What to do with all your time?

cfw1994

kempiejon said:

Albermarle said:

eastcorkram said:

I've now been retired for 11 weeks. So far, I've power washed the wheelie bins, and descaled the kettle. 

Soon you will be able to cut the lawn 

I am afraid to announce that I cut mine last week, I saw the council ride-ons out too and neighbours were out this morning. The lawn chore season is upon us.

The answer to that is our Irish gardener, Rob O’Mow.  I can see prices have skyrocketed, which is sad, but if you assign yourself a high enough hourly rate and spread it over about 5 years, the maths can be made to look like it works 🤪 Ours must have done about 20 hours this year already 🎉

No good at multi-quoting here, but well done to those who are cracking on with a range of activities.   Studying is a decent shout - I believe you might be able to get it for free (or at least written off)…..& I’d love to have ukulele skills, but sadly I’m more a tap-the-table or kazoo level of musicality…& well done on getting those bins clean: I think easing yourself in is very wise 🤣

I’m not sure we feel ready for U3A: we want to surround ourselves with younger people too (how else can we get away with saying “you lot don’t know you’re born!”).  We have now been in a very friendly pickleball club for a year, but still head to town with friends for shows, meals and mostly pub crawls - liking the idea of getting 1,000 miles a year tucked away combining ale with health 🍻👀👍
Not sure we are in one place long enough to usefully volunteer, but I do help with some pals gardens as a form of free outside gym work 💪

Oh, & having spent a career in technology, I still spend too much time online….but mostly whilst laying in bed with a cuppa, which I feel is okay.  Feels like I have a virtual world of pals here & on a couple of other forums: cheers!🥂

Moonwolf

I have a list so it will be interesting to see what I end up doing.

I will keep up the gym but I want to go between 8.30 and 9.30 when it is empty, and I get a lie in rather than the 6am alarm at the moment.
I do have caring responsibilities so that is likely to take more time.
I love hillwalking so I hope to do more of that.
We are going to empty the loft and also divest some other stuff we never use, probably sell it on FB marketplace.
The garden looks good on and off when I can find the time, I'm hoping to have more pottering time so there is less off, we will also join the RHS.
I want to learn a language, probably Spanish as I come across it a lot.
I love being out in nature and I am a digital photography hobbyist, I dream of having more time to do that.
I might even apply to go on Countdown.
Then there is a list of decorating jobs and minor repairs, and I have no excuse now.
However, first thing is a big holiday for our 35th wedding anniversary.

Albermarle

Sarahspangles said:

cfw1994 said:

So, amongst all the finance discussions....I thought I would revamp this little one - a reminder to put as much thought into WHAT you plan to do with your later years as you do to how you will fund them 😉

What with being a project manager, I saw an opportunity to defer some of the meatier stuff that needs doing round the house until I retire, when I can make a thorough job of it. With just over three weeks to go, everything on that list is suddenly looking less appealing than when I first made the decision! However I like audiobooks and there’s currently an offer on some ‘first in series’ books so I have three queued up to listen to while mucking out various rooms. Also OH thinks he is ‘owed’ two and a half years of housework since he picked up more when he retired, but I think he’ll be at a loose end if I do it.

Apart from that stuff, I’m trying not to over plan so that we can be spontaneous. I have got a note in my journal of when daytime (rather than evening) gym classes take place and local clubs and classes meet, in case I’m bored. And a note of a couple of online creative courses I could take. We’ll probably take a holiday too before the main school holidays.

I am planning to log out of social media and limit the time I spend online, with the aim of being active in real life rather than online.

I have found that January/February is a good time for internal house jobs/decorating .
Weather is rubbish, goes dark really early and not a lot of things going on generally.
In 3 weeks it will be Spring so you might be better putting them off until next January!

pterri

Another lovely day, just found a cycle route to Southend (fifty ish miles) I could do that, have fish & chips then train home. But no, I’m at work. 

Sarahspangles

Albermarle said:

Sarahspangles said:

What with being a project manager, I saw an opportunity to defer some of the meatier stuff that needs doing round the house until I retire, when I can make a thorough job of it. With just over three weeks to go, everything on that list is suddenly looking less appealing than when I first made the decision!

