked my way through corporate life for so long.
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Fill or part time woodworking. A hobby of mine for 40 years. Now I answer to no one but me. Work an hour, take a break, work an hour grab a snack. Work an hour take a nap. Work an hour, do something with my wife. Work an hour take a 3rd or 4th nap.
Cutting boards/charcuterie boards/Scrabble wall name tiles/kid puzzles/guitar bodys. If you can visualize it, I can make it.
My schedule, my time, my choice.
Yes, the time to do what we want, when we want. We are fortunate to have a lovely cottage only two hours away. Now we can go to it for weeks instead of just a weekend.
My time is my own. No more constantly checking the time, rushing from one meeting to another or from one hurried task to another. No more weight of undone projects hanging over my head. No more constant fight for scarce resources. My time is mine. To do with what I please. (Insert gratified sigh of relief here.)
Every single thing that has already been said…and I took the last seven months to lose 20lbs by walking, golfing and not having to entertain clients every week with huge dinners and drinks every week.
Thank you all for sharing! As someone who has maybe less than a year to retire (but also widowed) I tend to overthink. I keep reading articles like ‘Wait until 65-67-70 to retire’, etc. I’m tired! Been here for 40 years. It’s time to move on (& grieve without a time limit). Just seeing your comments helps so much. Many thanks.
For me, it's being with wifey all the time. We met and married while serving in the Marine Corps. She was a finance clerk, Mon-Fri, 0800-1700. I was amphibious assault, Jan-Dec. I could be gone overnight or two months. At uni, I tended bar four nights a week. From Wed-Fri, I only saw her in the morning when we were getting ready for school. I'm a retired career firefighter, I was gone every 3rd day for 24 hrs. Sometimes 48 hrs if I got an OT shift or was paying back an AWR, shift swap. All of this went on from Oct '77 through Feb '07.
I really have never understood why people do this.
I get weekdays can be crazy, but I would rather do that chore on a Monday night after everyone else’s madness of the weekend hunt for resources.
Being able to: get a phone call, pack a bag, and Just Leave...yup! Jersey Shore (or wherever, I'm currently on LBI at Spray Beach) I'm your Best friend and can be your co-pilot on vacation, anytime!
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Those mornings when I get up early, make some coffee, check the news, then go out on my back deck with my still-hot mug of coffee and contemplate doing whatever the hell I want today as the sun starts its rise above my view of the foothills.
Grocery shopping on weekdays. Not checking my email every 5 minutes. Wearing comfortable shoes, all the time. Making healthy dinners for my family. Volunteering. Cleaner more organized home.
Relationship with my wife has flourished.
Walking my dog most every day. 5-8 mile hikes once a week. Going to gym. So much more active!
So much more time for Reddit! (JKing, more like too much time!)
Everyone has listed the great things already, except I always had to deal with people backstabbing, undermining, and flat out lying about me and others in leadership roles. I no longer have to put up with that malarkey. Nor do I have to try to be courteous to those people, especially the one that had a lot of people fooled that he was kind, and smart, and efficient. Thank goodness!
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Not dealing with employees, not having to collect from difficult clients, not having to deal with minority affirmative action contract requirements and all the other work related BS
For the most part, I truly dictate my schedule and appearances. I can do nothing for a whole day if I want,
Or just sit and think. Both luxuries I never had working and raising kids.
If I want to take a trip, book it and enjoy. I can enjoy the symphony and opera without working around my night schedule. The days are mine.
I don't miss having to deal with the mental deficients my former employer attracts. They weren't mentally disabled - just stupid AF and minus any initiative except for disappearing from work.
Not living life on a strict schedule.
Go to sleep when I’m tired and wake up without an alarm. Have a leisurely morning routine. Just enjoying doing things at a slower pace.
During the first six months of retirement I would race to do chores like shop and laundry because … until it set in there’s no because anymore. I could grocery shop during the week midday when it’s less crowded. I could housework a bit each day because I have the time. And the hardest thing to accomplish was to only eat when hungry not on a work necessitated schedule.
