My proposed FIRE routine

[G-String]

I'm still 8-10 years away from FIRE, but am already starting to think about what my life and daily routine would look like when I am retired.  For those of you who are retired, what do you think if these plans:

1. Go to the gym 5-6 times per week in the morning.  I think this would also help to meet new people and make some friends, while also staying in shape.  Right now I work out in my basement gym, but I think in retirement, I'd want to get out of the house more, with me no longer having to go to the office every day.  And they have classes at the local YMCA, so I’d probably join some of those as well. 

2. I love travelling.  What I'd like to do is spend 2-3 months every winter in a LCOL warm climate like Texas, or perhaps another country.  Then take another 2-3 couple week or so vacations throughout the year to different destinations around the world.  I’d plan to have a fairly significant travel budget. 

3. At this time, I have no kids, so perhaps I could become a Big Brother.

4. Take classes.  I’ve always wanted to learn more about website building, and working with my hands.  I’d love to take a course on learning how to work on my car.  Perhaps a personal finance/investment course. 

5. I really enjoy finance so I would continue to spend time online researching my investments and learning about finance.   

6. Volunteer, perhaps once or twice a week.  Not sure exactly what type of volunteer work, but I think this is something I’d enjoy. 

7. Perhaps start an online business, that I enjoy.  But if it make none, or very little profit, that would be fine. 

8. I really enjoy cycling so I’d like to find a cycling club. 

9. Follow the local sports teams.  The local football club holds open practices 2-3 times per week during the summer and fall, which is something I currently enjoy watching, but can rarely attend because I'm at work during the day.  In retirement I could attend all/most practices. 

What do you think?  Would this keep me busy? 

[CowboyAndIndian]

It will keep you very busy! You have a great plan. People who do not have plans like this, end up very depressed in retirement.

I believe that the 3 keys to retirement activities are

- Physical Activity.
- Intellectual Stimulation.
- People Interaction.

So, glad you came up with a lot of activities including a lot of physical exercises. Also, the activities with other people (YMCA, big brother, cycling, etc.) are great, because you need interactions with other people. Additionally, you have intellectual stimulation with the finance/software/business stuff. You end up with all the 3 requirements that I listed.

It is highly likely that other opportunities will show up and you will end up doing things that you never planned to do. In my case, I have never gardened or wanted to do so in my retirement. I have actually started planting a butterfly garden at my house. Also, I never planned to volunteer. But the butterfly garden interest led to a volunteer gig where we plant a butterfly meadow in one of our townships gardens. Photography was a minor interest before FIRE, but it became big when I got interested in birds and wanted to photograph them.

On the other hand, planned activities like traveling extensively came to complete halt when I fell sick after a trip to Mexico with GBS (Gillian-Barre Syndrome) and now my neurologist has limited travel except in a few places (US, India, and Western Europe).
My plans to work on my websites which seemed like a great idea before seemed too much like work after FIRE and I have not touched code in the 2 years I have been retired.

Life also slows down in retirement. You do not have a compulsion to continuously keep busy. If you end up doing even a subset of what you have proposed, you will have a great retirement. 

[infromsea]

I'm still 8-10 years away from FIRE, but am already starting to think about what my life and daily routine would look like when I am retired.  For those of you who are retired, what do you think if these plans:

It's a great plan, to deviate from. Relax and enjoy life NOW. If you are thinking that "I'll REALLY start living in 8-10 years when I'm retired" you are in for a surprise.

When you do retire, guess who'll you'll be... the same person you are now, it's not enlightenment, angels don't fly down from the sky and anoint your head in retirement oil etc. etc. etc.

I say this to say, live NOW. Stop thinking about 8-10 years "down the road" so much, make your life into what you want it to be now and move on. Who knows who you will be/what you'll be into/what will bring you joy in 8-10 years? I bet you DO know what brings you joy NOW, what are you passionate about NOW, who are you NOW? Focus on that, and good luck on your journey down your path.

EDIT:
Funny how we find things at the right time/moment. A suggested link, starting around the 10 minute mark he speaks to some of what I'm trying to convey:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V80-gPkpH6M    (Yes, he's over the top and can be annoying but the message still "works" in a lot of ways, though he gets a little woo-woo for my taste near the end...)

