Retirement and the Sense of Time

[pecunia]

For you folks that have retired.  Is time passing more quickly or more slowly?

Time usually flies by when you are having fun and can crawl at other times.

Old retired folks have told me that the weeks pass like days used to.  I've wondered why?  Many also say that they should have retired sooner. 

So - I wonder if it is age or situational?

[MonkeyJenga]

More slowly: I have more variety and fill my days with more fun. When I look back at the last 3 months, in a way it seems like I've lived more. Part of this is due to moving cross-country. I'd be doing a lot of new things even if I was still working.

More quickly: I'm not counting down the hours until I can leave the office.

[SunnyDays]

They definitely go faster now that I've retired.  Partly because the days are shorter since I get more sleep, but also because I largely do things I enjoy, so time doesn't drag as it did when I worked.  Also, I can now concentrate on the thing I'm doing, without my brain racing away in the background thinking about all the other things I have to do that day/week/month.  I'm more mindful now and time just seems to fly by.  Maybe I'm "in the flow?"

[MasterStache]

Irrespective of retirement I recently saw one my friends daughter is getting married. The daughter, and youngest of 3 kids, of another childhood friend I grew up with is entering her senior year in High School. Geesh, that alone makes me realize time seems to be flying by.  Both of these guys are only 3-4 years older than myself. Both still working of course (-:

[Parizade]

I find it's much easier to "live in the moment" now, so in some ways it feels like time has stopped. If I am enjoying a moment I can linger over it as long as I like. If I'm not enjoying the moment I can move on quickly to something I like more.

This summer has flown by, but it has also been so full of experience and mindfullness and memory that it doesn't feel too short.

[ysette9]

Time is going by too quickly now and my big fear is that I will blink and be 40, and then blink again and be 50 with so much life unlived. I am pinning my hopes on having more time in FIRE to do what I want to do, spend more time with my husband, spend more time with my kids, and be present overall.

[TartanTallulah]

Flying past! My "retired" days (I still do some freelance work and on those days a ticking clock hangs over my head for the entire day even though my work sessions are only 6 hours) can slip past in a flash without me accomplishing very much. Whereas at work I used to be bored a lot and find time dragged by even when I was busy.

[iris lily]

Time passes quickly because I am old. You will find that as you age, it goes gaster.

I didnt notice a tie to FIRE tho.

[G-dog]

The days are long but the weeks are short. I am not particularly busy, and yet the days do fly by! How is it mid-August already? Why is it getting dark so early again?

[meghan88]

Perhaps this has something to do with it:  https://www.bustle.com/p/does-time-move-faster-when-you-get-older-a-new-study-says-it-does-thanks-to-physics-16975137

I've read that it's possible to make time appear to slow down by learning new things in new ways.  It's learning that seems to slow the gears in a good way, and - as an added bonus - it helps keep our brains young.

So - dig into some new hobby or interest that will really challenge you.  I'm looking forward to having the time to do this!  (As it now stands, my days just glide by at an increasingly rapid pace.)

Re. days getting shorter ... yep ... we are racing toward the equinox ... arrrghhh

[pachnik]

Time passes quickly because I am old. You will find that as you age, it goes gaster.

I didnt notice a tie to FIRE tho.

+1
I am not FIREd but time has definitely been moving faster once I hit my early 50's.