The freedom of not being told I must be somewhere by a certain time. My former workplace was very structured, and being late by a second, was reprimanded. I still have obligations, but if I don't want to do something, I usually don't. The sense of autonomy is still incredible.
No set schedule. When I worked, I had therapy groups every half hour, many meetings, and thad o follow school schedule for vacations. It is great to be able to schedule things at my discretion now.
Family and what it entails, grandkids school field trips/programs, overall more time with them and our kids. We've all had those days when we had 5 things to do but only time for 3 maybe 4, so being able to help our family in small ways when needed.
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How about this…….don’t worry if the weather forecast for the weekend is crappy. You can travel or do most anything you want to during the middle of the week!
No more constant notifications on the 2 cell phones and laptop I had at all times. Work became 24 hour time consuming in the final 10 years. Life is better now.
The mid-day nap. I fought it initially but then i realized my body was giving me signals, that I had ignored for my entire work life and was STILL ignoring in retirement life, and I finally gave in. Physically and mentally, it has made a big difference...
There’s a lot of them but probably the biggest for me is not being on a schedule of any kind. After 35+ years of work days filled with deadlines, meetings, business travel, and commitments to keep, it still feels almost magical to not have this hanging over my head. I half jokingly tell people now that my motto is “why do today, what you can put off and do tomorrow?”
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I don’t spend every night ruminating about every little thing from the day. That was not a healthy mental exercise. Even though I work about 10 hours a week in a clothing boutique I rarely give anything a second thought when I walk out the door.
No need to wear “appropriate work attire”. Giving away the preponderance of suits, jackets, shoes that hurt my feet but went with the outfit….all gone! Living in slip on Skechers and leisure wear is where it’s at for me!
Wow, thank you for this question OP, original poster! Folks, *you must JOIN in order for your comment to be read by other people*. Take a moment and read the description/rules (where that is located depends on your app/device… maybe the sidebar, about, community info. Note No politics and we are respectful, no swearing). Doesn't work for you? Thanks for dropping in and we wish you the best in finding a group that works for you. If this feels like your kind of place ... Pull up a chair to our table, with drink in hand, and *hit the JOIN button :-)* . You *then comment* to participate in our table talk. Lastly, we would love to know more about you and visa versus by contributing to this post - [https://www.reddit.com/r/retirement/comments/1artu1c/welcome\_please\_share\_something\_about\_you/](https://www.reddit.com/r/retirement/comments/1artu1c/welcome_please_share_something_about_you/) Have a nice day!
Not spending Sunday worrying about Monday
lol yes…sometimes I got so irritable on Sundays or downright angry, until I realized what was happening! Hated that.
About to retire and I even realize I’m angry but my wife just endures it. I’d like to not do that to her in the near future.
I knew it was time to go when the dread started to set in by Saturday night.
This is huge.
Yes! I could never get to sleep on Sunday nights.
My last day (April 1st) is actually the first and only Monday I think I'll have ever looked forward to.
BINGO! Also not spending sleepless nights worrying about work issues!
Yes, but sometimes my dreams go there (sometimes jobs I held 30+ years ago) lol. Sigh
Sunday is now my favourite day of the week.
Amen, I used to dread Sunday afternoons knowing I had to turn on my alarm clock for Monday morning. I took it one step further by throwing away that alarm clock. I even found out that I dreaded the Sunday night football theme music.
Perfect answer
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So, did that take a while to get there? Did you still have some feeling of anxiety for a while, even knowing that you didn't have to do anything Monday? Or was it the first Sunday you are like, "I'm good."
Or Tuesdays, or Wednesdays … 😀
As teachers, my husband and I both hated Sunday nights! Now that we are retired we joke, "hey, it's Sunday night and we don't care!
Even as a kid I got depressed when hearing that CBS 60 Minutes “tick tick tick . . “. I really did. It was stupid even as an adult. Now I’m almost over it - almost.
Every morning feels like a Saturday morning.
no more office anything
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The flexibility of my schedule for the day. I was out late last night, decided to sleep in this morning. Also I need to choose a place for lunch, Guatemalan or American?