[G-String]

I'm still 8-10 years away from FIRE, but am already starting to think about what my life and daily routine would look like when I am retired.  For those of you who are retired, what do you think if these plans:

It's a great plan, to deviate from. Relax and enjoy life NOW. If you are thinking that "I'll REALLY start living in 8-10 years when I'm retired" you are in for a surprise.

When you do retire, guess who'll you'll be... the same person you are now, it's not enlightenment, angels don't fly down from the sky and anoint your head in retirement oil etc. etc. etc.

I say this to say, live NOW. Stop thinking about 8-10 years "down the road" so much, make your life into what you want it to be now and move on. Who knows who you will be/what you'll be into/what will bring you joy in 8-10 years? I bet you DO know what brings you joy NOW, what are you passionate about NOW, who are you NOW? Focus on that, and good luck on your journey down your path.

This is really great advice, and I do try to do as much of this now as I can.  I take a 2-week vacation once a year, I work out 3 times a week (in the basement not at the YMCA), I attend football practices whenever I can, I do have a website with a small business but don't spend much time on it, I cycle to work and sometimes on weekends, and I research finance/investments when I can. 

The problem is that with working M-F, that takes up 10 hours of my day (including commute), so when I get home I have no energy to do much else.  So I kind of see retirement as an extension of what I do now, but on steroids. 

[MasterStache]

I'm still 8-10 years away from FIRE, but am already starting to think about what my life and daily routine would look like when I am retired.  For those of you who are retired, what do you think if these plans:

It's a great plan, to deviate from. Relax and enjoy life NOW. If you are thinking that "I'll REALLY start living in 8-10 years when I'm retired" you are in for a surprise.

When you do retire, guess who'll you'll be... the same person you are now, it's not enlightenment, angels don't fly down from the sky and anoint your head in retirement oil etc. etc. etc.

I say this to say, live NOW. Stop thinking about 8-10 years "down the road" so much, make your life into what you want it to be now and move on. Who knows who you will be/what you'll be into/what will bring you joy in 8-10 years? I bet you DO know what brings you joy NOW, what are you passionate about NOW, who are you NOW? Focus on that, and good luck on your journey down your path.

EDIT:
Funny how we find things at the right time/moment. A suggested link, starting around the 10 minute mark he speaks to some of what I'm trying to convey:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V80-gPkpH6M    (Yes, he's over the top and can be annoying but the message still "works" in a lot of ways, though he gets a little woo-woo for my taste near the end...)

Very good advice. I used to take walks during lunchtime and ponder a better life in early retirement. Now that I am RE'd I sometimes catch myself thinking into the future when the kids are gone and we are travelling more. I have to remind myself that being in the now is the absolute best moment and should be enjoyed.

[MrThatsDifferent]

Sure, sure, all of that will keep you busy, but here’s the best way to know: start those things now! You’re not guaranteed tomorrow. You can do some if not all of things on your list now. You don’t need to do all at once though or even to the fullest degree, but test things out or pilot ideas to see what you like, and works for you. Live your best life every day, as much as possible.

[infromsea]

Sure, sure, all of that will keep you busy, but here’s the best way to know: start those things now! You’re not guaranteed tomorrow. You can do some if not all of things on your list now. You don’t need to do all at once though or even to the fullest degree, but test things out or pilot ideas to see what you like, and works for you. Live your best life every day, as much as possible.

That's great advice MrTD! I second the "experiment" suggestion, start doing little experiments now. Prior to retiring, I joined several orgs and "tried them on for size" and found that they didn't suite me, after retiring (again) I don't have to spend any time trying them out, I know they are not my speed, little experiments like that will keep you focused on the moment, reduce your sunk costs later in life, and help you work towards your desired "future self". You don't have to eat the whole hog at once, try a little bacon every now and then and learn from that.

[sui generis]

I second the advice above. 

