Filling the White Space in Retirement

As I’ve mentioned before, not working is one thing, but not thinking about work is the real reason to retire.  And since the truth about retirement is that no one is paying you to think about what they want you to think about anymore, you get to think about exactly what you what you want to think about every day.

So what exactly is it that? 

I jetted off to New York shortly after my last day of work, solving that immediate predicament.  A lot of what I think about here is in-the-moment stuff.  What subway line do we take to get from here to there?  What to do once we get there?  Walking or biking, a play or jazz, and what should we do about dinner?   Retired life so far has been filled with stuff to think about.

Between that and politics, my brain is currently at capacity.

So now I’m kind of wondering what I’m going to spend my brain on when I get back home?  With no vacation to orchestrate and no work to be thinking about, what will I replace that white space with?

Oh yeah, anything I want.

Related Posts:

            Maybe Don’t Try So Hard

            What is Retirement Anyway?

            Is There Life After Retirement?

 

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Comments

[RJ]

Thinking about thinking about thinking is making me tired. I think I will go take a nap. At least I think I am :)

[Retired Syd]

RJ: Maybe that will be my new mantra, when all else fails, take a nap!

[deegee]

Best thing about being retired (early) - taking a daily, afternoon nap! :)

[New at this]

Great post....One of my concerns with retiring in about 3.5 months is that work will no longer distract me from what is happening in politics...One of my greatest fears to retiring right now is the threat of another 4 years of Obama's push toward socialism....Regardless of where you stand, just don't know how the country can afford it without hiking taxes to a genuinely confiscatory rate...Could even see a "wealth tax" if the libs keep spending at their desired rate...Yikes!!

So I feel a bit distracted from worrying about this while working but once retired, will have to consciously fight the urge to peak at what Obama is trying to do to us next....Argh!

[Retired Syd]

@New: Sounds like even with a job you are not managing to avoid worrying about politics. I think you might have to reconsider retirement. If this is you not worried about politics you are in big trouble when you retire!

[New at this]

Get's worse, huh...? Well maybe Romney will win and we can all live in peace (for at least 4 years) without worrying about Washington....

[Retired Syd]

@New: Well not for me, I don't worry about things like that. I'll be just fine either way. But you might have to hinge your retirement on a Romney win.

[New at this]

That's why you are our hero, Syd...You must have a secret stash somewhere that let's you elevate above what others get bogged down in...

[Dominic]

Hi Syd you speak about retiring to something. What exactly have you retired to? And do you honestly ever get bored with your days?

[Retired Syd]

Dominic: Well it changes all the time. Generally, I retired to just spend more time enjoying life without the stresses of work. But the "to" part changes all the time. Sometimes it's to travel, sometimes to learning something new, and often it's to spend more time with people I love. But I also retired "from" unnecessary stress, structured days, and even to a certain extent, from boredom (the first time I retired.)

On boredom, everyone gets bored from time to time, whether you work or whether you are retired. In the entirety of my working life, though, I think I can safely say I was bored more frequently than I am now that I am retired. It's just easier to get un bored in retirement, since no one else is dictating how I direct my time.

Truth is, right now, I'm looking forward to a little boredom. I've been a little to go, go, go lately!

[Dominic]

Wow my answer if I were asked the same question I asked you would have been identical to the one you gave. In June me and the family spent 10 days touring Italy, and last week we went to universal in Florida for 5 days. You would think your batteries would be recharged when you return to work but mine weren't. I think I am so burned out with the everyday the same routine , and your right everyday is an adventure when it's not set in stone. Life is good when you slow down to take a good look at it. Retirement to life soon on my horizon.

Thanks again
Dominic

[Retired Syd]

Dominic: Sounds to me like you are ready! Hope you get there soon.

[Charlie]

Just read a CNBC article talking about the hurdle to reach the top 1% of wealth accumulation.

They revealed it changes with age: $5.8M - 40's; $10M - 50's; $11.8M - 60's;

So independent of where you landed when you retired in your 40's, any regrets over not sticking around to see the next plateau?

[Retired Syd]

Charlei: Nope. My feeling is that if I die with money left, I did it wrong. No point in working more years, waiting to enjoy life, just to have a big pile of cash left over at the end.

[Charlie]

Good answer, but if you accumulated more now, don't you think you could still figure out how to die with no money left...?

[Retired Syd]

Charile: Sure, but I don't see the point. You're trading more years of misery for money that you don't really care to spend. I don't see the payoff.

[Charlie]

Guess that's a good definition of "Enough", Certainly don't want to fill the white space with misery...

P.S. Why up so early on a non-work day?

[Retired Syd]

Charlie: You're thinking Pacific Time. I'm on Eastern Time this month.

[Charlie]

Ahhh, much more sane. Enjoy your breakfast.

[fred doe]

Replace it (what to think about) with nothing. Embrace the white space.

[Retired Syd]

Fred: Now that's the best idea I've heard yet!

[Suzanne]

White space is good, to a point. Be careful in there or you might never find your way out!

[Lula]

Love the above quote: "Sure, but I don't see the point. You're trading more years of misery for money that you don't really care to spend. I don't see the payoff."

But isn't the real point that 40 or 50 years is one heck of a long time to trust the markets/political system to preserve your stash....Don't you just feel safer trading up-to-date skills to an employer for a paycheck...?
Knowing that no matter what, you're still making a contribution that is worthy of being paid for?

[Retired Syd]

Lula: Well, I figure there's no such thing as a risk-free retirement when you have 40 or 50 years in front of you. It's a calculated risk--I'm comfortable enough with the risk/reward structure of my retirement to go forward without the paycheck.

There is also a very real possibility that I won't actually live 40 or 50 more years. So that's the risk when you decide to keep punching the clock. Our days are numbered, it's just a matter of how you'd rather spend the ones you have left.

[Tamara]

With regard to Lula's concerns -Speaking for just myself and my husband (retired at 48 and 56 respectively), there comes a point where the contribution and corresponding paycheck stop delivering any sense of having made a real contribution in the grand scheme of this thing called life. Making more money for our respective companies and their respective stockholders gradually stopped seeming very important as compared to all the things we're doing now to grow our bodies, minds and souls.

We work actively to keep our retirement lives rich and full, challenging and satisfying, but I think I can speak for both my husband and myself when I say we've never been happier.