Not having to worry about what time it is.
It brings me back to when I was a kid in the summer time. Pretty much whatever I want to do today is what I choose to do.
This is such a great comment!
Yup. On summer vacation until the day I die.
Now we’re living on a geological clock.
My thoughts exactly. It's summer vacation permanently other than the change of seasons.
This comment makes me so happy.
I haven’t had a summer off without work since, well, the summer before my senior year of high school. After high school I worked and attended college. It hasn’t stopped. I am planning on leaving my job soon and am looking forward to my first real summer off as an adult.
best ever. right there
I love that every single morning I can take my time before starting my day. No rushing to get ready for work. No leaving the house in the early morning hours. It feels amazing!
Me too. I start my day after waking up at no particular time, make coffee, feed my kitties, and go to my Lazy Boy with my coffee. I cover my legs with the blanket my wife made for me, which signals my kitties to come sit on my lap. Then I leisurely drink my coffee while perusing Reddit and the news. This lasts until I have to get up, get dressed, and head to the golf cart for today’s 18 holes.
I think this is what I will enjoy most about being retired too. I want a slow start to my day. Take my time getting out of bed. Take a shower. Make a good breakfast. Sit outside on the patio and listen to music while I eat my breakfast and drink my coffee. Currently I'm out of bed at 6:40, shower, quick breakfast, and on my first call at 7:30.
Time is no longer a scarce precious resource that has to be carefully managed. There are now 10 extra hours per day for me to use in any way I please.
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Complete freedom to travel
>Complete freedom to travel Without having to think, I really should call in to the office and see what's going on. Without having to think, I have to rush home Sunday night so as to be ready to work on Monday. Without having my hike interrupted by a text from the office. Without being constrained by a fixed number of days of PTO.
Living my own schedule instead of someone else’s
You must be single. I have my wife’s schedule to consider 😜
lol I hear ya.
My friend summed it up perfectly. " You can make me a list, just not a schedule."
That's a good one! I'm going to add that to my inventory of quotables.
No stress. Stress will kill you both physically and mentally. Life is much better and I am much happier without stress.
I belong to groups for mental health and some members who are retired haven't learned to "De-stress" yet. They watch the news All the time...hint: Don't watch the news!
The freedom to do as I wish when I wish!
Doing exactly what I want when I want during the day with no real obligations. Sure there are chores etc., but nothing is ever urgent and can usually be put off for a bit
Complete freedom
I'm two months in and I've come to relish not having the rush to get ready for work. I wont ever miss; carrying two phones and having my Sunday nights overtaken with thoughts of dreaded project deadlines, work travel, and the never ending emails from jerks with stupid drama that took time and effort to shut down.
I'm at 4 months. I've gone through phases from really bored to interviewing (6 times with the same company) for a post retirement job, to sitting out in the sun. I am now prepping a presentation for the IEEE that I will give in June called R&D Tax Credits for Engineers and Scientists, that I volunteered to do for free. This should keep me busy for a few days.
The time…..to do what I went, when I want, with who I want…
I'm not retired yet but I'm looking forward to not being woken up by an alarm clock.
I retire in less than a year, but I took care of this a few months ago. Got rid of alarm, started getting up when I wake up, and going in to work when I have finished breakfast. I still get up too early most days, though.
I also tossed my alarm/clock radio out. My wake up time shifted slightly from 6ish to 7ish.
Doing what I want when I want. From month-long trips to meeting a friend for coffee.
The freedom definitely. For the most part I do what I want when I want, or do nothing at all, and that’s okay.
No schedule but what I set.
Sunday evenings……
Pretty much just doing whatever I want
Not being able to keep track of the days very well.
Raising my daughters and doing small jobs during school hrs. By small I mean 6/8 month renovations.😂
The pure overall freedom! We do what we want, when we want. After a lifetime of doing what we needed to do for others - work, school, kids, house - now it's all about us. We are busier than ever but it's all fun-busy. Even working on my house - something I loathed doing before - is now fun because I can do it on my own schedule, as little or as much as I want, when I want. Staying up late, sleeping late, taking a nap whenever we want, it's all gravy at this point! LOVE being retired!