As to the specifics of your plans, I think there may be a little....tension...in some of the ideas.  Not that it's bad at all, but could take some work.  See, I had similar goals to you...lots of traveling, but also lots of volunteering and getting involved in social clubs, classes, etc. at home.  The problem is if you travel a lot, it's hard to get deeply connected to your club, class, etc. You'll miss a lot of what they do and always be on the sort of peripheral circle vs. in the center.  The center meaning like, doing the most integral things that make a difference (as a volunteer) or really learning what you are there to learn in a class or just making friends and really being in on the social environment (regardless of activity).  And if you do get pretty committed to any one or two of those things at home, you may find yourself not as enthusiastic about traveling as much or you may feel a bit guilty about always, e.g., being gone for those weekly get-togethers you are supposed to do with your Little Brother, or having to find someone to cover you at your weekly or monthly thing (spot on the softball team, shift picking up food for the shelter, what have you).  It's nothing impossible to work with...just a word from the experienced.

So far for me (a whole 18 months), I've been traveling less lately as some activities/groups at home have some key happenings this year.  Last year, I did a decent amount of travel (maybe like 9-10 weeks total) but still not as much as I imagined myself doing, AND definitely had a lower commitment to 3 of my 4 volunteer gigs than I do this year.  I hope to do more next year, when I can step back significantly from a couple of those gigs, but am also hoping to get more into some other things at home I haven't had time to do like a Spanish conversation group and pickleball.  I hope to have 4 or 5 (or more!) decades left, so one answer is to do them all sequentially.  And to some extent I will (there are certain things I'm saving for when I'm older and likely less mobile).  But part of what I wanted is a nice mix of things at any one time.  Mixing is not impossible, but I've yet to be able to execute on the mix of things I had envisioned.

You really can't have everything, even when you are RE!

[deborah]

I read this yesterday, and decided to think a bit about it before I commented. It's funny how similar your overall plan is to my original plan for retirement. When I read yours, like @sui generis my main concern was the home commitments versus the travel.

Having been retired for about ten years, retirement looks nothing like I had planned. It also looks nothing like what I started off doing. It's good, but your priorities change and realities do to. I have frail, elderly parents who live a day's drive away and a commitment to them means that I cannot be part of my community the way I envisaged. I might need to be there rather than here. Similarly, I planned to start an online business, but the reality of that would have meant that I wouldn't be able to commit to other parts of my plan if I did so, and it soon fell by the way as my parents became more needing of my assistance.

Some people divide life into six groupings - I haven't got them in front of me at the moment to give you the proper wording, but they might be loosely characterised as learning, health, community, achievement, family and spiritual. You've obviously thought a lot about each of these themes, and come up with a plan that encompasses most of these, so I see it as a well rounded plan. However, it is probably too much to do all at once!

[Metalcat]

I mean...sure

You can plan all you want if it makes you happy to do so, but it's literally impossible to make decisions for your future self.

Who you are in a decade will hopefully be very different than who you are today. If you aren't significantly different, then you'll have spent a decade stagnating, so that's suboptimal.

So assuming you grow and thrive and change over 10 years, then you can't really know what you want or what will be important to you, and that's a good thing. It's exciting.

Go ahead and dream about your future, contemplate what *could* be, but don't fool yourself into thinking that you can plan what will be. That's not how it works.

Enjoy the vision of the future, but as others have said, don't try to live in the imagined future because it isn't and will never be real. It's not healthy to live for the future of your imagination, and doing so you miss out on the present, which is actually all you have and all you will ever have.

You only get to experience the future when it becomes the present, and then in an instant it's gone.

I say this as someone who had A LOT of extremely well thought out and deliberate plans, and then life went in a wildly different direction, and now I have new plans, but have learned not to fool myself about what they actually mean.

The only real purpose that plans serve is to help guide the decisions you need to make *today*.

That's it, that's all, nothing more.

[G-String]

Thank you for those replying; I really appreciate the wealth of knowledge. However I'm a little confused. I always hear you should retire to something, and not simply because you hate your job or dislike working. That's what I'm trying to do here; have a plan to retire towards something. And now I'm being told having this plan is not a good idea.

[Metalcat]

Thank you for those replying; I really appreciate the wealth of knowledge. However I'm a little confused. I always hear you should retire to something, and not simply because you hate your job or dislike working. That's what I'm trying to do here; have a plan to retire towards something. And now I'm being told having this plan is not a good idea.

Kind of...

But not really.

The advice to retire "to" something, really just means that you won't find happiness just by removing your job from your life. It means that your life still needs to be full in order to be satisfying and happy.

That basically means that you have to focus on building your best life *now* and then continuing it on in retirement.

What it doesn't mean is that you won't be happy if you don't micro manage what your future looks like.

