NGC Im struggling with this retirement thing....How to stay busy?

[guzzisteve]

Retired one year now. I find the trouble with doing nothing is------- one never knows when he is done

The 'Honey Do's' are never quite finished.

[malik]

Like that!

Retired some 8 years ago, still don't have time time to catch up with all that needs doing as well as doing stuff that interests me. Motorcycle touring takes up a bit. Perhaps some 400,000 km in that time, including a couple of laps of the Island. Then there's keeping the bikes on the road & trying to get the others back on the road - 3 of them, plus the Brevada V7, the Katana 650, even before I get to the CX500.

As I like cooking stuff, I developed an interst in gardening - being a bloke, mostly edible - and have done a lot with native foods, which leads naturally on to preserving the excess (jams, pickles, chutney, drying & the like) - and to involvement in community gardens. Living in a heavily urban environment brings it's own challenges. Haven't yet got into bees & honey, but likely will. If foods aren't your thing, orchids are fractionating, as is bonsai, Japanese gardens, ikebana. There's lots out there to develop an interst (or a mania) for. And lots of interesting fellow travellers.

Brush up your language skills in your free time, or learn another one or two - keep the mind active. There's plenty of skills to acquire ou there (and useful ones like those welding courses). Came across a bloke who started a cafe proct on an old boxer - ended up doing courses for the skills needed - machining, CNC, painting, panel beating, saddlery, the lot - the end result was a work of art on the road. Took him a while, though.

Some people keep up their interest in fishing - all sorts - fly, beach, Rock, River - and go out of their way to feed their passion. Me, I just set a line overnight to see if I can come up with breakfast. Bread & worms.

Do they have Men's Sheds where you are? If not, set one up. There's bound to be some support you can drum up. You won't have any spare time for years.

Volunteer stuff is good. Check out your local needs - there's bound to be something interesting. If you're in a rural or semi-rural area, the local fire brigade, emergency services, coast guard are starters.

To get more ideas of interesting stuff, try to get hold of "The Whole Earth Catalogue" should you not have kept yours. (That dates me). There were 3 editions I think, probably no longer in print, but ask around at book shops, libraries, or your superannuated hippy mates. Tons of interesting niches to explore.

Above all, retirement is an opportunity to expand the mind. Now you've the time to work on that. I've found that taking trips to new places, the further away the better, starts the process. There's loads of interesting stuff out there. Pick something. With a little luck, within a year or two you won't have time to scratch yourself. And enjoy. It's supposed to be fun now.

[bobrebos]

I retired on my 68th birth day 4 weeks ago, I've got 4 motorbikes, wife's car, caravan, 5 grandkids, brother with cancer, 92 year old mother who can't remember what happened ten minutes earlier, daughter going through a divorce and she has had to down size to a very run down house. I have not got time to fart. LOL

Im a cancer survivor myself (So far anyways!) so sorry to hear about your brother.  Yep, you have a full plate!

[cloudbase]

You must have a teaching certificate?

My teaching is at a local university that also offers maritime certification courses for mariners to keep their licenses valid.  I'm certified by the USCG to teach a number of them, and do it when the school gets up enough students to run a class.  It's stuff like tankship familiarization, hazmat, and other stuff needed to keep their documents up to date.

[Muzz]

Retired just on two years now.

The honey do list, today's is replace popped decking nails with s/s screws and waterblast so she can get the good job of slapping on the paint.

Helping son out in his powersteering and wheel alignment business. Spent yesterday afternoon under the wheel arch of an SUV replacing enough parts on the mangled rh front to get it mobile.

Help my nephew out with mainly gardening but carpentry stuff as well.

A couple of 2 hour gardening jobs close by.

Play in the workshop. It is pretty well equipped and I enjoy making and fixing things.

Ride the bike more.

Not much "spare" time left after that. However I do things when I feel like it, if I want a slow start then I have a slow start.

[LowRyter]

I enjoy my retirement.  I am glad to catch up on 30 years of sleep.  I go to the gym regularly.  I can take rides, drives and vacations when I want.  I keep the yard nicer.  I do more maintenance projects around the house and on the bikes & cars.  I've gotten involved with a political party and was signing new voters at the Fair.  I like to BBQ and enjoy entertainment from cooking, going out and finding new restaurants.  I go to concerts.  I go to cheap matinee movies.  I visit friends in other states.  I never feel rushed anymore and every day is Saturday.

I think since you are asking, that retirement might not be for you.  For myself, I've never had a question about it.

[geoff in almonte]

My experience.....ssss ssslllllllllllloooo ooooowwwwwww down.  Take lots of long walks.  Get a bicycle.  Go for long rides.  Go 'splorin' on your Guzzi.  Get used to the idea that you don't have to work.  Shock your better half by learning to cook or doing the housework.  Decompress.

Get a part time job or voulunteer.  I took a part time job driving a special needs van for the local schoolboards.  I use that money to take my wife somewhere warm around the end of February.  And me somewhere fun on the Guzzi during the summer.  Schoolbus drivers get the summer off!

