The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Post-FIRE => Topic started by: lifejoy on February 20, 2017, 11:38:32 AM
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I'm some years away from FIRE but currently I plan to have a lot of structure in my retirement: fun jobs, volunteer gigs, anything regular and scheduled. Toastmasters. Yoga class. Maybe go back to school, who knows?
For myself, if I have too much unscheduled time, I just laze around. Read, watch tv, eat. It's so bad. I think I will need structure.
How about you?
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I'm some years away from FIRE but currently I plan to have a lot of structure in my retirement: fun jobs, volunteer gigs, anything regular and scheduled. Toastmasters. Yoga class. Maybe go back to school, who knows?
For myself, if I have too much unscheduled time, I just laze around. Read, watch tv, eat. It's so bad. I think I will need structure.
How about you?
Sounds very Type A :) But yes, its good to have things to look forward to. But if its really important, hopefully you are doing some of them now. Never know when you might get hit by a bus, do Yoga today rather than hoping for a tomorrow that may never come.
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I'm some years away from FIRE but currently I plan to have a lot of structure in my retirement: fun jobs, volunteer gigs, anything regular and scheduled. Toastmasters. Yoga class. Maybe go back to school, who knows?
For myself, if I have too much unscheduled time, I just laze around. Read, watch tv, eat. It's so bad. I think I will need structure.
How about you?
Sounds very Type A :) But yes, its good to have things to look forward to. But if its really important, hopefully you are doing some of them now. Never know when you might get hit by a bus, do Yoga today rather than hoping for a tomorrow that may never come.
Definitely doing a lot of those things now :)
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I FIREd in October last year, so I'm still finding my feet.
I have a few health concerns that I'm dealing with so 2-3 days a week I have some sort of medical appointment. I have a massage one other day. My son is at preschool 3 days a week too, so that adds a small amount of structure. I've just started a bookclub that meets monthly and I've joined the local seed savers group, but it doesn't meet that often. Other than that I leave a lot of time unstructured.
However I'm a recovering type A personality, so I actually have a daily to-do list that includes things like:
-Deliberate movement (Swimming, Pilates, Yoga, Bushwalk)
-Quality time with my son
-Gardening
-Nap
-Create (Draw, Paint, Build)
-Spend time in Nature
-Talk to someone
-Listen to music
-Read a book
-Meditate
-Dance like no one is watching
Each day, I try to do as many of these things as I can, but I don't really apply any pressure to myself. My whole philosophy has changed in that I'm very gentle with myself and if I don't feel like doing something, then I just don't do it. It's wonderful.
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I FIREd in October last year, so I'm still finding my feet.
I have a few health concerns that I'm dealing with so 2-3 days a week I have some sort of medical appointment. I have a massage one other day. My son is at preschool 3 days a week too, so that adds a small amount of structure. I've just started a bookclub that meets monthly and I've joined the local seed savers group, but it doesn't meet that often. Other than that I leave a lot of time unstructured.
However I'm a recovering type A personality, so I actually have a daily to-do list that includes things like:
-Deliberate movement (Swimming, Pilates, Yoga, Bushwalk)
-Quality time with my son
-Gardening
-Nap
-Create (Draw, Paint, Build)
-Spend time in Nature
-Talk to someone
-Listen to music
-Read a book
-Meditate
-Dance like no one is watching
Each day, I try to do as many of these things as I can, but I don't really apply any pressure to myself. My whole philosophy has changed in that I'm very gentle with myself and if I don't feel like doing something, then I just don't do it. It's wonderful.
That sounds really nice :)
It's like having optional structure!
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Lifejoy, thanks for starting this topic! I'm looking forward to not having all that much structure in FIRE (when I get there... still years away!) and it's nice to read about all the options people have enjoyed.
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I've settled into a daily routine, but I don't know if I'd call that "structure."
