Ready or Not For Retirement Rachel - Just Jill, Rambler Cafe Blog

Just Jill is the creation of Jill Cohen Morris. Jill is an avid rambler and mother of two from Toronto, Canada with a remarkable zest for life and a fabulous sense of humor.

Dear Just Jill,

I am ready to retire. I have been ready to retire for awhile now. I have worked hard all my life and I want to slow down. I want to start to enjoy before it is too late.

I am also someone who loves to be busy. I like to have a routine. The thought of waking up and not going to work scares me. My work gives me a sense of purpose, of accomplishment and social interaction… not to mention a regular paycheck.

I need advice from my wise Sole Sisters. Are any of you retired? How did you know you were ready? How do you keep busy?

What’s a gal to do?

Sincerely,

Ready or not Rachel

Sole Sister Advice & Comments

I have friends who retired and now they always say “how on earth did they find time to go to work!” They joined clubs and walk with retired friends. Good luck. I will be retiring in 7 years and feel the same as you.
I've been telling everyone that I'm retired-ish. I've been filling my days with at least one planned activity as well...pickleball, gym, hiking, skiing, volunteer, until three clients came to me last week with opportunities. Now I'm in the "ish" part for a couple of months with lots of in-between time.
Being a self employed trainer/facilitator, I can take contracts that come along. I decided to Marie Kondo my life and practice. I only do things that bring me joy, have an impact and are with people who are wonderful to be around! Loving the freedom to be both retired and "ish"!
Yes! I started language classes, volunteer work, and social clubs. It’s amazing how busy you can be discovering yourself.
I was fortunate to retire in my 50's and found a new purpose in life besides being tied to a job. My life is much more enriched now by filling my days with things that make me happy and healthy. I have a vibrant group of retired friends who gather regularly for a variety of activities. I also keep my mind active by taking educational courses on subjects that interest me.
I am one year into retirement and having a blast. Started with a long vacay to South America and also traveling all the time to see friends and family. Also joined a Newcomers club and enjoying pickleball, needlepoint, tap dance, Sole Sister rambling circle, and a garden club. I also started a book club right here in my neighborhood and met eight friends from the first month. Also a literacy club assigned me a 1st grade class and I read to them twice a month. Keeping busy and having a blast. Enjoying All The Things I never had time for when my career was full swing. You are going to love it.
My retirement mantra is “one thing a day”. One appointment, one hike, one swim, one meeting. Only one. The rest of the day fills in! The first three months are tough! Especially if your besties aren’t yet retired. It gets easier. I have maintained one day a week of work after retirement. The paycheck takes me all over the world travelling with ease.
I love retirement! Similar to you, when, contemplating it, I often thought what will I do with all this time. I loved my job, it was demanding, challenging, and so much social interaction. I was concerned about lack of routine, isolation, and finances. What helped me was making sure I had enough money to retire so you might want to connect with a financial advisor or do research on your own with what you need to live on.
Prior to retirement, I thought about how I wanted to spend my day what was important to me which included self-care, social interaction, and what activities stimulated my mind, made me happy and gave me peace of mind. When you think about it, life is pretty short. Good luck!
I felt the same, and I am still settling into this phase of life. I 'retired' from my job, but called it "reinvention" rather than retirement. The word retirement didn't resonate quite yet. I felt a bit unfulfilled for the first 6 months.
Meanwhile, a part-time work at home contract job fell into my lap, it was a good gig, but after finishing that I felt more mentally ready to not be working. I missed the full freedom that no work offers. I need to keep my mind and body busy, I am volunteering once a week, exercising, learning new skills, meditation, more self-care, planning to walk the Camino Santiago, and rambling with the Sole Sisters. I feel busy now, but not too busy. I am finally feeling reinvented!
I am dipping my toe into retirement. I call it my 'soft retirement' as I work 5-days, then have a nine-day weekend. I started January of 2023 and it's been an absolutely brilliant year as I have time to be lazy, productive and social. I have read over 90 books last year and started painting lessons. I love the balance of work and play. My pay cheques go into my travel fund and I have yet to tap my work pension. I was worried financially that I was going to be shopping in the cat food aisle but I have found that not to be the case and enjoy whatever I want. One of the things I was not expecting in this transition is how fricking happy I am! Go ahead and jump!
Volunteering has saved me. I’ve been part of a children’s music charity for 15 years (hands on in the classroom and as board chair employing my career skills). My husband and I deliver Meals on Wheels two mornings a week. Three mornings that give my week structure and purpose and make the remaining weekdays’ wandering, dancing, learning and social ‘free’ time more special! And yes both offer flexibility for travelling!
I retired four years ago. I truly do not know how I had time to work. The days do get full for me. I schedule exercise classes three days a week and I schedule a walk once or twice a week. The rest is filled with daily living tasks and fun things like getaways, massage or acupuncture appointments, coffee dates, helping my parents, helping my daughter and my little grandchildren, a lunch or stroll with my husband or a girl friend, I love my gardening time too.
My advice would be don’t worry about not being busy enough because after you give it a good six-month try and if you’re not happy, you can always work again.
After working solid for over thirty years, I am LOVING not working. I have the government mandates to thank for early retirement, lol. I have joined hiking groups, sleep in, time with my puppy, kitchen creations, homemaking and gardening, joined a community choir, spend time with my aging mom and grandbabies, socialize and work out every day at a time that suits me.
I'm not sure I can sustain early retirement forever, but if all works according to plan I'm at freedom 54, lol. I don't aspire to huge travel plans, so that takes a fair bit of financial stress off. My next step will be to downsize to a condo for ease of maintenance, free up some equity and go mortgage free, and freedom to road trip and float around with my pup.
I retired and became an empty nester back in 2015…big change! But although the first few weeks—when students retuned to school, as did colleagues—felt strangely like some sort of void, I started to relax into the leisure of travel, more yoga, and reclaiming a social life that wasn’t related to my work. I received a lot of requests to volunteer for things…after 40 years of “service” I was okay with declining those although I initially felt kind of guilty. More volunteer stuff might be on the horizon but not yet.
I also got back into making mosaics, renovating/repairing my place, & refinishing/restoring old bits of furniture. More time for gardening during spring and autumn was a big bonus as well. I suspect the key might be finding what “pulls” you-rather than pushing you.