Enjoy.

G

[oldbike54]

I've been waiting my whole life to take it easy, so that's what I do.

 I didn't want to be the first to say it , but yeah  Stop and smell the roses , walk the dog , pat momma .

 Dusty

[normzone]

Alternatively you could pat the roses, smell the dog, and walk momma.

Careful about the thorns though ....

[cloudbase]

Not a single person on their death bed wished they'd worked longer or harder.

[oldbike54]

Alternatively you could pat the roses, smell the dog, and walk momma.

Careful about the thorns though ....

 It is becoming obvious why you can't spell normal 

 Dusty

[n3303j]

4 years into retirement so far. I'm so busy doing things the way I really want them done that I wonder how I managed to fit 50 hours of work time into the mix. Wife & I usually ride bicycles 5 miles to breakfast. Eat and spend a couple of hours over coffee discussing everything. Then 5 miles to back home around 11 to noon. Then off to one of a million things I've always wanted to do better or correctly. Then it's bedtime and repeat. House projects & honey do's are Monday to Friday ONLY and they stop at 5 (unless they are really interesting). I am retired!
Oh - Winters in Florida. No ice, snow or cold and a whole new bunch of people to bike and breakfast with (and no hills). I do bring a motorcycle.

[Gliderjohn]

A retired doctor recently told me once you retire spend 50% of your time taking care of you. Not bad advice.
GliderJohn

[jumpmaster]

All good suggestions.  The best advice I got before I retired about 5 yrs ago is to NOT PLAN TO DO ANYTHING SUBSTANTIAL for at least 3 months after you retire - unless you already are deep into a hobby/activity/2nd job that you already enjoy & intend to keep doing.  According to the 2 articles I read on the subject, people who can just "chill" for a bit before casting about for direction in retirement seem to end up happier in the long run than those who feel a compulsion to be busy right away.  I didn't do much of anything consistently for 3-5 months before I started getting active again, other than some of the bike & home maintenance activities mentioned by others here.  Then, I joined a tai chi class (any exercise class or activity would do), at first once a week, then twice a week, and now 4-5 times a week, plus 2 days/week meeting an old buddy at the gym for general exercise & running.  An exercise class may only be an hour or so long, but with the prep, driving there & home, showering & eating afterwards, you've taken care of essentially a whole morning or most of an afternoon & have done something healthy for your body to boot.  Make a couple/few friends & structure something regular.  I hooked up with a "breakfast club" of old fart retirees (mostly cops & military) most of whom met at the same mom & pop restaurant Monday thru Friday - the uniting thing was an interest in riding motorcycles far & often.  Anything regular like that provides structure you can plan the rest of your days around, too.  But don't plan too much or too rigidly.  The one dissatisfaction I have these days is that I don't have enough time to do everything I have the interest, time and budget for.

I originally planned on doing the volunteer things at animal shelters, vet facilities, etc., but between the exercise classes, motorcycle maintenance & riding, & the standing dates with 3 different groups for either daily or weekly meal meetings, I don't have time or the inclination to do many "honey-do" projects around the house, & my wife would also rather ride than clean house so the house is in worse shape than it was when we retired!   

[Rough Edge racing]

 

NGC Im struggling with this retirement thing....How to stay busy?

  My wife said if you can't figure out what to do, you're a goner........    

[Rich A]

Take up a new hobby or two. After retiring, I started target shooting (and shooting skeet and trap) and I also began playing taiko drums (the big Japanese ones). I ended up building a drum. Do it now.

Rich A

[balvenie]

Speaking of volunteering, I became a literacy tutor to adults.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Ok, I quite punching the time clock in 1992.    Until the cancer gig, I figured I'd live to a ripe old age. May yet. After "retirement" I finished up an airplane that I'd been building. I've built 2 more since then, and have a third under construction. I like barn find Guzzis, and have saved several. The latest is number 13, although only 8 were barn finds. I have a one horse machine shop, and I've been the horse.. until last year. I still support Ed the Rocket Scientist's business, but he has to send me a pup to do the labor. Just the last couple of days, I've been working with guys on the V11 forum to (hopefully) fix the transmission pawl spring breakage. They are still breaking after 17 freakin years. That's fun.. I read more, and waste more time on WG. I've taken over being the dinner cook. Did that when I first "retired." I do other stuff, too. As long as I "want" to. I don't work for other people. That's work.
Honestly, you need to find something you are passionate about and do it. Oh. And keep waking up. I think that's important..

[balvenie]

Forgot to mention that I follow my favourite sopranos on Twitter

[Guzzi Gal]

...& my wife would also rather ride than clean house so the house is in worse shape than it was when we retired!   

Excellent!   

Just chill for a few months, then evaluate how you feel about adding/subtracting activities after you get acquainted with your new self.   

[flip]

Help put on a Guzzi rally. That should take up half a year for you.

