Author Topic: Post-FIRE Routine  (Read 7180 times)

HovEratoTo

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Post-FIRE Routine
« on: September 03, 2019, 12:06:16 PM »
Curious how you structure your days now that you're FIREd or downshifted.

For context with our situation: I "FIREd" last year, my SO still works full-time to pad our stash and get benefits. This year I took a part-time gig and work about 15 hours a week, on average. It can fluctuate depending on projects. We have a full-time preschooler and another little one on the way. When the little one arrives, I'll take a break from the contract work for at least 3 months, maybe longer, so things will change in the coming year. I feel like I do best with a routine, but over the last year have struggled to come up with one that will stick. Or maybe I'm still just not used to the slower pace and I feel like I constantly have to be doing things or I feel lazy? I'm mostly in charge of errands/shopping, cooking, appointments, housecleaning and chores, light yardwork, finances, and our social calendar. Staying active and healthy for the pregnancy is also a big focus right now. Also, being 32 and FIREd is pretty unusual, once my little one is here I can likely integrate better into the SAHM crowd but right now am a bit of an anomaly for my age, especially since we send our 3yo to preschool full-time. Some days I'm really happy with how I structure my time, and other days I'm like, WTH am I doing with my time??

Appreciate any perspectives, what's worked/hasn't worked for you, etc.

Fru-Gal

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #1 on: September 03, 2019, 12:43:00 PM »
Do you have any goals in life -- aside from what I assume was a major one (FIRE), and an incredible achievement? I have been living on my own schedule for most of my life, however I didn't figure out money till just a few years ago. Learned a lot about it by running my own businesses.

I need deadlines to move forward on most anything. There are ways to engineer accountability, such as inviting people to events, organizing things, etc.

Also discovered I don't fit in with many other mothers, so I didn't have a lot of support there. The ones I do fit with are a bit iconoclastic and have unusual careers/skills.

I would never be happy not working. I have at least 3 "jobs". In a way, however, I have the same problem because some of what I've achieved has removed some urgency from other life goals and occasionally I wonder when the heck I'll get back on track with them. Then I remind myself that I'm currently on a year-long journey of skill-growing.

Child-rearing is a massive 18- to 30-year journey so I'm not downplaying that. I often feel I would have achieved so much more if I'd had help -- that's mostly a uniquely female problem. But I believe kids turn out better when parents don't expend their life energy being CEO of kids inc, and they see their parents having goals and achieving them. When the kids get old enough, it's also amazing to enlist their help in your goals, a la Barbara Sher.

HovEratoTo

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #2 on: September 04, 2019, 07:20:34 AM »
Do you have any goals in life

This is probably the big challenge right now. My "goals" are fairly broad - raise good kids, be a good homeowner, try to enjoy life (which to me means spending time with loved ones, traveling occasionally, reading and learning, taking care of my health). I really gave my all to my job (had the same one for 9 years) and then FIREd before giving much thought to what I'd do after. I just reached a point where I needed out, stat.

I guess I'd like to figure out how to balance the demands of daily life (especially with a young family) with pursuing other interests. Maybe I just have to keep experimenting, but I'd love to hear more about what's working for others.


sui generis

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #3 on: September 04, 2019, 05:39:59 PM »
I still struggle with this a bit for a lot of the same reasons.  I have things I want and need to get done, but also I want to enjoy my ER.  I didn't retire early just to have to keep getting up at a set time and doing things I don't want to do when I don't feel like doing them. 

One thing I really love to do is lay in bed in the morning for a while after waking up and just read.  My book, my phone, whatever.  It's an indulgence of sorts.  And except for calls, meetings and other things I have to schedule, I don't schedule in anything.  The minimum of discipline I do need to make sure things get done is a To Do list.  I have a daily To Do and longer-term To Do and I try to transfer the longer-term (or broken down elements of it) to daily as appropriate so that I make progress on it, but usually never directly DO the thing on the long-term list.  But that is my way of making sure my goals in life (e.g., Spanish fluency, learning/pursuing gardening) don't fall through the cracks. Usually, I do still put "workout" and "meditate" on my daily list even though I shouldn't have to put obvious things like that on.  But I need to.  If the daily list starts to get too long, I know it's time to reevaluate my commitments.

