A New Chapter or: How I’m Learning to Stop Working and Love Retirement
As of 5 PM today, for the first time in 27 years, I am unemployed. Not because I was laid off or fired. I am jobless by choice. I am what they call… retired.
Now you might be saying, “You’re too young to be retired.” Which is true up to a point. Technically one must be fifty-five to retire from the university where I worked (past tense!). I am two years short of that mark. I always expected to stick it out for the full term, even when we started planning for an early retirement.
As it turned out, putting in those last couple of years didn’t offer much in return. We don’t need the tuition benefit (no kids), retiree health insurance was less expensive with my wife’s insurance, and I already have access to campus perks as an alumnus. So, I’ll take those two years back even though it means the university says I’m resigning. I prefer to think of it as retirement with a little “r”.
Whatever anyone wants to call it, I’m ready to explore everything it offers. For one thing, there’s no shortage of things for me to pursue with what used to be working hours. Projects around the house, hobbies set aside for years, shelves of unread books, and all those places to travel. And let’s not forget the wonderful world of… doing nothing. Especially doing nothing and not feeling guilty about it. I like the sound of that combination.
And no, I’m not walking away from the world of the IT Pro (not that anyone was worried about that). I still enjoy playing with these tools and we all need to feel useful now and then. Regular employment isn’t in the cards for me (for now), but if an interesting opportunity knocks, why not answer?
Until then, I’ll be over here figuring out what’s next. See you around.
It’s awesome. 11 months for me so far, but I don’t write as much software as I thought I would anymore. Other things are consuming more of my time at the moment, but we’ll see what this winter brings.
Congratulations on 11 months! I fully expect that things will unfold in a way I won’t expect. Trying not to set any great expectations for now and instead savor it for a bit before I get serious about figuring it all out.
Super news – congrats!
At 57 I sold my company….stayed around minimally P/T for another 2 years and pulled the full plug just as I turned 60. Wish I did it 10 years earlier. Congrats to you….and don’t feel guilty. Be selfish those first few years and than you can decide what you want to do!
Thanks. For a while whenever I’d pick up my Xbox controller and play a game, I wouldn’t play long because I felt guilty doing that instead of something that was more “productive”. Eventually I moved past that and realized that taking a break and doing something fun is just as productive from a mental perspective.