My day goes something like this:
Wake up (time varies)
Meditate
Have smoothie and coffee
Go for a run (or do indoor workout at home - I alternate)
Shower
Have breakfast
Do artwork
Have lunch
Go for a walk
More artwork
Make dinner
Tv time
Read in bed
Sleep
/ Repeat
Most days are pretty much just this, then sometimes I meet a friend for lunch. I like routine (doing similar things every day) but don't like structure (having to do said things at a given time.)
Some days I do all the things, some days not. There's literally no pressure (exception for eating and meditating - those I do every day! ;) )
If I don't have a routine then I fall into bad habits like flipping through Facebook all day. So I need to have some sense of daily purpose.
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I like routine (doing similar things every day) but don't like structure (having to do said things at a given time.)
This is me exactly. I'm retiring in 4 months (!!) and am SO looking forward to setting up my time like this. I already do on weekends and extended vacations. i have a pretty good idea about what's enough but not too much routine and structure for me. Can't wait to drop the work stress and structure and make my own decisions about time and activities.
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I FIREd in October last year, so I'm still finding my feet.
I have a few health concerns that I'm dealing with so 2-3 days a week I have some sort of medical appointment. I have a massage one other day. My son is at preschool 3 days a week too, so that adds a small amount of structure. I've just started a bookclub that meets monthly and I've joined the local seed savers group, but it doesn't meet that often. Other than that I leave a lot of time unstructured.
However I'm a recovering type A personality, so I actually have a daily to-do list that includes things like:
-Deliberate movement (Swimming, Pilates, Yoga, Bushwalk)
-Quality time with my son
-Gardening
-Nap
-Create (Draw, Paint, Build)
-Spend time in Nature
-Talk to someone
-Listen to music
-Read a book
-Meditate
-Dance like no one is watching
Each day, I try to do as many of these things as I can, but I don't really apply any pressure to myself. My whole philosophy has changed in that I'm very gentle with myself and if I don't feel like doing something, then I just don't do it. It's wonderful.
What an excellent list!!
I am a SAHM who hates grocery shopping and housework..some days are more structured than others!
I find the unstructured days very difficult as they are then related to the 2 aforementioned chores which i hate (with a vengeance..!)
What i would love is to have a women's group that meets once a week to discuss finance/charity/books/encouragement/volunteer work/lunch
Urgghh...i need to put myself out there to make more friends! Difficult as i am quite shy in nature!!
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I FIREd in October last year, so I'm still finding my feet.
I have a few health concerns that I'm dealing with so 2-3 days a week I have some sort of medical appointment. I have a massage one other day. My son is at preschool 3 days a week too, so that adds a small amount of structure. I've just started a bookclub that meets monthly and I've joined the local seed savers group, but it doesn't meet that often. Other than that I leave a lot of time unstructured.
However I'm a recovering type A personality, so I actually have a daily to-do list that includes things like:
-Deliberate movement (Swimming, Pilates, Yoga, Bushwalk)
-Quality time with my son
-Gardening
-Nap
-Create (Draw, Paint, Build)
-Spend time in Nature
-Talk to someone
-Listen to music
-Read a book
-Meditate
-Dance like no one is watching
Each day, I try to do as many of these things as I can, but I don't really apply any pressure to myself. My whole philosophy has changed in that I'm very gentle with myself and if I don't feel like doing something, then I just don't do it. It's wonderful.
What an excellent list!!
I am a SAHM who hates grocery shopping and housework..some days are more structured than others!
I find the unstructured days very difficult as they are then related to the 2 aforementioned chores which i hate (with a vengeance..!)
What i would love is to have a women's group that meets once a week to discuss finance/charity/books/encouragement/volunteer work/lunch
Urgghh...i need to put myself out there to make more friends! Difficult as i am quite shy in nature!!
I recommend trying to find a kind book club. My book club doesn't Hate you if you didn't read the book, and so it's really a group of women getting together to talk about books and life :)
Good luck!
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I fired in October too. Still go in and work a little part time, about 3-4 days per week I go in about 8 and I'm out of there by noon.