Your system will vary, but this has been a pretty good compromise for me for ER, and hopefully you can find your equivalent of this.  It's enough of a safety net so I don't hate myself for being lazy or miss honestly important deadlines and tasks, but it's not so much that I start rebelling and get annoyed and petulant. 

Linea_Norway

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #4 on: September 05, 2019, 02:48:22 AM »
OP, as you are currently staying fit during your pregnancy, would it be a good idea to keep fit in general after your child is born? You could start the day with making a long hike or even a run (with pram). That would at least get you out of bed every day. Just give yourself a time to do this. Are there other young SAHMs who can join you on this?

In addition I would give myself a learning goal. Just find a new subject that you can dive into by doing it and studying it. Doesn't really matter what it is.

herbgeek

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #5 on: September 06, 2019, 06:30:16 AM »
I put together my own "weekly planner" form, that morphs from time to time.  Once a week I layout all the things I have to do (appts and the like), and what tasks I need to do at home, errands, and what projects I want to work on.  Just the process of formally sitting and thinking about what I want has been helpful to me.  I'm still finding my way on a schedule/rhythm (only retired 3 months), so this helps me from feeling I'm "wasting" the time being busy but not getting important (but not urgent) things done.

GardenerB

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2019, 05:45:38 PM »
I still struggle with this now that I am 1 year in after leaving full time work.  Not FIREd but similar - wife working fulltime still, I left high tech after 25 years (47 YO now), to help my wife since we were both doing 12 hour days when we realized we didn't both need to.  We now have less stress and share her work (from home) so no more >12 hours days.

I have the same ups and downs as you describe, when busy, up early, exercise (as when I was at work), getting daughter to school, doing admin tasks with wife's work, yard work, all house work, and the busyness keeps me from thinking what to do next.  But then when slow, same 'what am I doing and going to do with my time'? feeling.

I keep these items in mind from https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2018/10/05/the-fire-movement/

- Physical health FIRST: your brain is a system of meat and tubes, just like the rest of your body. The whole system will only perform well if you place its wellbeing first, before anything else. Salads and barbells every day, no goddamned excuses.

 - Mental health NEXT: feed your mind with happy input and learn to practice mindfulness, educational reading, and meditation daily, which is simply a workout for the brain.

- Daily hardship and Learning: if you are not sweating and learning and doing something difficult and solving problems, you are not living fully. Find a way to scale back the pampering and achieve more with your own body and mind.

- Indulge, but only with Moderation and Self-Mockery: this country is rich enough that you can become wealthy even without perfect self-discipline – even on minimum wage. But the moment you think you deserve or need whatever indulgence you are currently treating yourself to, you have lost the game. Luxuries and treats are just short-term pleasurable distractions, like any other drugs. Indulge if you can afford them, but you’re not missing one ounce of happiness if you choose to go without at any given moment.

Also relates to the 3 P's - we naturally need to replace the 3 P's once we leave company work - people, purpose, and patterns.

So I use our work routine, together with household work, and raising our daughter to provide most of this.  Thing is, this will need to be confronted again once the kids are >12 YO and independent, which is what I am dealing with now.  The daily learning/hardship is key - we are hard-wired to want to work for something to 'earn' it, from making spreadsheets to building a garden.  Work provides this by default - but we need to find our own way to provide it once FIRE'd.

GB

RWTL

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2019, 07:37:57 PM »
I still struggle with this now that I am 1 year in after leaving full time work.  Not FIREd but similar - wife working fulltime still, I left high tech after 25 years (47 YO now), to help my wife since we were both doing 12 hour days when we realized we didn't both need to.  We now have less stress and share her work (from home) so no more >12 hours days.

