I had a nice visit to both of my former MegaCorp’s last week. I had lunch with a friend on Wednesday and attended a retirement send-off for another friend on Friday afternoon. On that second visit, an also retired buddy and I had the chance to wander around the hallways and see the old ‘haunts’.
When we were there, I was talking with one former – but still working – colleague about the best parts of not working. They are too numerous to mention, so I typically just say “it’s the best job you’ll never have.”
He said that when he retires he is most looking forward to being liberated from the that sinking, Sunday night work anxiety known as the ‘Sunday Blues’. No matter how enjoyable your career is (mine was quite enjoyable), there is still that element of ‘performance anxiety’ that creeps into any activity you take seriously.
The ‘Sunday Blues’ started lifting for me when I was a couple months from giving my formal resignation. It was close to Halloween time and I knew I needed to work hard up to Christmas until I could rest easy and announce I was leaving at some point after the New Year. As it turned out, we had sudden financial challenges at MegaCorp, we reorganized our department, and I had a bunch of extra work put on my desk.
Despite the madness, the ‘Sunday Blues’ gradually fading during that period (I wrote about it in this POST) and when I finally left MegaCorp they were completely dissolved. That was more than two and a half years ago now, and I can’t even recall what that first Sunday night felt like. I do remember my Mom & Dad called me that first Monday morning at about 10am and jokingly asked me why I was already up and out of bed! 🙂
It’s Sunday night as I write this and I’ll tell you what I think about on Sunday nights now: 1) my Fantasy Football team (which is losing again) as I watch Sunday Night Football; 2) going grocery shopping tomorrow – because we often wait until after the weekend when the stores aren’t so busy; 3) planning where we might go on a sunny vacation in January when our son is home from college; and 4) ordering some LEGO Train parts for the village I’m going to build under the Christmas Tree this year.
What’s most remarkable about that list is that it could be the list for almost any night of the week. Although I still have board work and investing that I am involved in, those commitments are nothing that keeps me up at night in anyway. No ‘Sunday Blues’ and no stress. That’s the joy of early retirement!
How much do you dwell on the ‘Sunday Blues’?
Image Credit: Pixabay
MrFireStation 
Even as a boy in grade school, I dreaded the end of the weekend. Homework had to be done before Monday. This continued through years of school and decades of my career. However, when wireless internet, portable computers, and smart phones became daily necessities of working, Sunday became just another workday in the 24/7/365 agency business. Now retired, Sunday is the first day of my week, not the last. No more blues.
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Agree – digital devices are wonderful for many reasons, but work isn’t always one of them. We had a CEO who said that his balance was devoting Monday- Thursday to work, corp dinners, and business travel. “I leave at 3pm on Friday and don’t do any work again until Monday morning.” It was a good routine I (mostly) kept myself after he shared it.
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In the agency world, the expression was “If you don’t work on Sunday, don’t even bother showing up on Monday.”
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I’d attribute it to mean clients.
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I used to work every day and every evening just by being connected to the internet – Sunday used to be no different to me except on occasion I could party on Sat and sleep in. The only true time relaxing for me was while Scuba diving away from civilisation. Not surprisingly, once reaching FI, I became I scuba instructor fulfilling my dream to live on an tropical island and being in the water all day. But every end of a Scuba diving trip and being reconnected to the internet was a killer Sunday. Sometimes I would allocate the whole Sunday just to catch up with work before Monday Madness begins. During the peak of my career (and after 5 days on a liveabord in the middle of nowhere) i spent 14hrs straight (and 5 beers) to clean my inbox which filled with over 2300 emails from. This year I spent three months on Bali and three months on Mallorca – everything in life balances out eventually.
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Glad you are finding your balance! Sounds like you’ve earned it through and through. 14 hours of email has to be a record! As sick of it as you might have been at the end of the day, you probably had an (odd now) sense of accomplishment, too.
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Thanks MrFireStation! I reckon I was close to a heart attack. Loved the job but my body said no more and eventually I listened to it in time.
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Sunday blues have dogged me for many years. Not only am I sad about the weekend ending, but I am also filled with anxiety because I usually feel like I should have billed hours over the weekend. (If you have not guessed, I am a lawyer). Just gave notice today of my early retirement at age 54. Reclaiming my time and life as of Jan. 1.
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Congratulations – that’s HUGE! January 1st will be here in no time at all. Soak in the fun/emotions of the work while you can. It’s hard to remember the ‘feel’ of it once you are even a few years gone. And, definitely stop working on the weekends!
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Thanks! The reactions of coworkers have been fascinating. I expected a lot of people to tell me I am nuts to do this and warn me to reconsider, but at least half of the people I have told so far have said they are genuinely jealous. The main question I am getting asked is what I am going to do about health insurance – makes me wonder how many people are paralyzed in place waiting for the political winds to stabilize.
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Great to hear! One suggestion one person told me was to write down the reactions/comments people have as you share the news. They are fun to look back on.
Yes – health insurance is a big worry for everyone. People that get it through their company forget there is a whole world of self employed people who have been buying it for themselves for years!
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I just discovered your blog and have enjoyed catching up on it! I’ve struggled with the Dreaded Sunday Blues my entire career. Like you I have found my work “quite enjoyable” (most of the time), but constantly battle with the ups and downs. Corporate America is sucking me dry. According to most FIRE metrics I could probably do it soon. But my stay-at-home spouse is super conservative and doesn’t support the idea. It is a great source of tension. Is it wrong for me to feel resentful, as most days I’d give anything to switch places?
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Among all of our assets, I think the relationship I have with my wife is the most precious. You both need to be all-in on a decision to FIRE. Might be good to have a financial advisor be an objective voice for her. Also, here’s a post I wrote a long time ago on 8 ‘lenses’ you can use to pressure test your plans: https://mrfirestation.com/2015/06/29/confidence-in-the-number/
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