Retirement time
The second of two posts about our perceptions of time – this, specifically, about time in retirement
If you are retired: are you busier than, about as busy as, or less busy than you were when you were working?
If you are retired: does time move faster than, about the same as, or slower than when you were working?
How would you answer these two questions? Lots of possible combinations: Busy and faster? Less busy and slower? Draggy but occupied?
Turns out that social science researchers (as opposed to physicists who were highlighted last week) look at the ways people interpret and use time. Much has been written and claimed about time management, scheduling (or lack thereof) and activities on which time is expended.
More relevant for readers of this Substack are those researchers who take more of a 10K foot view on other questions about time in retirement.
The task of retirement time
For example, here are some snippets from a 2015 online paper from Cambridge University Press entitled, appropriately enough, The task of time in retirement.
“Our findings suggest, first, that daily routines are instrumental for retirees in economising thought and behaviour. Second, the assertion of a routine is an assurance that one's life is ordered and proceeds with purpose, thus solving the task of time. Third, routines can be a means to signal conformity with ideals of active ageing.
“And how is that time occupied? The retirees that we interviewed spoke readily about their activities, but in a certain way, not as improvised or serendipitous but rather as regular and organised in routines. They convey the impression that they control their time, even as their routines necessarily accommodate other people and circumstances. The value placed on orderly lives was also seen in the reluctance of some persons to identify with the events of a particular yesterday (a lazy day, a bad day). This suggests to us that the idea of a routine is more than the chronicle of one's activities. Its value lies in smoothing out, in the telling, the potential disorder of daily life.”
Time slows down?
Social media also is a source of thoughts about retirement and time. Here are some excerpts from Quora.
As a retiree, do you find that time seems to have slowed down compared with when you were working?
1 “Feeling of time slowing down in retirement might also come from the lack of things to do. We all go through retirement differently, some of us are more active and busy than others. For those who are much less active in retirement due to lack of things to do, they might feel that time goes much slower than before retirement. So how you perceive the passage of time in retirement partially depends on your level of activity.”
2 “Since I had any consciousness, time has accelerated. When we were kids, it seemed like a day was long and a week was forever since I was looking forward to the weekends. As I aged into my 20s and 30s, it was a month that seemed to take forever (I got paid at the end of the month.) A decade in the future was unimaginable in my 30s and 40s. At 50, time really accelerated as I thought about how much I had put back for retirement. Full retirement age approached like a Klingon ship at warp speed in my late 50s and early 60s.
“Every week now seems like it takes no time at all. My feeling is that as you age, the concept of time grows shorter, that is, your perception of how long each moment takes gets smaller. Time hasn’t slowed down for me (though I am still working,) it speeds up every day.”
3 “My mother often said that the older she got, that days become slower and the weeks got faster.
Now that I am retired, I agree with her.”
4 “My working career spanned 54 years. During that time, I rarely worked fewer than 50 hours a week—sometimes 75 or more. I was always—I mean, always—facing a deadline. If I ever missed a deadline, I don’t remember it. I was driven to deliver the best of which I was capable, on time or before.
“When I finally retired, I was ready for a rest and rest is what I do. A lot.
“In sum, I do what I want. I go to bed when I feel like it, get up when I wake up, and rarely ever set an alarm. On the rare occasions I have a deadline to meet, it’s a deadline set by me, not someone else.”
Now, the opposite from Quora, time zipping past:
Since your retirement, has time passed quickly for you?
5 “Yes. I retired at 62. I am now 73 and have been retired 11.7 years. I stay busy with family and friends. I have grandchildren and great grandchildren. It seems like the time has flown by. I worked for our county government for 32 years and have had a wonderful retirement. Even the pandemic time has gone fast. I am looking forward to seeing all the grandsons (most of whom are adults) and the great grandkids keep coming. My life is sweet.”
6 “I sure did ! 😁 At first, it was like any week vacation from work. After that, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. Wasn't like there was nothing to do, more like there was no organized schedule to do it. So I had to set my own schedule's [sic]. Now some folks retire and get an RV and start touring the country. That in itself, demands a bit of a schedule. But I wasn't doing that. ‘Schedules’ are important I learned. From birth we are on one. Fed at certain times, then on to school at certain times, then on to work at certain times …when you look back it's all been scheduled. Now your [sic] home and can do what you want when you want. Or do nothing at all! The days will speed by like you've never known before, and most the time you won't know what day it IS anyway.
“So, it's important to set your own schedule's [sic] and stick to it. What time of day is good to take your walk? When is shopping day at market? When is laundry day? Household chores, garden chores. When is free time for your hobby? Got to fill up a day, but you get to do what you like ..but still, have to fill up each day. There are no more dreaded ‘Mondays’, but no weekends to be excited about either, because EVERY day is a weekend! Once you get it figured out, you'll be in heaven. Retirement is wonderful!”
WIIFY?
What’s in it for you…plus how does all this relate to playing sports in later life?
If you have found some sort of “time equilibrium” – that is, it doesn’t sail past nor does it drag – you are to be commended. Many retirees – including those who were top executives or leaders in medicine, law, and the arts – haven’t quite reached that status and are searching for a meaningful way to organize their days.
Sports provide a framework for organizing a day, a week, a month. They reflect commitment such as “I must leave Wednesday morning open for pickleball foursomes.”
Sports also lead to new opportunities. Doris, for example, an Age-defying Athlete, learned tennis in her 50s. The club where she played was looking to hire a program manager. It wasn’t something Doris had done before, but she landed the post and went on to shape memorable club programming (tennis, swimming, social events) for many years.
And, as chronicled on these pages, sports provide those marvelous benefits of friendship, fitness and fun. Things everyone in retirement needs.
So, if you’re not hanging out with some pickleball players or golfers, why not? Most Age-defying Athletes are average (or below) players. If ever they experienced athletic glory, those days are long gone. And it will be the same no matter where you live, love, and play.
Remember that time waits for no man or woman. Get out there and optimize your precious time before you see it all sail past.
I especially loved this post!