
Time Management in Retirement
Managing time in retirement is different. When you are at work life seems to be compartmentalised into three different areas. The working day, weekday evenings and weekends. I don’t know about you but we were usually too exhausted after our long commutes to do much on weekday evenings ( I think exhaustion took over when getting child care ceased to be a consideration) so that just left weekends to plan and most weekends we were looking at one activity plus a chill out day.
All this has completely changed. First off we have to identify the day of the week, more of a challenge when your life is not so much routine based . We did think at one point we should have a vote each morning on what day it was but regretfully dismissed this as a tad impractical! Then we have to choose what to do. The possibilities are endless, see the new exhibition at the museum, take a drive into the country, attend a drop in Yoga class, see friends. How to decide? I am, of course, so grateful that we are lucky enough to have all these opportunities and to be able to take advantage of them. In the first heady days of retirement we were like kids in a sweet shop, amazed at all the goodies on offer and wanting to grab it all. Unbelieving that there were so many rich possibilities.
A year on we have calmed down a bit. We now have some regular commitments, (yoga and dance classes for me) which make it easier to know which day of the week it is. Because of this weekends have turned back into weekends, which we are finding helpful. We have also tried to stop doing or booking things just because we can – we got to the stage a one point this year where we were thinking oh no! we have to go to the theatre again tonight as if it were a chore rather than a treat. This was a bit of a turning point and we started to set some guidelines about what we would book and what we wouldn’t. All this activity was also compounded by the need to get to know people in our new neighbourhood and feeling that we shouldn’t turn down any opportunity to meet new people.
Overall I feel we are beginning to get there, we are managing to carve out a bit more space for our individual creative projects as well as do things outside of the house both together and separately. After all it has turned out like most things, to be about maintaining balance. I’d love to hear your stories about time management in retirement – do share any good tips you have
I think what we’ve learned over the retirement years is to try to keep the weekends free and doing things during the week days. Usually it’s less crowded, slower paced and not as much traffic. That being said, after nearly 10 years we are still fine tuning all this time we now have.
I think thats a good tip Carol – thanks
I love it!!!
Thank you Anka
How wonderful to have so many options to pick and choose from! I love being retired and, being single, I don’t even have to consider anyone else’s needs or desires most of the time. The limiting factor for me is being on a greatly reduced, fixed income. But since I am an introvert and a homebody by nature, my own needs and desires are pretty simple. I have always been content with a “small life” – quiet but full. The greatest joy to me is simply my time being my own. Having the freedom to go outside on a beautiful day, instead of being chained to a desk no matter what, is the best part of retirement for me.
Entirely agree with you about the freedom to be outside, it make a huge difference. Finances are the limiting factor for many retired people but I have been amazed at how much you can do around here for free or minimal cost. What I find most important though is appreciating what I have and recognising joy in the moment, sound as if you do too!