Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Retirement Readiness


For the past several years, whenever I've taken a week of vacation, it's left me feeling grouchy about having to go back to work.

"Lots of women don't work," my inner whiner grumbles, "why do I have to?"

 The simple answer is "because you like living indoors," of course, but I came away from last week off with a different take.

I need the structure.

Without an 8 a.m. deadline looming in front of me, I didn't get out of bed at 5.

 Since I wasn't up at 5, I didn't go to the gym. (It's open later, of course, but 5:30 is when all my buddies are there.)

Some days, I struggled to remember to brush my teeth before noon.

 The truth is, I just don't know what to do with that much spare time.

 It didn't help that My Little Town spent most of last week auditioning for the role of Hell in a new production of Paradise Lost and it was just too freaking hot to do anything outdoors, but even without that complication I was a hot mess.

 I did manage to add 10,000 words to my manuscript over the 9-day period, but to tell you the truth, I can do that, or better, when I'm working.

Someday, perhaps as soon as 3-and-a-half years from now, possibly as much as 8 or 10, I will retire.

When that happens, I'm probably going to turn into Jabba the Hut.

5 comments:

  1. I'm no expert on retirement.....I have been retired for only a week and a half, but I have to say "so far, so good". It is the first time since 2003 that I have been off work for more than a week and I had the same concerns you do-"What am I going to do with all that time?" I will have the opportunity to work a few days a month if I choose to and I know there will be some adjustments ahead, but it has been all good so far.

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  2. I suspect you'll figure out a new structure when you're forced to... having odd days of 'freedom' isn't the same as having to make a new shape for your daily life :-)

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  3. I know people who don't work and they don't look too happy to me.
    I enjoy a break as much as the next person but besides structure and living indoors, I also prefer being creative, I like a challenge and the general sense of being alive if that makes sense.

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  4. Since I lost my job, I still work. Only on my writing. I get up at 6:30, go to the gym, then get ready to start writing at 9:00am. I need structure. I need routine. And it's starting to feel right. I break for lunch, and in the afternoon if I don't have any errands to run, I will write until my husband gets home, or after a certain word count.

    I may not be going to a paying job, but I certainly hope my writing will eventually pay me. But in order to do that, I need a routine. I have to treat writing as a job. A fun job, but a job all the same.

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  5. Hi, Jeanne, I have an award for you at my blog!

    ReplyDelete

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