I have the same ups and downs as you describe, when busy, up early, exercise (as when I was at work), getting daughter to school, doing admin tasks with wife's work, yard work, all house work, and the busyness keeps me from thinking what to do next.  But then when slow, same 'what am I doing and going to do with my time'? feeling.

I keep these items in mind from https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2018/10/05/the-fire-movement/

- Physical health FIRST: your brain is a system of meat and tubes, just like the rest of your body. The whole system will only perform well if you place its wellbeing first, before anything else. Salads and barbells every day, no goddamned excuses.

 - Mental health NEXT: feed your mind with happy input and learn to practice mindfulness, educational reading, and meditation daily, which is simply a workout for the brain.

- Daily hardship and Learning: if you are not sweating and learning and doing something difficult and solving problems, you are not living fully. Find a way to scale back the pampering and achieve more with your own body and mind.

- Indulge, but only with Moderation and Self-Mockery: this country is rich enough that you can become wealthy even without perfect self-discipline – even on minimum wage. But the moment you think you deserve or need whatever indulgence you are currently treating yourself to, you have lost the game. Luxuries and treats are just short-term pleasurable distractions, like any other drugs. Indulge if you can afford them, but you’re not missing one ounce of happiness if you choose to go without at any given moment.

Also relates to the 3 P's - we naturally need to replace the 3 P's once we leave company work - people, purpose, and patterns.

So I use our work routine, together with household work, and raising our daughter to provide most of this.  Thing is, this will need to be confronted again once the kids are >12 YO and independent, which is what I am dealing with now.  The daily learning/hardship is key - we are hard-wired to want to work for something to 'earn' it, from making spreadsheets to building a garden.  Work provides this by default - but we need to find our own way to provide it once FIRE'd.

GB

I like this.  3P's give context around the sense of loss when leaving a full time job. 

I'm also finding purpose now that my son has left for college.  As in many stages of life, you have to continue to reboot and re-define yourself from child to adult to parent to ?


HovEratoTo

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #8 on: September 12, 2019, 11:53:03 AM »
Great list, @GardenerB. I'd say I hit most of these most days. A long walk is now a solid part of my morning routine (can't wait for fall days). Trying to do yoga at least once a week. Those also help with mental health, but I also do acupuncture every other week. Haven't been able to be consistent with meditation. Sleep is a big part of my mental health, too. For daily hardship, working a few hours a week gives me some mental exercise, as does my regular reading practice. Raising a family also feels like enough of a hardship XD. I don't think we indulge too much. I barely have time to shower, let alone watch Netflix!

The 3 P's, now that's harder. My contact with other people has dropped off significantly. Part of the reason I took the part-time gig, even though remote, is that I was going stir-crazy and it gives me more contact with others. I've been looking into local volunteer opportunities, though, which hopefully will help me get out into the community (people) and help others (purpose).

I have a loose structure to my day:

Wakup at 8
Daycare dropoff
Breakfast by 9
Walk
Lunch @ 12ish
Daycare pickup
Dinner @ 5:30
Family time
Bed @ 9:45

But I do think I need more patterns. Like, which chores get done on which days, which days I'll work and which days I'll be offline. I've just been very fluid about it. So sometimes I end up clocking more hours than I intended, or I don't need to clock hours but didn't plan out my day and I waste too much of it.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, everyone. I'll keep tweaking!

MasterStache

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2019, 01:38:15 PM »
I still struggle with this now that I am 1 year in after leaving full time work.  Not FIREd but similar - wife working fulltime still, I left high tech after 25 years (47 YO now), to help my wife since we were both doing 12 hour days when we realized we didn't both need to.  We now have less stress and share her work (from home) so no more >12 hours days.

I have the same ups and downs as you describe, when busy, up early, exercise (as when I was at work), getting daughter to school, doing admin tasks with wife's work, yard work, all house work, and the busyness keeps me from thinking what to do next.  But then when slow, same 'what am I doing and going to do with my time'? feeling.