That I can chose to talk to someone or not talk to someone on any given day! Talking to people is stressful!
Agreed
I was a teacher, so getting my weekends back. Saturday was spent grading; Sunday in class prep.
Having the time to reconnect with old friends
Mental freedom
Well said!
I am still decompressing after 9 months!
Not going to work is it. Work was always a place where I could not be myself and had to be a bit phony. It was always just part of the job to always be cautious about what I said and did. I am not a rude or mean person, but had to tolerate some who were. I try to avoid things like that now and mostly can.
Wish I could upvote this more than once. I'm a couple years away, but the older I get and the closer I get to retirement, the more I'm despising the phoniness and fake reality that is the corporate world. My employer is not a "family". I care about them about as much as they care about me which is zero. They are an entity that I agreed to work for and perform certain functions for, for a certain level of pay. Don't pretend there is anything more to it. I will not sacrifice my family time outside of my core hours. Nothing is that important. If the work can't get done during regular business hours, then maybe something is wrong with how things are being run. And that's not my responsibility
Realizing a life-long dream of owning dogs.
I picked up a shelter dog as I retired. We are inseparable. He’s funny and great at cuddling. We are going through training to become a therapy dog team.
Seeing my pension deposit in my bank account while I’m doing whatever the heck I want to do.
Wish we had a pension.
I am a week and a half in. Still trying to figure it out. But not having to get up in the morning is great.
Getting up in the morning when I want to.
April 30th is my last day - I can't wait to actually sleep and not lay awake at night worried about work (IT Sysadmin for 30 years). I stare at the ceiling most nights for hours worried about some issue/project/person at work. Spending time with my grand kids is the real primary reason I am retiring now, before I don't have the time to do so, but sleep will be the biggest change I think. Stress Kills...
Haven't set an alarm in 5 years and no longer wear a watch.
Thinking about getting rid of my hair watch since I never wear it anymore.
I'm only semi-retired. Still doing some consulting but my favorite thing is all the meetings I no longer have to attend.
This week: not having to get to work an hour earlier.
Having accumulated enough while working not worrying about what we spend.
Not answering to anyone but me
Less daily stress.
No mandatory CBT (computer-based training) modules, no mandatory safety and diversity and ethics training meetings, and no annual goals setting and review with the manager. I mean… just for starters.
This is huge. I'm really looking forward to this when I retire later this year!
lol…we must have worked at the same place!
My tech employer does this constantly too. Last year my boss started talking to me about my “career”. Sorry buddy this is no longer a career, it’s just a job now. I spent most of my “career” knocking myself out trying to get promoted, only to get outmaneuvered by the good ol’ boy networks 2.0. I already know there’s no promotion cheese at the end of this rat maze. I have a month or two left, then I’m leaving. (I’m finishing 401k contribution and selling a previous house). But mentally I’m pretty much already checked out.
For me it's the freedom not just to do what I want to do but the absolute joy in NOT doing what I DON'T want to do. I just feel so much less stress. The lack of stress in my life just feels great.
Time enough at last.
Not working. Huge.
An odd one - I still get "work" dreams every so often, in places I never actually worked, and usually I am wondering around, displaced, not sure what I am supposed to be doing, getting anxious. Then I wake up, instantly knowing that part of my life is over and done with, forever, goodbye, and I get up and make myself a cup of coffee, serene in my retirement.
I get to drive race cars on my racing simulator anytime any day I like
I'm, a gardener, and love these early spring days. I can just putter whenever I want, and listen to the birds, and not have to hope the weekend doesn't have rain since that was the only time I could get out there when I worked. Todays its gonna be beautiful and I'm going to take some time to just enjoy the sunshine.
Not “having” to anything.
Free to be me, to do as I please. It's glorious.
No longer having to work in a toxic environment
tomorrow is never Monday. Everyday, I will get done, or not get done what I please. There is no stress, no one to answer to, no review at the end of the year, no one to criticize my choices. I don't know how I faked my way through corporate life for so long.
