(A Rookie Retiree Myth-Buster)

A couple of months before I took early retirement, I came out of a Webex meeting about pensions feeling pretty pleased with life.

I had my pension numbers and the post-retirement financial picture looked okay.

Conventional wisdom says that, if you get your finances sorted, you can walk away, relax and start doing whatever you want, whenever you want. So – in theory – I was all set and ready to leave.

But then other questions started to occur to me:

What would retirement actually look like on a Tuesday morning?

If I had nowhere specific to be, what was going to make me get out of bed in the morning?

As most of my friends and family were continuing to work, who was I going to talk to during the day?

What would I say when somebody asked me what I did?

I suddenly realised that people spend decades talking about the financial side of retirement, but very little time discussing all of the other aspects.

So, in the interests of public service — and as someone who has now transitioned into (semi) retirement — here are a few retirement myths that I think it’s worth trying to dispel:

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Myth 1: Retirement is Mainly About Money

I won’t deny that – like with every other stage of life – money can make life more comfortable.

But retirement isn’t a financial event — it’s a total life redesign.

You spend your working life building income and pensions.
And then you spend retirement building a new structure, purpose and routine.

Nobody warns you that the bigger adjustment isn’t your income.

It’s your whole way of living life.

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Myth 2: You’ll Be Bored

You won’t.

In fact, you’ll soon join the ranks of people who say, “I don’t know how I ever fitted work in.” It really is true!

You take more care and time doing ‘those little jobs’. Days expand. Tasks multiply. Coffee appointments appear…..and you start to enjoy both the spontaneity of life and the choice of switching activities when you feel like it.

You’re busy — not with hard deadlines and fixed agendas – but with things that you choose to do.

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Myth 3: You’ll Finally Clear the “To Do” List

You know that list of things you were definitely going to do “one day”?

• Finish off the Family Tree
• Write a book
• Sort our childhood collections of stamps, coins etc
• Start painting

And so forth

Strangely, having time doesn’t automatically create motivation. And, with a myriad of opportunities opening up, who cares?

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Myth 4: Work Can’t Possibly Cope Without You

It can.

They’ll miss you. Briefly.

But the meetings continue. The projects progress. The corporate machine continues onward.

You are appreciated but you are not irreplaceable.

Some old colleagues will keep in touch but conversations about your old work will dwindle – quickly.

You just have to accept it (and don’t look back).

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Myth 5: You’ll Instantly Feel Relaxed

At first, it’s like you’re on holiday. There’s:

No alarm.
No inbox.
And you can now enjoy a cup of tea in bed before you get up.

But then you realise that this isn’t a holiday; it’s the new norm. That’s when you start to feel a little guilty that you aren’t achieving anything and you start to live your new life.

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Myth 6: You’ll Travel All The Time

You’ll travel — just not constantly – since you’ll want to retain your social network at home and, like everything else, if you travel constantly its appeal starts to diminish.

And when you do travel, it’s different:

• Midweek flights
• Longer stays
• Slower, more meaningful trips

No late nights finishing off those last important emails and reports before you go….
Or dealing with email mountain when you return.

Those places on your bucket list? You start ticking them off.

Not hurriedly. Not squeezed in to make the most of your vacation time.

Properly, with the chance to experience the country you’re in and its culture – not just buildings and ‘must see sights’.

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Myth 7: Retirement Means Slowing Down

It can do (and may well be true if you let it).

Or it might mean learning entirely new skills, try new experiences and meet new people.

You might start blogging.

You might learn how to optimise your SEO position.

You might find joy and satisfaction in new areas that you never discovered whilst working.

Retirement doesn’t have to mean shrinking.

It can mean expanding — just in new directions.

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Myth 8: Your Identity Won’t Change

It will.

You go from “Head of…” or “Manager of…” to simply saying, “I’m retired.”

About half your professional network quietly drifts away.

You may also discover that the world of work moves on rather quickly – your specialist knowledge becoming outdated faster than you thought.

That’s not a criticism. It’s just reality.

The trick is replacing what disappears with something new.

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Myth 9: Every Day Feels Like Saturday (and that’s perfect)

Every day does feel like Saturday. And that feels good – at least to begin with.

But then you start to realise that you actually miss Mondays and the structure of your ‘work week’.

You miss the rhythm of the week. And you still have the need to achieve something within a set period.

So you create a new framework.

You decide what will get you out of bed in the morning.

You learn to say yes — to coffee, to travel, to writing, to new collaborations, to things slightly outside your comfort zone.

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The Truth Nobody Tells You

Retirement isn’t about being financially comfortable, slowing down or stopping.

It’s about choosing.

Choosing where to go.
Choosing what to learn.
Choosing who to see.
Choosing how long to stay.

It’s less about escape — and more about choice.

And once you understand that, it becomes rather fun.

Retirement, it turns out, isn’t the end of something.

It’s simply the point where you finally get to design the next chapter of your life yourself.

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personal stance

I’m too young to slow down, ‘retire’ or to retreat into slippers and a dressing gown.

I want to use this new found freedom to travel, learn new things, say ‘Yes’ to things I might once have avoided, to stay relevant and to be useful.

I made contingency plans – just in case I ever woke up with nothing to do. I created my ‘Ideas Jar’ – please refer to the Ideas Jar page for further details – which contains lots of ideas to fill up a slack day. But I’ve yet to open it!

If I can make someone smile, then I’ve had a good day — whatever else happens.

Life needs to be lived!

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UPDATES

LAPSES

It’s always easy to start things — much harder to keep them going.

My fitness plan was simple: two gym sessions a week plus yoga.
Reality? A Nile trip, a bad cold, and “being busy” got in the way.

I’m easing back in — but it’s much harder than expected.

I’ll keep you posted!

DECLUTTERING

Being involved recently in a house clearance, I now have more focus on personal decluttering.

The collection of credit and club cards – how did that ever start? – has gone, I’ve whittled down the beer glasses and emptied my desk drawers of some old phones, cables etc. Baby steps. But it’s the trajectory that’s important!

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What retirement myths would you like to dispel?

How do you deal with lapses?

How are you dealing with decluttering?

Let me know in the comments section or email me directly:

rookieretiree@btinternet.com

Future Blog Contents

Next month’s blog is going to be a little different. We’re going to expand our ‘Other Voices’ theme by talking to retirees about their voluntary work – what they do and why they do it. So look at for ‘Other Voices: Giving Back”.

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Every chapter of the Rookie Retiree Journal explores a different side of life after full-time work — from personal stories to health, purpose and travel.

Want to explore a little further?

👉 New here? Start with the WELCOME PAGE

👉 Looking for something else? View the full CONTENTS PAGE

👉 Read related items on this topic here:

• THE START
• FINDING FULFILLMENT AFTER 9-5
• USE IT OR LOSE IT
• SOCIAL CONNECTIONS – WHO STAYS, WHO DRIFTS

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Regards

Phil Marsh is the creator of Rookie Retiree, exploring life after work — the choices, challenges and possibilities that come with the luxury of choice.