I have found that January/February is a good time for internal house jobs/decorating .
Weather is rubbish, goes dark really early and not a lot of things going on generally.
In 3 weeks it will be Spring so you might be better putting them off until next January!

Don’t tempt me! Some will definitely be put off, or at least into some kind of prioritised task list. Some involve decluttering and until I do there won’t be space to do other things. The end game is moving house, ideally in a year’s time.

Slinky

Albermarle said:

Sarahspangles said:

cfw1994 said:

So, amongst all the finance discussions....I thought I would revamp this little one - a reminder to put as much thought into WHAT you plan to do with your later years as you do to how you will fund them 😉

What with being a project manager, I saw an opportunity to defer some of the meatier stuff that needs doing round the house until I retire, when I can make a thorough job of it. With just over three weeks to go, everything on that list is suddenly looking less appealing than when I first made the decision! However I like audiobooks and there’s currently an offer on some ‘first in series’ books so I have three queued up to listen to while mucking out various rooms. Also OH thinks he is ‘owed’ two and a half years of housework since he picked up more when he retired, but I think he’ll be at a loose end if I do it.

Apart from that stuff, I’m trying not to over plan so that we can be spontaneous. I have got a note in my journal of when daytime (rather than evening) gym classes take place and local clubs and classes meet, in case I’m bored. And a note of a couple of online creative courses I could take. We’ll probably take a holiday too before the main school holidays.

I am planning to log out of social media and limit the time I spend online, with the aim of being active in real life rather than online.

I have found that January/February is a good time for internal house jobs/decorating .
Weather is rubbish, goes dark really early and not a lot of things going on generally.
In 3 weeks it will be Spring so you might be better putting them off until next January!

I never decorate in the winter, it's too dark too early, and poor light makes it much easier to miss drips and runs in paintwork which show themselves up in the Spring sunshine.

I'm hoping this lovely sunshine stays for a few more days so we can re-stain the garden fences. They needed doing last year but never dried out for long enough, then stuff grew up in front of them and that was that.

Time4T_Accounts

Bravepants said:

eastcorkram said:

I've now been retired for 11 weeks. So far, I've power washed the wheelie bins, and descaled the kettle. 

7. Reading - progressing through the Jack Reacher novels, just discovered Hamish MacBeth, which I get from the library. Got the entire collection of HG Wells novels for 99p for my Kobo. Manged to plough through the Stephen King Dark Tower series, The Witcher series, started on Tolkien's The Silmarillion (but struggling) and I still miss Terry Pratchett.  

If you like Terry Pratchett  - much missed - have you tried Jasper Fforde (particularly the Thursday Next series)?  

Sarahspangles

Time4T_Accounts said:

Bravepants said:

eastcorkram said:

I've now been retired for 11 weeks. So far, I've power washed the wheelie bins, and descaled the kettle. 

7. Reading - progressing through the Jack Reacher novels, just discovered Hamish MacBeth, which I get from the library. Got the entire collection of HG Wells novels for 99p for my Kobo. Manged to plough through the Stephen King Dark Tower series, The Witcher series, started on Tolkien's The Silmarillion (but struggling) and I still miss Terry Pratchett.  

If you like Terry Pratchett  - much missed - have you tried Jasper Fforde (particularly the Thursday Next series)?  

I’m up to Discworld Book 38, I’m saving the last three for retirement in case it’s too emotional. GNU Terry.

ali_bear

Albermarle said:
I have found that January/February is a good time for internal house jobs/decorating .

Weather is rubbish, goes dark really early and not a lot of things going on generally.
In 3 weeks it will be Spring so you might be better putting them off until next January!

In my experience January and February are the ideal months to sod off somewhere tropical. There's something about that bright sunshine that can really "put the zap on your head"

Albermarle

ali_bear said:

Albermarle said:
I have found that January/February is a good time for internal house jobs/decorating .

Weather is rubbish, goes dark really early and not a lot of things going on generally.
In 3 weeks it will be Spring so you might be better putting them off until next January!

In my experience January and February are the ideal months to sod off somewhere tropical. There's something about that bright sunshine that can really "put the zap on your head"

Yes, my brother has spent Jan and Feb in Australia and NZ.
Unfortunately I have family restrictions, so it was slapping on the gloss for me.