I keep these items in mind from https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2018/10/05/the-fire-movement/

- Physical health FIRST: your brain is a system of meat and tubes, just like the rest of your body. The whole system will only perform well if you place its wellbeing first, before anything else. Salads and barbells every day, no goddamned excuses.

 - Mental health NEXT: feed your mind with happy input and learn to practice mindfulness, educational reading, and meditation daily, which is simply a workout for the brain.

- Daily hardship and Learning: if you are not sweating and learning and doing something difficult and solving problems, you are not living fully. Find a way to scale back the pampering and achieve more with your own body and mind.

- Indulge, but only with Moderation and Self-Mockery: this country is rich enough that you can become wealthy even without perfect self-discipline – even on minimum wage. But the moment you think you deserve or need whatever indulgence you are currently treating yourself to, you have lost the game. Luxuries and treats are just short-term pleasurable distractions, like any other drugs. Indulge if you can afford them, but you’re not missing one ounce of happiness if you choose to go without at any given moment.

Also relates to the 3 P's - we naturally need to replace the 3 P's once we leave company work - people, purpose, and patterns.

So I use our work routine, together with household work, and raising our daughter to provide most of this.  Thing is, this will need to be confronted again once the kids are >12 YO and independent, which is what I am dealing with now.  The daily learning/hardship is key - we are hard-wired to want to work for something to 'earn' it, from making spreadsheets to building a garden.  Work provides this by default - but we need to find our own way to provide it once FIRE'd.

GB

Great advice. I have always enjoyed physical exercise. Only recently started learning about and practicing mindfulness. It has really helped me relax and be in the moment rather than always looking forward or backward. Other than that spend more time on a hobby you enjoy.

soccerluvof4

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #10 on: September 21, 2019, 03:38:45 AM »
I still struggle with this now that I am 1 year in after leaving full time work.  Not FIREd but similar - wife working fulltime still, I left high tech after 25 years (47 YO now), to help my wife since we were both doing 12 hour days when we realized we didn't both need to.  We now have less stress and share her work (from home) so no more >12 hours days.

I have the same ups and downs as you describe, when busy, up early, exercise (as when I was at work), getting daughter to school, doing admin tasks with wife's work, yard work, all house work, and the busyness keeps me from thinking what to do next.  But then when slow, same 'what am I doing and going to do with my time'? feeling.

I keep these items in mind from https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2018/10/05/the-fire-movement/

- Physical health FIRST: your brain is a system of meat and tubes, just like the rest of your body. The whole system will only perform well if you place its wellbeing first, before anything else. Salads and barbells every day, no goddamned excuses.

 - Mental health NEXT: feed your mind with happy input and learn to practice mindfulness, educational reading, and meditation daily, which is simply a workout for the brain.

- Daily hardship and Learning: if you are not sweating and learning and doing something difficult and solving problems, you are not living fully. Find a way to scale back the pampering and achieve more with your own body and mind.

- Indulge, but only with Moderation and Self-Mockery: this country is rich enough that you can become wealthy even without perfect self-discipline – even on minimum wage. But the moment you think you deserve or need whatever indulgence you are currently treating yourself to, you have lost the game. Luxuries and treats are just short-term pleasurable distractions, like any other drugs. Indulge if you can afford them, but you’re not missing one ounce of happiness if you choose to go without at any given moment.

Also relates to the 3 P's - we naturally need to replace the 3 P's once we leave company work - people, purpose, and patterns.

So I use our work routine, together with household work, and raising our daughter to provide most of this.  Thing is, this will need to be confronted again once the kids are >12 YO and independent, which is what I am dealing with now.  The daily learning/hardship is key - we are hard-wired to want to work for something to 'earn' it, from making spreadsheets to building a garden.  Work provides this by default - but we need to find our own way to provide it once FIRE'd.