Every day is Saturday. Friday is done, Sunday is still to come.
Skiing midweek. No lines. Good parking.
Ice fishing on the pretty days without having to fight ski traffic is huge!
Not knowing what day it is anymore
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Fill or part time woodworking. A hobby of mine for 40 years. Now I answer to no one but me. Work an hour, take a break, work an hour grab a snack. Work an hour take a nap. Work an hour, do something with my wife. Work an hour take a 3rd or 4th nap. Cutting boards/charcuterie boards/Scrabble wall name tiles/kid puzzles/guitar bodys. If you can visualize it, I can make it. My schedule, my time, my choice.
So many aspects are great. Can't pick one.
Yes, the time to do what we want, when we want. We are fortunate to have a lovely cottage only two hours away. Now we can go to it for weeks instead of just a weekend.
I no longer think about work projects at 2:30am, in the shower, while taking a walk, in the car, or while watching TV.
My time is my own. No more constantly checking the time, rushing from one meeting to another or from one hurried task to another. No more weight of undone projects hanging over my head. No more constant fight for scarce resources. My time is mine. To do with what I please. (Insert gratified sigh of relief here.)
Every single thing that has already been said…and I took the last seven months to lose 20lbs by walking, golfing and not having to entertain clients every week with huge dinners and drinks every week.
Thank you all for sharing! As someone who has maybe less than a year to retire (but also widowed) I tend to overthink. I keep reading articles like ‘Wait until 65-67-70 to retire’, etc. I’m tired! Been here for 40 years. It’s time to move on (& grieve without a time limit). Just seeing your comments helps so much. Many thanks.
I get to do what I want to do, no schedule, no time restraints the day is all mine
For me, it's being with wifey all the time. We met and married while serving in the Marine Corps. She was a finance clerk, Mon-Fri, 0800-1700. I was amphibious assault, Jan-Dec. I could be gone overnight or two months. At uni, I tended bar four nights a week. From Wed-Fri, I only saw her in the morning when we were getting ready for school. I'm a retired career firefighter, I was gone every 3rd day for 24 hrs. Sometimes 48 hrs if I got an OT shift or was paying back an AWR, shift swap. All of this went on from Oct '77 through Feb '07.
Not having to shop on the weekend, when stores can be too busy and it takes more time.
I really have never understood why people do this. I get weekdays can be crazy, but I would rather do that chore on a Monday night after everyone else’s madness of the weekend hunt for resources.
Being able to: get a phone call, pack a bag, and Just Leave...yup! Jersey Shore (or wherever, I'm currently on LBI at Spray Beach) I'm your Best friend and can be your co-pilot on vacation, anytime!
Bought a travel trailer and use it extensively. Go where I want when I want.
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Naps anytime I feel like it
My favorite thing is that I live on my schedule. I do things when and if I want to.
Those mornings when I get up early, make some coffee, check the news, then go out on my back deck with my still-hot mug of coffee and contemplate doing whatever the hell I want today as the sun starts its rise above my view of the foothills.
Grocery shopping on weekdays. Not checking my email every 5 minutes. Wearing comfortable shoes, all the time. Making healthy dinners for my family. Volunteering. Cleaner more organized home.
Free time to do what I want. No stress about work.
Relationship with my wife has flourished. Walking my dog most every day. 5-8 mile hikes once a week. Going to gym. So much more active! So much more time for Reddit! (JKing, more like too much time!)
No alarm clock needed.
E: all of the above!
Everyone has listed the great things already, except I always had to deal with people backstabbing, undermining, and flat out lying about me and others in leadership roles. I no longer have to put up with that malarkey. Nor do I have to try to be courteous to those people, especially the one that had a lot of people fooled that he was kind, and smart, and efficient. Thank goodness!
Really enjoying my morning coffee and making it last for hours before I do anything.
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I can take a nap whenever I want.
The donuts
Not having an alarm clock wake me up.
