The question I hear the most after four full weeks of early retirement is “is every day just like a weekend now?” The answer is both a “yes” and “no”. I would say overall, Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday continue to hold their special status as the best days of the week.
Weekends continue to be great because there is a lot happening around town on those days. If you like cultural activities – concerts, theater shows, community festivals – most of these things are scheduled for working people or when kids are out of school. Also, If we want to do these things with another couple (and most people are not early retired) that is when we are going to do it. This coming weekend we have a big black-tie gala at our local zoo. The zoo wouldn’t schedule a big fundraising event on a weeknight – they want to maximize their attendance at the party.
There are exceptions, of course. Sporting events fall in that category: I went to a NHL Hockey Playoff game with a buddy on a Wednesday night last week and a MLB Baseball game with another buddy two weeks ago on a Thursday afternoon. Sporting events are happening almost every night of the week and draw a good crowd. When games start late, it is nice to know that you don’t have to get up early in the morning.
This week my DW and I are going to the Paul McCartney One to One concert on Wednesday night. McCartney probably won’t hit the stage until 8:30pm and is expected to play for almost 2 1/2 hours. How great it will be to take a quick nap that afternoon before the concert and know that we can stay out late without concern for having to go to work in the morning. We can even head downtown early, walk around a little bit, and easily get to our dinner reservation before the show. It should be a fun night!
Thinking of weekdays, it is true that almost every day Monday through Friday feels a lot like a Saturday. On these days, if I’m home, I can get a lot of projects done around the house or quickly run errands when the stores are quiet. The neighborhood is also very quiet, so it is a great time to work in the yard or mow the grass.
Having extra time on weekdays also contributes to the weekends being more special. There is now almost no reason to have to do chores on the weekend since I have a full week of days to now timeshift them to. While I have been trying to get my 12K steps/run in every day of the week, that is the only real task I need to bother with on Saturday or Sunday (my wife does her 7x workouts exclusively on weekdays). Other than that, we focus our weekends on having fun and enjoying all of the activities that are scheduled for weekends.
So is every day like a Saturday in early retirement? Yes – they definitely are much more relaxed and give you every opportunity to get projects complete. At the same time, Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday become even MORE special with (almost) no chores to do and plenty of time to enjoy all of the fun activities that are scheduled for weekends or when our friends.
Image Credit: MrFireStation.com / Target Field, Minneapolis
MrFireStation 
Two underrated points that would be awesome about retirement: spreading the weekend chores over the whole week and staying up late for sports! I live on the East coast so the evening games start way late, it’s annoying.
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I hated that about the Eastern Time Zone! MNF doesn’t end until midnight. That’s waaaayy past my bedtime.
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I cannot remember the last time that I stayed up for a whole Monday night football game – even my Packers. I understand why they start the games so late so that they can pick up the West Coast, but it is much too late if you have to be at work in the morning.
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Yes – our hockey playoff games did not start until 8:30 PM, in the first round. That made for some late nights that I’m sure I would not have stayed up for, had I still been working. I find that I am more interested in sports and I have been in a while.
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In this regard, I think the NHL has a big problem that requires fixing. When West Coast games start late and end-up in OT, it is unbearable to stay up and have to wake up at 5:30 the next morning. All the more reason for early retirement motivation, I suppose.
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Yes – I can never figure out the NHL and why they have such lousy TV contracts.
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The sudden wave of free time and the ability to do as you please throughout the weekdays must feel so different. It sounds as though your enjoying every minute of it and adjusting okay! ☺
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Yes – a pretty smooth transition overall. Still has a feeling of newness to me.
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You make a good point that you can actually make your weekends more enjoyable since you are getting the work out of the way during the week. It gets old working all week just to come home to yard work on the weekends. I love the warmer weather but it definitely takes more time away from my free time on the weekends. And a baseball game during the week? Sounds very enjoyable. I need to start moving quicker towards FI 🙂
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The attendance at the Twins game I went to in the afternoon was listed as 19,000 fans, but looked more like 10,000. The team hasn’t been very good, but what beautiful day to be at the ballpark.
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Love seeing your picture of Target Field. I haven’t been there in two years…it’s time to get myself back there.
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Let me know if you are coming up to the Twin Cities and want to go to a game. Tickets are very cheap!
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Good point! I hadn’t thought about it like that. I currently work Monday to Thursday and rush around like a crazed person trying to get as many chores done on Friday so that our weekends can be more relaxed. Your posts about early retirement give me lots to think about, thanks!
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Last Friday at about 3 PM I said to my wife “watch out now everybody’s getting out of work and all the roads & stores will suddenly be jammed!”
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I always wondered if everything became “the weekend” but i like the way you break it down. I just spent my weekend building a garden bed – I don’t mind doing that kind of work but it would have been better on a Wednesday than my time off.
I look forward to weekends getting even better
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It has been a nice surprise to find that the weekends becoming even more special. Having every day is Saturday, certainly takes care of all the chores during the workweek.
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I certainly agree with you. Being able to run errands and do things during the week can be more enjoyable and less crowded. Since my layoff in Feb. I’ve been trying to take advantage of that. Its nice to be able to go out to eat during the week and get there a bit early before the crowds hit. Browsing around stores is more enjoyable and relaxing without all the chaos around you. Thus far, I’ve also tried to keep the week days a bit more “work” oriented with getting stuff done around the house and yard to stay productive and leaving the weekends for more fun activities.
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Yes – I have been doing the same thing. It is funny to be in stores in the afternoon and be surrounded by young moms with children and older retired guys. It still feels a little out of place for me.
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Sound pretty darn good! My weekends are good, but always feel a little rushed trying to get everything in before heading back to the work week. So let’s recap your retirement, baseball, hockey, naps. concerts, black tie events,…looking good.
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It has been a fun few weeks already. I am a planner, so I keep pretty busy with activities. No sense in wasting all of this newfound free time!
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I don’t think anyone can argue that you’re not making the most of ER! Make sure you schedule in some rest in there 🙂
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The wonderful thing is that while I am getting a lot done and having some fun, I still really don’t feel like my schedule is very rushed. Very little of what I have been up to really are things that have to be done, versus nice to do.
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Sounds lovely! I’m sure weekends are still special since more friends aren’t at work. But it’s nice that you can work on projects around the house any time you want.
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Yes – since we retired right before I turn 50 years old, all of our friends are still working. That leaves the weekends for get-togethers…
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Sounds great, that’s how I felt when I was on the 2 week parental leave recently. I stopped remember what day of the week it was.
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I can’t say that has happened to me yet – I tend to watch the news and financial reports pretty closely, so I haven’t forgotten what day of the week it is yet. Something to look forward to…!
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Hey – that sounds great. I am jealous and inspired by your current status 🙂 I think everyone would love to be in your position..and that is what we are aiming to do. Thanks for sharing.
Tristan
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Thanks, Tristan – It’s been a lot of fun! I wouldn’t wish my time at work away, but it’s been great getting to this milestone.
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