GB


Very well put and some of the things you mentioned I myself need to get back to doing!

HappyCheerE

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #11 on: September 22, 2019, 04:44:47 PM »
Posting to follow! I'm a few years out from FIRE but this is the piece that worries me - more so than the money. I have ADHD and for most of my life, lacking external structure has been a recipe for sloth and guilt and misery. I would set myself schedules and never stick to them. Over the years I've gotten much better about finding ways to make my own structure that I can take seriously and not blow off, but leaving the routine of an office job will be a whole other level of challenge. I plan to:
  • replace my bike commute with 1-2 hours minimum of outside movement every day (running, biking, hiking, walking, whatever)
  • expand my existing morning rituals (meditation, walk first thing, then coffee...)
  • have ongoing writing projects, fiction and non-fiction, with word counts for each
  • take online courses and audit courses at the nearby college
  • have patterns like you mention, @HovEratoTo - like Mondays paperwork and finance, Tuesdays being touch with family, etc. Decluttering/cleaning, daytrips, one-day projects - I can think of many, so might spill into a 2-week cycle
  • maybe have week/month/year themes too?

belly05

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #12 on: September 26, 2019, 11:22:59 AM »
like @HappyCheerE I'm still a few years out from RE but I've read so many stories of people struggling post RE that it motivated me to do a little thought experiment.  @HovEratoTo hopefully this general "choose your own adventure" outline is helpful to you! I've been operating with this schedule for about 2 years now, making subtle tweaks every few months.  The main benefits of this "choose your own adventure" approach is that it still gives me a structure I can follow, but its not super robotic or rigid. If I have a rigid structure I don't do well, and like the OP with no structure I really struggle and start to quickly float or tip into a small depression even.  Anyway hopefully you like the idea below and can alter it to fit your life!

Structuring your ideal FIRE day before you RE - A thought experiment
This is a thought experiment and general question I’ve been pondering for a while and would like to get others opinions on.  It seems that most people in the community who have retired end up having two major realizations:

1.)    They run into the “FI no excuse wall”.  Essentially they look up and realize that for whatever reason or another they have not followed some of their passions in life and without the distraction of a full time job, it's easy to tip into a depression after they retire.  I think a great recent article on this subject can be found here: https://www.madfientist.com/best-and-worst-about-fi/

2.)    They realize they didn’t really need as much money as they thought to “Retire”.  Mainly because they are not looking for a standard retirement.  They still want to do some meaningful work, and almost by accident end up generating income from this work which turns their “stach” into more of a rainy day fund that keeps growing and compounding on its own due to lack of tapping into it.  This is summed up very nicely on this very forum by Mrs. MMM’s post  here:
 
 “If I had to do it all over again, knowing what I know now, I’d downsize my house, pay it off, save about 200k and then find some enjoyable work that pays my monthly bills”.
Source: (https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/how-much-do-you-need-to-retire-early/msg27938/#msg27938). 
 
With these two big realizations in mind I’ve been contemplating if it would be beneficial to simply sit down and plan what my ideal “retired” day would be.  With a day mapped out I then wondered how much of these activities could be achieved without actually “retiring”.  In my case being self employed it turns out that I’m able to achieve about 90% of my ideal day…. Which then begs the question…. Do I actually really want to retire if most of what I’m day dreaming about can be achieved without actually retiring…?