I really enjoy working on the farm, and use my afternoons to do all type of farm related projects, getting lots of stuff done. Have plenty of time to do this stuff now, compared to cramming everything in to the last few hours of daylight or weekends like I used to. Also, have hunted and fished way more, and already have several trips lined up for these activities in the coming months.
If somebody calls and wants to go fishing, I go. If somebody wants to go out to supper, we go. If we decide to run up to the lake for a few days, we just go.
I like not being tied to a schedule, pretty much being able to come and go as I please, stay up late, sleep in if I want, etc.
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I like laying around and Watching TV. Loving eating too but combined with the other two not a good scenario! lol
Anyhow, I am closing in on 2 years this April and I have some structure but the best part is not having it for me.
I do every morning get a 2 - 2.5 hr workout in be it a walk or going to the gym and doing the elliptical and doing some weights.
I then do any chores be it shopping, library pickup/returns..banking etc... long and short of it its usually noon before I get home to shower then make myself lunch. Usually do some TV watching that results in a 30- 1hr nap then kids get home a bit after that then run them around. Weekends are like when we worked. Either we do fun stuff or am chasing kids to there events. For me I need the down time.
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I'm some years away from FIRE but currently I plan to have a lot of structure in my retirement: fun jobs, volunteer gigs, anything regular and scheduled. Toastmasters. Yoga class. Maybe go back to school, who knows?
For myself, if I have too much unscheduled time, I just laze around. Read, watch tv, eat. It's so bad. I think I will need structure.
How about you?
I've only got seven weeks of fire under my belt, so I am still in the early part of the decompression phase. But here are the habits that I've established so far:
Wake up, preferably around 7 or 8 AM to take advantage of and enjoy as many daylight hours as possible. I worked second shift for over a decade, so even 8 AM feels early to me. Sometimes I sleep in to my old wake up time of 10 AM, this is usually caused by not getting sleepy early enough the previous night because my old sleep schedule likes to reassert itself.
Much to my surprise, I have decided to continue with shaving every day. I look scruffy and feel unkempt with stubble. Second surprise, I make my bed every day. When I worked, it didn't seem like a worthwhile use of my time.
My last self surprise is something that I'm not doing: naps. Now that I'm caught up on my sleep, and I don't over eat, I find that I simply don't get sleepy or tired in the daytime.
I am exercising every day. Previously, my job provided some exercise (on my feet all day, walking, taking the stairs instead of an inconvenient elevator, some days significant moderately heavy lifting at a quick pace (50# sometimes as much as 900 times in an 8 hour shift.).
I'm eating a better diet. I've lost 10 pounds in the last 8 weeks (I started the diet the day after Christmas). I want to lose at least another 10.
The purpose of the diet and exercise is better health. I already know that left to my own tendencies, I would sit and eat most of the day. Getting obese with high blood pressure and cholesterol and no exercise would probably be a great way to cut my fire short. So I decided some discipline is in order.
I'm studying Spanish on YouTube. Not every day, but the days I do I try to put in at least one hour.
A bit of an aside here. For anyone who is interested, if you want to learn Latin American Spanish (instead of European) I recommend Ana on the Butterfly Spanish channel on YouTube. She is a though, enthusiastic, and personable native Mexican.
Her earlier videos start with vowel and consonant pronunciation and rules and work their way up from there. Her website, and her YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsLYD1Jyf3A
https://www.butterflyspanish.com/
I spend a few hours each day reading on the internet. General news and special interests, like MMM. Maybe not the best use of my time, but what the Hell, I enjoy it.
I'm about ready to start on my deferred minor home maintenance projects. Exterior windows need paint. Larger projects are removing a butt ugly tile kitchen floor, and refinishing wood floors in two bedrooms and a hallway. I may go with refinishing the underlying wood floor in the kitchen, or I may put down easy clean vinyl flooring. Also, new kitchen cabinets and counter tops.
I've turned on my TV exactly once in the past seven weeks.
I do consider myself to be a little out of step, in that I don't feel much of a need to socialize or do things to be happy or to escape boredom. So my fire may turn out to be less structured than most.