[bobrebos]

    Get your self an old well worn Guzzi to keep running -works for me. Or better yet get a pickup with over 150K on it, Fords work for me. It is a POS and is in constant need of something and if you have my luck there will be things wrong with it that no else has ever heard of. Grumble -grumble, where is that neighbor's cat when I need something to kick? Just kidding of course, but after my farming gig where the work is literally never done, a little boredom is a welcome thing as long as it does not get out of hand and is better than the final alternative.

Funny you should mention the F150s thing.  I have a 1952 Studebaker, 1973 VW Beetle, three bikes and a Dodge Ram.  Now im looking at a 1987 Ford F150 short bed....Its an addiction I guess.....

[Triple Jim]

Funny you should mention the F150s thing.  I have a 1952 Studebaker, 1973 VW Beetle, three bikes and a Dodge Ram.  Now im looking at a 1987 Ford F150 short bed....Its an addiction I guess.....

I'm surprised you're looking for things to keep you busy, but since you are, just a few more vehicles should do it.  Old ones seem to help more than newer ones (sometimes).  And as I posted above, boats work well too.

[Joe A.]

I retired this past April at 62 y/o. As I approached my last week of work a bit of panic/guilt began to creep in. Couldn't imagine not working so I applied for a part time job as a groundskeeper at a local museum. A week before I was to start, I had a change of heart and informed I would not be taking the job. The foreman (also a retiree) laughed and said no problem, he had gone through the same process. I will say that I was surprised how unsettling a process it was adjusting to not working. It took a couple of months to adjust.
 
Spring, summer and fall no problem keeping busy. started getting back into photography. After years of phone and "little cameras," I h ad to get used to using a SLR again. Incorporated this with hiking and motorcycling.

I was concerned about winter, and realized I now had time to attack all those little or annoying type projects around the house. I'm currently stripping doors and frames that have at least 100 years of paint on them. Getting everything back to bare wood. What is nice about retirement is those tedious / annoying things are no longer that. It's not like you have a weekend to complete the task, able to take the time and enjoy the process. After I paint the interior of my (very busy) brothers home, I will be remodeling 1 of 2 bathrooms. Never tiled before, looking forward to it! Add getting back into skiing after a 20 year absence (snowmobile phase), winter should not be a problem.

As my good friend Bob Wegman says, "When I get up in the morning I have nothing to do. When I go to bed at night I only have 1/2 of it done!"

[93spada]

Just Thinking........
 

10 Best Roads in America

« on: November 07, 2017, 10:26:35 AM »


Quote

 

So I came across this 10 Best Roads in America list on You Tube.
1. Pacific Coast Highway
2.Pikes Peak
3.Blue Ridge Parkway
4. Tail of the Dragon
5. Beartooth Highway
6.Going to the Sun road
7.Coastal Route 1 Maine
8.Grand Staircase, Escalante, Utah
9.Natchez Trace Parkway
10.River Road Texas
I have ridden number 1,2, 8, 10. But I wonder about number 10. How about Million Dollar Highway? Maybe they were afraid Montana and Colorado would dominate? In Texas is Twisted Sisters better than River Road? I have ridden both each has it strong points. So almighty all knowing Guzzi riders please weigh in with your thoughts.

Paul

[willard]

I'm not nearly retired at 24 years of age, but if I was, I'd like to think I would spend time investing in others, learning basic skills that I had never gotten around to learning (cooking, gardening, etc.), reading classic books, watching critically acclaimed movies, and trying to understand concepts that I hadn't had the time or effort to try and understand before (like basic basic physics, philosophy, etc. ).

I'd like to think even trying any of that would make me a better person for other people to have around. Mostly understanding other cultures, concepts, and skills, if I had to be a bit more concise.

Maybe it's a little too grandiose. I'm probably way too out of touch and naive to know better. I like it that way. 

[Triple Jim]

It's a good plan, Willard. 

[Vagrant]

Well I finally sat down long enough to read this topic.
tons of great suggestions here.
I pulled the pin 8 years ago at 62. the first thing I was going to do was paint the interior of the house. 3 years ago I hired a guy to do it while I was in Az for the winter.
Now I do remember about 3 or 4 years ago there was a day I didn't know what to do so I sat on my ass and caught up on magazines. I don't recommend that. every day you need to be out doing something. just don't plan anything.
I hunt, fish and ride the 4 cycles while I can. I know the day will come when I can't so don't wait!
Now, here is what I can tell you not to do after being in daily contact with independent business owners all of my working life and seeing too many failures.
Do not buy a business of any kind or make an investment in somebody else's. this is the easiest way to lose all of your nest egg.
Good luck.

[MMRanch]

Wow Bob

I retired about 10 years ago and ain't found the easy chair in the back yard yet ! 

I do have a bike rally at my house every year and attend at least 4 or 5 more elsewhere . 

My youngest offspring is 20 years old and supply's  lots of entertainment .

I did join the CMAUSA a few years back , we have "events" to help with and rides to do regularly .

I medically retired and it takes me a week to do a days work now , so the honey do list never get caught up ! 

[Sheepdog]

My dad said it best, “There seems to be just as much work to do now that I’m retired...only now I don’t have as much help!