For reference the “ideal” day I currently have on my white board is below.  I’ve omitted things like “spending time with family and friends” because for me if this time is scheduled it feels forced.  I’m lucky enough to live within walking distance of many people that I love, which generates tons of spontaneous meet ups which I’ve realized are way more fun and meaningful for me:


**Choose At Least 1 From Each Category Below**


Morning Drink:
·         Water w/ACV
·         Electrolyte Water
·         Patio Amazing greens power drink (Greens/MCT/Strawberry Protein/Everly)
 
Unthaw:
·         Neighboorhood Walk or Jog // hang pulls on bar
·         Mcconaughey chest bump // Jcurl stretch
·         N/A
Exercise:
·         Workout Video
·         Evening Jog/Bike/Stroll
·         N/A
Breakfast:
·         Full Breakfast – 3 scrambled eggs w/ground teriyaki chicken
·         Protein Coffee – MCT, Butter, Protein, Cinnamon
·         Fast
Manual Labor:
·         Sisters house remodel project
·         Regularly scheduled maintenance
·         N/A
Hygiene:
·         Shower w/Full teeth detail
·         Hot bath + book
Nap:
·         26 minute nap
·         unlimited
·         N/A
Altec:
·         Focused solo Altec work
·         Relaxed work w/name-redacted
·         N/A rec day
Freethink:
·         1 hour solo free thinking
·         1 hour free thinking w/name-redacted
·         25 Minutes of Spanish Practice
·         N/A
Unwind:
·         Meditation on Pillows // Water Plants // Stoic page // Journal
·         Sleepy Time Tea // Hot bath + book
·         N/A
 

Dicey

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #13 on: September 26, 2019, 01:30:51 PM »
Wait, it's past noon and I'm still surfing whilst wearing my bathrobe. I'm too lazy to read all the other comments. What was your question again? Oh yeah, I'm nearly seven years post-FIRE.

MasterStache

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #14 on: September 26, 2019, 05:23:11 PM »
1.)    They run into the “FI no excuse wall”.  Essentially they look up and realize that for whatever reason or another they have not followed some of their passions in life and without the distraction of a full time job, it's easy to tip into a depression after they retire.  I think a great recent article on this subject can be found here: https://www.madfientist.com/best-and-worst-about-fi/

2.)    They realize they didn’t really need as much money as they thought to “Retire”.  Mainly because they are not looking for a standard retirement.  They still want to do some meaningful work, and almost by accident end up generating income from this work which turns their “stach” into more of a rainy day fund that keeps growing and compounding on its own due to lack of tapping into it.

I actually did follow my passion (Engineering). Turns out, I hate sitting in a cubicle, structured routines, work meetings, deadlines, traffic, so on and so forth. Essentially corporate life. Also my retirement isn't "typical." I still do side work on occasion. I do some house renovation work for friends, family and referrals. I do enough to pay the monthly mortgage. My spouse still works and pays all the other bills plus carries the health insurance. We have enough to essentially let it ride for a few years so that we can both fully retire. We don't need to invest another penny, yet we keep putting money away. It works for us. Chart your own course.

Mmm_Donuts

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #15 on: September 27, 2019, 03:10:42 PM »
@belly05 that is great, I love this!

Here's mine, inspired by the choose your own adventure idea. I don't adhere to schedules very well, but I also need some sort of structure or routine to my day.

------------------------------


Choose 1 from each category:

FIRST THING

coffee / water / supplements / tidy kitchen

MIND DEV / CREATIVITY

Morning pages journal
Bullet journal
Creative project planning
Meditation

MORNING WORKOUT

Yoga
Workout video
Weight training
Jog / walk

CLEANUP

Shower / beauty routine

BREAKFAST

Almond energy bar
Eggs and veg
Smoothie

RESEARCH / CREATIVE

Meal planning
Garden planning
Daydreaming
Reading non-fiction
Creative Writing
Drawing
Photography

AFTERNOON NATURE WALK

Long city walk
Park walk
Lake walk
Errands / library / grocery shopping / outdoor photography

HOUSEWORK

Tidying up
Minimizing
Organizing

MEAL PREP

Make dinner

EVENING RELAXING

Reading in bed

————————

ONGOING

Date night with SO and discussing life and plans
Meeting up with friends for walks and sharing meals
Listening to podcasts

mbl

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #16 on: September 28, 2019, 07:54:44 AM »
Stepped up to be downsized back in May when I was going to retire/resign this December....all good.