If you already have a rich, full, and happy life now, then you literally don't have to plan anything. Your future will naturally be just as rich, and happy and full. Congratulations, you actually can't avoid it.

If you are dissatisfied with life now, then now is the time to start resolving that, and not waiting until retirement where that dissatisfaction will just be waiting there for you.

I personally dislike the advice that you need to retire "to something" because it makes it sound like you need to have a clear plan of what activities you want to do in your retirement.

Personally, I think that's total nonsense.

I have absolutely no clue what I will do in my retirement, and I'm retiring from my career in a few months. I have notions, I have projects I may pursue, I have tons and tons of options, but I feel absolutely zero need to know what will fill my time for the next decades.

Why? Because I've already retired "to" something in a sense. My life is already full, it's already satisfying, I already trust that whatever I choose to do moving forward that I'll be living my best life.

For me, the saddest future will be one where everything is exactly as I expect it to be, because that will mean that no big exciting surprises come along, and that would be really lame.

[sui generis]

I don't think it's a bad idea to have a plan.  I remember how fun it was to dream (aka plan) about it before I REd.  But I just wouldn't get too attached to the dream in any one form.  And for me, not calling it a "plan" maybe would remind me that it's just a compilation of ideals and ideas and not some specific set of actions I must take or I have failed in some way, etc. etc. 

I also agree that I don't love the formulation that you have to "retire to" something, for the reasons Malkynn stated.  I always saw people implying that you had to have one or two huge and specific projects that you have to be pursuing (probably that will make you some money at some point and it is probably writing a book, starting a blog or teaching a class about FI) or you "aren't doing it right".  But like Malkynn said, if you have a full life and are also of creative and/or intrepid mind, you'll be fine. I think to be fair that it's really people (like unfortunately, my father) that aren't entrepreneurial enough to even do anything other than watching TV that those kind of comments about retiring to something are aimed.  I tried to get him to retire to at least a little something (start volunteering with a pet shelter or take on some mentees at AA, which had been a lifesaver for him dozens of years before), but he didn't and was dead within 2 years of retiring (much less if you don't count the amount of time the medical system kept him alive just because they could, so they had to).

I think you'll be fine, with all of your ideas.  Just don't get too attached to any specific formulation.  But have fun dreaming!

[xbdb]

I'm still 8-10 years away from FIRE, but am already starting to think about what my life and daily routine would look like when I am retired.  For those of you who are retired, what do you think if these plans:

1. Go to the gym 5-6 times per week in the morning.  I think this would also help to meet new people and make some friends, while also staying in shape.  Right now I work out in my basement gym, but I think in retirement, I'd want to get out of the house more, with me no longer having to go to the office every day.  And they have classes at the local YMCA, so I’d probably join some of those as well. 

2. I love travelling.  What I'd like to do is spend 2-3 months every winter in a LCOL warm climate like Texas, or perhaps another country.  Then take another 2-3 couple week or so vacations throughout the year to different destinations around the world.  I’d plan to have a fairly significant travel budget. 

3. At this time, I have no kids, so perhaps I could become a Big Brother.

4. Take classes.  I’ve always wanted to learn more about website building, and working with my hands.  I’d love to take a course on learning how to work on my car.  Perhaps a personal finance/investment course. 

5. I really enjoy finance so I would continue to spend time online researching my investments and learning about finance.   

6. Volunteer, perhaps once or twice a week.  Not sure exactly what type of volunteer work, but I think this is something I’d enjoy. 

7. Perhaps start an online business, that I enjoy.  But if it make none, or very little profit, that would be fine. 

8. I really enjoy cycling so I’d like to find a cycling club. 

9. Follow the local sports teams.  The local football club holds open practices 2-3 times per week during the summer and fall, which is something I currently enjoy watching, but can rarely attend because I'm at work during the day.  In retirement I could attend all/most practices. 

What do you think?  Would this keep me busy?

This is a great list and it's great you are writing this down. I made similar lists 5 years before I retired and I am finally working my way down that list one by one since I fired this past August. For example, I've lost almost 20 lbs going to the gym and eating healthy. Looking at your list, with the exception of #2, you can start on this list TODAY. Depending on your job, you may be able to do remote work in the warm climate of your choice as well?

Keep that list up to date as you continue on your journey to FIRE. Good luck!

