Five Years Retired

Five years have now passed since I handed in my ID card and left the Shell building as an ex employee, a couple of weeks before my fiftieth birthday. At the time, I remember feeling slightly frightened. But it has turned out to be a good choice for me.

I have never been tempted to look for full-time work since. Indeed, there has not been a single day when I’ve missed being in full-time work, in any way at all. Further, I don’t recall being bored at all or of lacking stimulation. Of course, we all get a little bored while waiting for a delayed plane or standing in line at the DMV. But there has been no full day of boredom, no day of seeing time stretch out in any way that was not welcome.

I have worked, and even been paid for it sometimes. One complete surprise has been that work has sought me out, in all cases via old friends and contacts at Shell. When the chance has come I’ve usually said yes, and generally gone on to enjoy it, though I know I would be completely fine if no opportunity came again.

When people ask how I fill my time, I often laugh and then try to explain and then wonder myself how the list of things I come up with can possibly fill all the time that it does without any boredom. Adding up reading, writing, walking, swimming, eating, household chores, volunteer work, paid work, regular appointments like singing and dance lessons, and trips for movies or shows, it amazes me as well how full the weeks seem. I have a siesta most days as well.

What takes a while to reconcile is that people in regular work do all of those activities as well. The main difference is that most souls have to try to squeeze these activities into busy lives, while I have the luxury of giving them all the time they deserve and enjoying them. The first hours of the day, getting up slowly and consciously enjoying breakfast and coffee rather than wolfing them down, exemplify the difference, but the same applies to all of the things on the list. I still shop quickly, but I make sure I mix in a visit to the coffee shop and some reading.

I can also plan my week in a different way. I can do all the chores and many of the other solo activities during the day, freeing up more evening and weekend time for the family.

I guess none of this will come as a major revelation. When considering retirement, pacing activities and family time are benefits most of us will think of in advance. We’ll also be able to work out whether the changed tempo, increased family time and greater responsibility for our own calendars is something that fits our life circumstance or personality or not. I acknowledge that early retirement is not for everyone. I also acknowledge the obvious truth that most people do not have the financial luxury of being able to afford such a choice. Many of the joys of the slower tempo activities could turn into nightmares if accompanied by anxiety about money.

I’ve tried to come up with some other benefits, ones that might not be so obvious to people contemplating a life change. I also tried to come up with other downsides – but couldn’t think of any.

The first benefit is a big one – health. In Shell we sometimes did an exercise called GAPS, where G was for goals and we had to list half a dozen key goals for the coming years. I was always amazed how everyone concentrated on work goals, and I remember starting my grid with Be Fit at 55. Well, soon I will be, and, compared with before, I am.

Of course accident or diagnosis could change my life overnight, but I am sure I feel better than I did five years ago. I still sleep really well, have great vital signs like blood pressure and rarely get sick. But five years ago I was frequently extremely tired, and frequently had a pain around my right shoulder. No longer – the pain just vanished about a year after I retired. Now whether that is because of a more healthy lifestyle, or finding time to swim twice per week, or just avoiding carrying computer bags around offices and airports I don’t know, but whatever the cause, being without pain is a massive life benefit. Until thinking for this blog post, I had not made the connection.

The next benefit is options or flexibility. When we contemplate retirement, many of us can conjure up some passions or dreams to pursue. What we might ignore is that retirement creates the possibility of adventures that we can’t foresee or conjure up. For me, a big adventure has been moving to New York City. I hadn’t made the connection that this became possible only because I was retired. My wife could look into jobs in New York without the huge constraint of my own work location. At the time, we talked long and hard about whether or not New York was a good option for us, and we are both pleased that in the end we went for it. If I had been still in full-time work, the conversation and probably the outcome would have been very different.

New York has been the biggest option made possible by retirement, but lots of smaller options have been unleashed as well. None of the work I’ve accepted could have been taken on in parallel with a full time job, nor would the extent of the musical adventures I’ve taken up. My family has also had options created by the absence of a constraint from my work.

The third benefit I have identified is perspective or distance. I believe I am able to observe the world from a more complete vantage point by being retired, and to observe myself and others inside that world better as well. I think this comes from the luxury of time. When working, a lot of our attention goes on work concerns, and most of the rest of our attention goes onto activities that we have to squeeze in around work commitments. What time is left? I believe we become so immersed in the present that we can lose a wider perspective, that wider perspective that can give us knowledge, serenity, spirituality and stronger relationships, including with ourselves.

My example for this is the same GAPS grids we used to do at work. Life goals are typical of something that requires perspective. They require time and strong self-knowledge, and clarity of vision without too many immediate constraints obscuring it. I look at my own life goals at forty-five, and see a pattern of someone stuck in the moment. True, fit at fifty-five showed some perspective, but nothing like enough. I am probably typical in having shown little perspective in managing my own life through my thirties and forties. The goals I set at fifty showed more balance and self-knowledge, and the outcomes have been stronger. I’m even more optimistic for the next set.

When I chose to retire, I was able to identify some obvious benefits. There were passions I would have time to follow, many everyday things I could enjoy more, and gifts I could offer family and others. That has all come to pass. But I didn’t really consider the three huge benefits of health, options and perspective, at least not to the extent that they have come into play. Each has been a magnificent blessing for me.

What might others take from this? Well, early retirement is not for everyone. First, even the opportunity requires some rare financial blessings. But, when that grounding is in place, who will derive most pleasure from an early retirement? I think the keys are to have passions and ideas, and also strong enough core relationships, especially with a life partner, so that more time becomes a blessing and not a curse. With that strong starting point, the additional benefits can only make a good thing better.

If that does not yet describe you, then you might be better carrying on with full-time work. There is nothing wrong with that choice, since work carries many wonderful benefits as well. But then, the end of full-time work comes to most of us in the end, for many earlier than we expect. So it would be a good idea to set a life goal now to shore up those key relationships and to develop those passions. It is far from simple to have the perspective to see that, and then the space to implement it. But the costs of leaving that too late could be enormous, while the benefits can offer blessing after blessing.