I liked my work(software) but still pursued extracurricular things that I wanted to do all through my life.
I never, ever waited to do  whatever it was that I wanted to do....within the constraints of
married life,  raising our kids, family things....whatever.

I decided to start riding and have spent well over 20 years growing in that direction.
I did various aerobics and other structured exercise programs and the moved into swimming.
Have done a lot of church volunteer things all through the years and am still in it now.

I didn't have a job/career that caused me to typically have to work inordinately long hours.
I did have periods of travel overseas and domestically but have a great husband who
took care of things with the kids and the house while I was gone.

Each day seems filled with whatever I want it to be.
I have the freedom to ride, swim, do house projects on what turns out to be an earlier in the day schedule.
I'm pretty much doing what I've always done but with much more time to do them.

It must be difficult to RE or just plain of retire and have to somewhat start from scratch in creating a vision of
life that has up until that time been a dream or optimal plan.   
I feel that it's something that has to be constructed and built over a period of time.


belly05

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #17 on: September 29, 2019, 08:37:22 AM »
@Mmm_Donuts awesome I'm glad you like the choose your own adventure structure, and I hope it works well for you!

Quick question for you, what is a bullet journal? I've constantly attempted and failed to keep a regular journal so I'm always interested in journaling ideas....  Also I forgot to mention in my previous posts, for whatever reason allowing N/A in each category really helped me stick to this plan.  It sounds like we are wired very similar so I just wanted to mention this aspect.  When I didn't have the N/A choices, I'd start to feel to "locked in", and then feel bad if I didn't achieve something from each category every day.  Allowing that slack in the plan proved to be really beneficial.


Mmm_Donuts

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #18 on: September 29, 2019, 09:29:11 AM »
@belly05 Ah, thanks for the explanation of N/A, I was wondering about that. Nice to put that in so you don't feel obligated to check every item, every day.

I learned about bullet journalling from this website (this is the origin of it AFAIK):

https://bulletjournal.com/pages/learn

Basically it is a blank book that you can DIY into any type of content that you want. But it has a basic structure: There are different types of bullets that can signify a to do item, an event, or a note to remind you of something in the future. It has its own shorthand symbols for each bullet, and a system of organizing the types of pages. You can create any type of page you want, but the basic pages described on the site (and there's a book by the same author) are: index, future log, daily log, and monthly log. I also use it for meal planning, workout planning, lists of books to read, budgeting, etc.

Essentially it's a way to organize your thoughts quickly and have them all in one place. The idea of writing things by hand as opposed to using a calendar app or to-do app is that writing your thoughts with pen and paper allows you to slow down and think them through more, making your plans more intentional and engrained. Some people get really artistic with them, creating fancy headers and illustrations - I use it in a really basic utilitarian way.

It does take a bit of time to set up so I go in and out of using them. But when I keep it up I do tend to feel more organized and clear with my thoughts and goals. If you have trouble keeping a more traditional journal this one might be helpful as it's more about jotting things down in point form and clearing out your mind.

WalkaboutStache

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #19 on: September 29, 2019, 08:31:32 PM »
I just downshifted, may have FIREd (probably not).  I am wildly unproductive.  My typical day tends to be to wake up about an hour before I have to leave home to make coffee, listen to the news or a podcast, clean the kitchen of whatever other mess I have made and pack my bag for the day.  This is the same as when I was working.  I then go off to a sports-related side gig doing something I really like.  I am usually done by 8:30, and if I have energy I then but in a bit of my own personal training in.  Ideally I would go to the gym, but by then I am feeling tired, so I make my way home, arriving back at 11 or so.  I promptly pop down for a nap, and wake up when I wake up.  Eat something, maybe doodle around with another side gig, maybe take another nap.  If I am in the mood when I wake, I may do a little bit of cleaning or grocery shopping, and I am getting some mental space to start reading for pleasure again.  My afternoon is spent doing that and napping.