[John Galt incarnate!]

I'm still 8-10 years away from FIRE, but am already starting to think about what my life and daily routine would look like when I am retired.  For those of you who are retired, what do you think if these plans:

1. Go to the gym 5-6 times per week in the morning.  I think this would also help to meet new people and make some friends, while also staying in shape.  Right now I work out in my basement gym, but I think in retirement, I'd want to get out of the house more, with me no longer having to go to the office every day.  And they have classes at the local YMCA, so I’d probably join some of those as well. 

2. I love travelling.  What I'd like to do is spend 2-3 months every winter in a LCOL warm climate like Texas, or perhaps another country.  Then take another 2-3 couple week or so vacations throughout the year to different destinations around the world.  I’d plan to have a fairly significant travel budget. 

3. At this time, I have no kids, so perhaps I could become a Big Brother.

4. Take classes.  I’ve always wanted to learn more about website building, and working with my hands.  I’d love to take a course on learning how to work on my car.  Perhaps a personal finance/investment course. 

5. I really enjoy finance so I would continue to spend time online researching my investments and learning about finance.   

6. Volunteer, perhaps once or twice a week.  Not sure exactly what type of volunteer work, but I think this is something I’d enjoy. 

7. Perhaps start an online business, that I enjoy.  But if it make none, or very little profit, that would be fine. 

8. I really enjoy cycling so I’d like to find a cycling club. 

9. Follow the local sports teams.  The local football club holds open practices 2-3 times per week during the summer and fall, which is something I currently enjoy watching, but can rarely attend because I'm at work during the day.  In retirement I could attend all/most practices. 

What do you think?  Would this keep me busy?

I think your plan will definitely keep you busy.

 For someone such as yourself who wants to keep busy,  I like your plan's  variety of activities/learning new skills.

[John Galt incarnate!]

I always hear you should retire to something, and not simply because you hate your job or dislike working.

I have never subscribed to the societal directive  that one ought to or must or should "retire to something."

[infromsea]

I think you'll be fine, with all of your ideas.  Just don't get too attached to any specific formulation.  But have fun dreaming!

This, this, this, this (and all the things Malkynn said).

It's ok to have a plan but don't spend ALL your time planning (in the analytical, forward thinking "mind") and none of your time in the "free-flowing/gut" mode of thinking, which often comes from NOW.

Think about the future, learn from your past, but don't dwell on them to the point that you don't experience the life you are living now, the day-to-day.

Example, I'm out for a run and I'm "in my head" about a problem I'm trying to solve or my schedule for the day, I run through the local neighborhood park and don't even notice it, I find myself on the other side of the park realizing I didn't even see the water/ducks. So, I turn around and head back in, making sure to LOOK and be in the moment. There is a time and place for both ways of thinking but too much time in the analytical means we "time travel" all the time and increase the speed of life to the point that we don't fully experience it.

[MasterStache]

I think you'll be fine, with all of your ideas.  Just don't get too attached to any specific formulation.  But have fun dreaming!

This, this, this, this (and all the things Malkynn said).

It's ok to have a plan but don't spend ALL your time planning (in the analytical, forward thinking "mind") and none of your time in the "free-flowing/gut" mode of thinking, which often comes from NOW.

Think about the future, learn from your past, but don't dwell on them to the point that you don't experience the life you are living now, the day-to-day.

Example, I'm out for a run and I'm "in my head" about a problem I'm trying to solve or my schedule for the day, I run through the local neighborhood park and don't even notice it, I find myself on the other side of the park realizing I didn't even see the water/ducks. So, I turn around and head back in, making sure to LOOK and be in the moment. There is a time and place for both ways of thinking but too much time in the analytical means we "time travel" all the time and increase the speed of life to the point that we don't fully experience it.

Monkey Mind

[EndlessJourney]

I'm still 8-10 years away from FIRE, but am already starting to think about what my life and daily routine would look like when I am retired.  For those of you who are retired, what do you think if these plans:

8-10 years before we quit work, we never would have imagined we would be doing what we are doing right now.

It's fun to dream of retirement, but IMO your interests, abilities and stamina will change in a decade.

You'll probably have a better picture of what you'll be doing in retirement about 3-6 months before.

And then when you do retire, it will be entirely different once again... :D