TexasCHLforum.com

I retired in 2012 because my wife was going to have knee replacement surgery. The only thing that was keeping me working up until that point was medical insurance. Like you, any joy that I had in my job was gone since about 10 years before. I never did figure out why I was a star performer when I spoke to my boss only about every 3 months and suddenly worked for a manager who required me to check in every 3 hours. I managed a lot of people in several periods as a manager and never had an employee who required that level of scrutiny. But I digress.

Because of my wife's surgery, my transition to retirement was immediate. I went for working to being a 24hr a day nurse, cook, housecleaner, etc. Even after the first six week's rehabilitation, I still had a lot of things that I needed to do for her. Many people are not in the same situation and spend time trying to figure out what to do next. I didn't have that problem then or since.

What helped me:
- I built a spreadsheet which forecasted expenses. I did not want to take Social Security immediately and I felt better understanding what my financial situation would be over the next couple of years, given a variable inflation factor. I think having a good financial plan is an essential part of retirement.
- I have a ton of interests. We are very active in our church where we play musical instruments and I repair the church's lawn equipment. I race model sailboats. We have an RV which I maintain. In short, I work harder now than when I had a full time job. That is important in retirement because people can easily fall into patterns of inactivity and focus on the TV and the internet. I worry about things like dementia setting in due to more limited brain stimulation so I'm constantly finding new challenges. I just bought a baritone horn off Ebay (I'm normally a woodwind player) and have set a goal to play it with Tuba Christmas in December in Dallas, Ft. Worth or both.
- The thing that I missed most from my job was the social interaction with my work colleagues. I worked for my company for 38 years and had built up a wide range of contacts and friends. I've taken to social media to maintain some of those contacts but I really like the verbal exchanges, too. I'm working to create a new network of contacts where I can have similar interactions. Next week, I'll be taking a fellow who wants to get his CHL to the range to help him start that process. There is a woman friend of my son and his wife who also wants her CHL and she will be next on my list to help. I think that it is too easy to fall into a rut of limited people to talk to and I'm constantly and consciously trying to expand my list. I'm politically active and that has provided an interesting and varied group of people with whom I can interact.
- I had a good exercise regime while I was working and have maintained it in retirement. If you don't have one, I recommend getting with a physical trainer and developing one that will work for your and, more important, that you will stick with.

I can honestly say that I've never looked back. In many of my earlier jobs, I got tremendous job satisfaction and if I had left while I was working at them, I would likely have suffered. But I had learned to gain my personal satisfaction in other ways when my jobs lacked it over the past few years I think we all need to find a way to gain a sense of accomplishment and that is different for every person. I can also truthfully say that I'm much happier. I no longer of the burden of wasting my time on a range of insignificant tasks. I never was good at mindless activity just to fill work hours.

I encourage you to start planning now what you will do the first day after you no longer go to work and to set some specific and reachable goals (not like New Year's Resolutions) for the first several months afterward. I re-evaluate my week's activities every Sunday and if I don't like what is happening, I put plans in place to change it.