Overall Philosophy

Having Time To Waste

HAMMOCKS

I am slowly coming to the realization that I now have time to waste.  I say that in the most positive sense.  While I still have a few weeks of work left before I early retire, I don’t feel nearly as rushed as I used to.  It’s nice to feel that wasting a little time isn’t such a bad thing.  After all, as John Lennon said “Life is what happens when you are making other plans.”

I especially notice it on Sundays, which are typically a busy day for Mr. & Mrs. FireStation.  Normally we are running from church to multiple errand stops, while still trying to get a little fun squeezed in before the weekend is over.  This past Sunday I we were out looking at new homes on the local Spring Parade of Homes Tour.  We went after church and a visit to the tax lady and before we knew it, it was already close to 3pm.  It was already the middle of the afternoon.

Normally, this is when the first pang of the Sunday Blues would hit.  That feeling that the fun is almost over and it is time to start planning for the oh-so-serious work week.  That sudden moment of regret hit me this Sunday, but I quickly countered the fleeting blues with a confident ‘who cares?’   After all, my time is MY time now and while I do have to go into the office this week, I am becoming increasingly irrelevant in the eyes of my colleagues.

It will take some adjustment to get used to this more relaxed style living and being able to waste some time without feeling bad about it.  While I also went for a nice walk, did some shopping, and watched the Downton Abbey finale with my wife, several times during the day on Sunday I felt like I was breaking the rules by not trying to get more done.  I will need to learn to be like the guy in the Joe Walsh song, that explains “people say I’m lazy, but it takes all my time.”  

While it is still too cold to have a relaxing swing in the hammock on a sunny, Sunday afternoon right now – this soon will be my reality.  I wonder how long it will take until I forget it even is the weekend?  How long would it take you?

Image Credit: Pixabay

18 thoughts on “Having Time To Waste”

  1. That’s got to be a great feeling. I believe its important to find that feeling/balance even if you still plan on working for sometime. I’m sure most of us would rather retire early, but as long as we have a plan and are working toward it I think we can find a good mix. No need to dread Monday’s if your working toward a end goal it will make getting there that much easier.

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    1. Yes – I did start losing the Sunday Blues when you read FI and are close enough to RE that you are not worrying about your next promotion.

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  2. Wow – I yearn for that feeling of having time to waste! I would bet that until you get used to it, there’s probably a little bit of “am I forgetting to do something?”. I would also guess that it will be a little weirder after the first week or two of leaving work kicks in.

    However, I’m sure you would get past that feeling REAL quick! 😉

    — Jim

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    1. I think the challenge will be “if I don’t HAVE to do anything, why should I do anything?” There won’t be anything to organize my time around.

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    1. It is a bit surreal, honestly. It is entirely a life without obligations, but almost all are voluntary. I find myself looking through my parents or other retired folks with a new lens on how different their lives are.

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  5. First, you never know how really tired you were until you aren’t any more! And then, I hope you find, as I did, that the “I don’t have to do anything” becomes, “I can choose to do anything I want!”…and the adventure begins! (And BTW…Permanent loss of the Sunday Blues = Best.Thing.Ever! (In fact, we’ve found that we really don’t much care for the weekends any more! Mull that one over for awhile…

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    1. People have told me that I will probably want to sleep for a month. We’ll see about that! I’m guessing weekends become a bit of a nuisance as all of the stores and roads are packed with everyone else getting as much done as they can before heading back to work on Monday. Right?

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  6. Really interesting perspective.
    I wonder whether our perception of time is more elastic when we can determine how we spend it?
    And if we are more ‘productive’ = getting things done, rather than just being present when we can determine how we can spend it.

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    1. Not sure. Too soon for me to say. I don’t think I will be more productive, though. I think I spend more time on simple things – because I can. I’m still at work for a few more weeks so I’ll know more in a month.

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  7. I would love to be in your shoes right now, lol. Although I’m not retiring or near retirement just yet, I hhave heard from a lot of retirees that they don’t really look at time as something they need to chase. They don’t try to finish everything because they are on a deadline or need to do something else right away.

    I believe that’s the real value about retirement is having control of your time, that is, you have all the time in the world to do what you want to do when you wanna do it.

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    1. I’ve told people who are surprised at my early retirement that I could work until I was 62 for more money & stuff, but I’ve decided to “buy” 12 more years of my life. Isn’t time the ultimate luxury, anyhow?

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  8. The Sunday Blues – that is what I catch each week, always trying to make the most out of the weekend. I can’t wait to hear how long it takes for you to forget it is even the weekend. That is a true goal of Early Retirement, no worries.

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    1. I guess I have 2 more Sunday nights with Monday mornings behind them. I think they will go pretty fast!

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