What will I do when I retire

[Tman]

Fill your time by coming back on here talking about the good old days...many do.
Raises a smile when so many suggest "get a hobby" as if you had interest enough in something to raise it to the level of a hobby, you would have done it already.
Getting a dog is probably the best bet for informal socialising though.

[yellowbelly]

Parish/local councillor, Park Run on a Saturday morning (either walk/run or volunteer marshall), local litter picking group, wildlife sanctuary,
National Trust or similar volunteer, hospital, hospice, charity shop. All depends what you can find in your local area.

Do you have to retire? Have you had enough of RM? Have you asked about dropping hours? Would anyone in the office consider job share?

[HTPostman]

I’ve ‘kind of’ been retired (not bad to say I’m only 40, pats my own back!) for 6 months now.

Here’s what I’d suggest, based on my own experiences:

-Take some time for yourself. Get up late, watch TV or read a book all day. Don’t be afraid to be lazy or boring for a few weeks, you’ve earned it. Being a postal worker nowadays in my opinion is a challenging physical job. You deserve a break.

-Hobbies; a few people saying not everyone has hobbies. Then look at things that interest you. My mate said he doesn’t have hobbies yet watched all those auction house programmes. He now, as a side hustle, buys things from charity shops that he thinks he can flog for more on eBay. A hobby doesn’t have to be some kind of obsession that you’ve had for years it can just be something small.

-Volunteering…..personally for me after working outdoors the last thing I’d want to do is be volunteering indoors at charity shops or hospitals. With that in mind do you have any interest in sport? There’s a couple of local non league football teams near me who are always appealing for people to paint a few terrace barriers in return for a coffee and bacon butty. Keeps you outdoors still and meeting new people. I imagine there’s also amateur cricket clubs, rugby teams etc always looking for volunteers.

-Work on your house. It’s amazing how many people I talk to who pass by as I’m working on my garden or sawing wood for my latest DIY project.

Anyway, good luck with it, I absolutely love ‘retirement.’

[roadrunner bill]

I plan to rest for 6 months, because the work loads have shattered my body.. and royal mail want to increase work loads which is extremely cruel.. forcing the work force to try crippling amounts of work..

Then try and to move on, travel the world.. and focus on reducing my stress levels..

[DiamondSmiles]

I will be coming up to retirement soon and will have spent 30 years working as a postman. I am single with no family or close friends and being a postman gives not just a wage but also a purpose , it also lets me interact and socialise with other posties and customers. The office where I work has one or two posties who are getting their Royal Mail pension and state pension as well as their weekly wage, as they have nothing else in their lives. I suppose any one reading this knows someone in their office who get the same. I don’t want to end up in that situation, but I am now starting to worry and get anxious as retirement draws closer and my purpose in life and social interactions will all be gone.

It's perfectly normal to be anxious and worry a lot. It is a big change in your life. But trust me, when you've made the leap you won't look back and you will know you made the correct choice. As others have said just chill for a few weeks and take it easy. You are going at a good time of year with the summer coming up. Keep your exercise up each day if you can, great for mental health and also great for getting the mind ticking as to ideas for the future. There is no rush, you don't have to come up with hundreds of ideas at once, let it come to you.

And the best thing is? Listening to the rain hammering your bedroom window at 9am!

[norris9]

I hope to retire relatively early at some point and have worried about the same things as you. My hope is that maybe I'd just semi-retire, be a postie for a few days a week, which is good socially, good for getting outdoors and for getting a good amount of exercise, but not excessive. If I work 3 days a week I think I could cope with any boredom that comes with being off for the other 4 days of the week.

If I was 65+ and retiring I'd be glad I am leaving by that point - I expect my body to be in ruins if I stay in this job that long on full time hours. Enjoy the rest. Get a dog.

[jbjoe]

If your asking this question it's quite clear you are not ready to retire yet.

Good luck in your decision i wish i could.

[Redyam]

Whatever you do, keep walking. Walk to the shops, walk on the hills, walk to town, walk down the river, walk your dog. Talk to anyone you see, you've got this.

[NWpostie]

You could always join a heritage Railway near you, standard or narrow gauge you'll be working with something that's as old as you !

People come to visit so you do get that atmosphere and ambience, theres certainly the social aspect and you learn a new skill, you can put as much or as little as you want.

I visited a few and noticed the average age of volunteers is fairly north of 50+.

[Wullie10]

Whatever you do, keep walking. Walk to the shops, walk on the hills, walk to town, walk down the river, walk your dog. Talk to anyone you see, you've got this.

In other words be the person you always try to avoid whilst on delivery. The retired dog walker or gardener who talks so much you can hardly escape. in the end you're thankful when it rains to avoid them
But seriously keep moving. I've seen so many ex posties who stop work , eat and drink the same and are huge.

[HTPostman]

And the best thing is? Listening to the rain hammering your bedroom window at 9am!

I forgot that part! It was a great feeling in December looking out on a morning at my frozen car thinking I no longer need to de ice it, join the morning traffic, fight for a parking spot, walk to work, find I’d been shafted, go out to the van, iced up/no fuel/no scraper or de-icer/frozen in gear. All before delivering a single letter.

I feel for everyone who does go through that each morning, hero maybe isn’t the right word but you put a real shift in.

[mrcurve]

why not join the u3a, its nationwide and offers all sorts of activites.


https://www.u3a.org.uk/

[miles_peters]

get a dog

[RuralVan]

Take up fishing.

[Walter sobchak]

Get yourself a bike and start cycling through the countryside breathing in all that fresh air and getting fit at the same time.

There’s also walking/hiking or camping etc.