I felt guilty for a day a week or so ago.  Why am I not training more, or doing this or that or learning the things I said I wanted to learn.  As it turns out, napping, reading and engaging in the odd short period of activity is precisely what agrees with me.  Maybe I am LIBO in the Myer's Briggs thing spectrum (that is Lazy Introverted Burnt Out for you non-scientific people out there), but I am pretty happy with my life right now.  I am quickly washing off the indoctrination of productivity and achievement that I had been dipped in, and it agrees with me to be LI (I shall take care of my BO shortly).

There is a song by Brazilian icon Gilberto Gil with a line that says "If God sees fit that I live without doing anything, may I act so as to be worthy of it."  That is my new motto!  It is a cool tune too - check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqbaqGhsbOs


MonkeyJenga

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #20 on: September 30, 2019, 12:45:32 AM »
I FIRE'd so I don't need to do the same thing every day. This may not be useful since I structured my life to have little responsibility. No kids or pets, no yard work or house maintenance, minimal cooking and cleaning. I can sleep in, go on a hike, get food with friends, whatever. I do like knowing I have solid plans for the next couple of days, so I browse upcoming events regularly and find people to go with. I track everything in google calendar, since there's way too much to remember.

My days are some combination of:

* Physical activity (walking, hiking, biking, dancing, yoga, strength training)
* Social activity (potlucks, group hikes, dance parties, activism, volunteering, movies/shows, karaoke, one on one hangouts)
* Self-improvement (workbooks, therapy, podcasts, self-defense class, practical exercises)
* Food gathering (minimal time and effort lately)
* Other stuff gathering (Buy Nothing, swaps)
* Being an adult (minimal time if I can manage it... doctor's appts, laundry, cleaning)
* Being lazy in bed on my phone
* Being asleep in bed

If I tried to specify when I would do each thing each day, I would rebel so hard. But I know that I can't go more than a day without the first two categories. The other stuff works itself out.

moneytaichi

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #21 on: October 01, 2019, 11:09:28 PM »
I have been FIREd for 1.5 years now. I experienced both thrill and identity loss from leaving behind a job I used to like, but became too stressful. After my FIRE and for about a year, I was restless, made all kinds of goals, and tried many things. They were mostly driven from my old identity of being a striver and over-achiever. In the last couple of months, I experience calmer, flow state("being") much more often with simple everyday activities, for example, walking, washing dishes, hiking, cloud glazing and gardening. I no longer want to improve myself for external standards and achievement. It's a really nice place to be.

My day-to-day schedule varies a lot, but I try to take a walk in the mornings and join a zumba class (or follow youtube dance classes) in the late afternoon. I like to cook after lunch. After dinner, I'd like to watch some youtube or netflix. For the rest of day, I follow my intuition to do things I want to do at the moment, e.g. reading, nap, painting, hiking, shopping or things on to-do lists. It's such a pleasure to honor my intuition and follow its lead after 2 decades of constant productivity optimization. I have much better relationships with my body and emotions now.

So hang in there if you just FIREd because there are lots of detoxing and unlearning that need to be done. No matter what you do, don't evaluate yourself with productivity (it's cultural brain-wash).

PhilB

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Re: Post-FIRE Routine
« Reply #22 on: October 02, 2019, 01:59:51 AM »
Having two kids in high school imposes plenty of structure on our post-FIRE routine, but in between there is plenty of scope to get stuff done (shopping, gardening, DIY, cleaning, etc) and have fun.  One of the nicest things - and this is now a fixed point in our day unless we have gone out for the whole day - is sitting in the conservatory having a game of dominos whilst we digest our lunch. 
Our typical day is therefore:
BUSY - kids off to school
CHILL - calm down with second coffee of the morning
PRODUCTIVE
CHILL - Lunch then dominos
PRODUCTIVE
????  Kids come home - Anything goes!
Those productive slots regularly get replaced with doing something fun instead. 11 months post-FIRE and we still have to pinch ourselves about how wonderful it is.