Hi and welcome back to Aha FIRE. I quit my job last week on February 1 and today I want to share with you what my experience this first week of retirement has been. Surprisingly to me it didn’t actually go as I expected.
What I expected was to be bored and a little depressed about losing the structure and my identity that was wrapped in my employment. I also expected to be freaked out about finances. I thought I would be obsessed with my budget, my spending and my future plans. I still have thoughts on all of these topics but the difference is I’m not obsessed about them.
What is actually happened during this week is that I have had better self-care. 😁I have been eating healthier by cooking at home, I’ve been taking Caroline on more walks, and I’ve been more focused on passion projects like this blog. I’ve also been relaxed enough to enjoy my time at a party on Saturday. My stress level would’ve been too high to relax if I was still working.
The first couple days kind of just felt like I just had the days off work. I laid around and caught up on Ozark. Then had dinner with former coworkers. I kept telling myself you’re retired now but it wasn’t registering.
By Monday I felt more relaxed with having control over my day. I had the freedom to do or not do something based on how I felt or the weather. I’m surprised by how much more I’m able to get done without feeling stressed. I feel like my house is cleaner, laundry is caught up, and my anxiety is gone.
Then on Tuesday I got the brilliant idea to start a yard project since we were having nice weather. I am glad I did it and it has occupied a few of my days. Fortunately I wasn’t under a timeframe to have it completed. I took my time and rested when I needed to.
I thought this first week was going to be a little bit more stressful and full of fear. However, I am more relaxed and happier. All this has been possible because of a harebrained idea 10 years ago to become financially independent and retire early. I had no idea at the time about the journey that this would take me on. My life is completely different today. There is no way I could have imagined this.
Stay tuned for more projects and birdwatching!
AHA FIRE 