The Stalled Clock

I officially retired in the afternoon of January 31st. My inner clock stalled at the moment I said my farewells and made my way from the office to my car. I used to think that days fell into place naturally and whether you gauged the week by the start of the weekend or the return to work it would always fall into place regardless. I was wrong, I wasn’t ready for everyday being Saturday.

A good friend asked me “do you really need a schedule?” I think I can honestly answer yes. Without some sort of routine, even if you exercise your retiree right to change it, the days just flow from bedtime to bedtime. Without a Monday morning there is no Tuesday.

My intention was to wean my self off the work habit and to do it at my pace. I hoped to transition from a full workweek to a part time week of half  the hours. You spend your career ramping up the challenges you accept and with the traditional retirement model that suddenly stops on the day before you actually retire. I can see where so many fail miserably at retirement or put off retiring to the point where there is no retirement life left.

There is a misconception that people who try to do what I wanted are retiring through the front door and sneaking back in the back door. I guess it is a misguided jealousy driving their judgment. I can’t see how a meager part time salary changes someones  wealth to any degree. What it does do is afford a retiree the opportunity to tie the loose ends, adjust and be more prepared for the days ahead. The employer gains the time to give the new employee a solid mentoring if they have timed it right.