After 8 years in early retirement, I still have friends that ask me what I do all day. We just got back from a nice weekend up north and are heading into a typically (busy) summer week.

I made a list of the main activities that are keeping us busy this week. Here are 10 activities between now and Friday …

– M: Take Mom to Doctor/Groceries 👩‍⚕️

– M: Cookout with friends 🥩

– Tu: Weekly Tennis with buddy 🎾

– W: Drop son off at airport ✈️

– W: Networking meeting at Zoo 🐻

– W: MLB baseball game ⚾️

– Th: Weekly bike ride / beers 🍺

– Th: Orchestra in the Park 🎼

– F: Golf with 3 brothers ⛳️

– F: Pat Benatar concert w/friends 🎶

What strikes me about the list is that most of them wouldn’t be possible without being early retired. I think I would only have had 3 of these activities on my schedule if I was still working – as many of them fall during the workday.

At times, I feel like my schedule gets too busy. Especially now – in peak summer. That said, I then remind myself that almost all of these activities are: a) FUN; and, B) OPTIONAL. It’s not hard to keep a weekday or two free on our schedule, if needed.

In between these activities, there is still plenty of time to mow the lawn, walk the pupper, work on the Jeep (new bumper?), go out for ice cream, take a nap on the porch, and plan out next week’s activities!

What fun are you up to this week? We’re about halfway through the summer!

Image: Pixabay