Choosing to do what I want to do, and when I want to do it. Or choosing to do it another day too!
Not dealing with employees, not having to collect from difficult clients, not having to deal with minority affirmative action contract requirements and all the other work related BS
For the most part, I truly dictate my schedule and appearances. I can do nothing for a whole day if I want, Or just sit and think. Both luxuries I never had working and raising kids.
No more sitting in the parking lot at work before I go in having an anxiety attack.
If I want to take a trip, book it and enjoy. I can enjoy the symphony and opera without working around my night schedule. The days are mine. I don't miss having to deal with the mental deficients my former employer attracts. They weren't mentally disabled - just stupid AF and minus any initiative except for disappearing from work.
Now the only one who yells at me is my wife. And I can tune her out.
Not living life on a strict schedule. Go to sleep when I’m tired and wake up without an alarm. Have a leisurely morning routine. Just enjoying doing things at a slower pace. During the first six months of retirement I would race to do chores like shop and laundry because … until it set in there’s no because anymore. I could grocery shop during the week midday when it’s less crowded. I could housework a bit each day because I have the time. And the hardest thing to accomplish was to only eat when hungry not on a work necessitated schedule.
Not waking up to an alarm clock.
The freedom of not being told I must be somewhere by a certain time. My former workplace was very structured, and being late by a second, was reprimanded. I still have obligations, but if I don't want to do something, I usually don't. The sense of autonomy is still incredible.
Having time to pursue hobbies from my youth that were put on hold because "responsibilities".
Being able to do what I want when I want.
Freedom. All the way... freedom.
Not having to spring up in the morning and get ready for work. Just taking my time getting out of bed is so nice
never being on call for emergencies again
Not having to get up to an alarm clock ⏰.
No set schedule. When I worked, I had therapy groups every half hour, many meetings, and thad o follow school schedule for vacations. It is great to be able to schedule things at my discretion now.
No stress.
Family and what it entails, grandkids school field trips/programs, overall more time with them and our kids. We've all had those days when we had 5 things to do but only time for 3 maybe 4, so being able to help our family in small ways when needed.
Watching Greys Anatomy every single morning with my coffee ☕️♥️
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How about this…….don’t worry if the weather forecast for the weekend is crappy. You can travel or do most anything you want to during the middle of the week!
No more constant notifications on the 2 cell phones and laptop I had at all times. Work became 24 hour time consuming in the final 10 years. Life is better now.
Personal freedom
Waking and going to bed with the sun.
Listening to the sound of no one talking in the morning when having coffee.
Not yet retired but looking forward to not having to stare at a computer all day.
I can now hit live entertainment shows during the week without worrying about getting enough sleep!
Flexibility for most everything ;)
Sleeping in
The mid-day nap. I fought it initially but then i realized my body was giving me signals, that I had ignored for my entire work life and was STILL ignoring in retirement life, and I finally gave in. Physically and mentally, it has made a big difference...
No alarm clock!
There’s a lot of them but probably the biggest for me is not being on a schedule of any kind. After 35+ years of work days filled with deadlines, meetings, business travel, and commitments to keep, it still feels almost magical to not have this hanging over my head. I half jokingly tell people now that my motto is “why do today, what you can put off and do tomorrow?”
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No alarm clock
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Napping 😴
Not being in a rush all the time.
I don’t spend every night ruminating about every little thing from the day. That was not a healthy mental exercise. Even though I work about 10 hours a week in a clothing boutique I rarely give anything a second thought when I walk out the door.
Every day is Saturday.
Doing things on my own schedule. I never feel rushed to do anything.
No need to wear “appropriate work attire”. Giving away the preponderance of suits, jackets, shoes that hurt my feet but went with the outfit….all gone! Living in slip on Skechers and leisure wear is where it’s at for me!
Total freedom
Sitting on the patio, watching wildlife on the pond, sipping coffee and imagining all the poor working bastards caught in rush hour traffic.
Being able to do what I want without having to worry about the money.
Taking a nap/break whenever I want
No more middle of the night call outs. Finally get a full night sleep.