Boredom Of Retirement

farmerart
I am well into the second year of my retirement and I am bored. I have many interests - SCs, gardening, travel, investing, reading, cooking, metal sculpting, wine, occasional oil patch trouble shooting commissions, farm work for my neighbours, my beloved nieces and goddaughters. But it is all NOTHING to me.

My workaholic nature will not leave me. My health remains excellent and my energy level is as high as it was in my twenties. I still sleep barely four hours a night. I am seriously considering getting back into the oil patch as a "player" again. The opportunity that I am looking at would require at least a five year commitment on my part and would require a return to the misery of the isolated bush camp in the far north for much of the year.

My fear is this - would this be just more "busy" work for me since I would never have the emotional attachment to this venture that I had for my original company? Am I just grasping at straws? Is boredom all there is for me? Is my path from here to death set in stone?

Are any of you other retired guys dealing with this boredom? Any suggestions for me?





10 comments

Latest

farmerart
14 years ago
Sorry about the format. Obviously I failed samsung1's tutorial.
shadowcat
14 years ago
Art, I feel your pain. I will be 69 in Jan and have been retired for the last 19 months. I stated delivering newspapers when I was 10 and have never been unemployed. 42 years with my last employer. Boredom is a real challenge. I cannot go back to work in my previous occupation. There are only about 2,000 people in the U.S. doing it. Besides the activities that you mention, I also spend a lot more time with my grand daughters. I am baby sitting both of them this coming Saturday.

Now here is an outlet that I might pursue. Going back to school. I speak a fair amount of tourist Spanish. I have always wanted to become fluent but the hours that I worked prevented me from going to classes.I now have the time. I am still researching my options. If I decide to go through with it, then there would be many opportunities for part time work that require a person to be bi-lingual. Even charity work. I don't need any money. I didn't read the tutorial either. lol...
troop
14 years ago
art.. no advice from me other than you're obviously a smart guy and i'm sure you will be able to figure things out for yourself.
txtittyfan
14 years ago
It sounds like you need to get a new focus in your life to replace being a business owner. I am in my early 50's and work out of my home as a day trader and tend to have a lot of free time.

When I worked in the corporate world I to was a workaholic. Now I channel those tendencies into my daily routine to plan my days so that I can enjoy everything I want to do for the day. It helps that I have a young pre teen daughter and live in a great environment.

Everyday I wake up with the goal to accomplish something. This has helped to mitigate no longer being able to accomplish in the corporate world. Boredom is all in the mind.
steve229
14 years ago
You gotta get your hands dirty <p>
When you're digging a ditch <p>
And boredom is God's <p>
Revenge on the rich <p>
--"Sugar Daddy" Tom Jones <p>
<p>
Farmerart - I'm not exactly sure what that is supposed to mean, but it seemd appropriate to your situation somehow.
MisterGuy
14 years ago
Get some better hobbies or find somewhere that you'd be interested in volunteering at in your community.

I'll never quite understand the workaholic mindset. Millions of people die before they ever get to retire. You should consider yourself lucky. Enjoy life...it can be taken away at any moment.

----------------------

"I cannot go back to work in my previous occupation"

...because you were basically let go for being a drunk. They'd never have you back in a million years scat...ugh...
Dudester
14 years ago
You love working with your hands. Retired guys in my church with LARGE bank accounts spend lots of voluteer time doing intersting stuff. Get involved with habitat for humanity.
georgmicrodong
14 years ago
I'll echo the going back to school and volunteering ideas. Bot let you occupy your mind, and if done right, your body. Find something you *can* get emotionally attached to, but not such that you'll have a hard time leaving if a better fit comes along.

I've already decided that I'm not going to stop working if I don't have to. I may not be doing the same thing I am now, and it might not pay much, but the idea of "retirement" as some kind of extended vacation or a chance to sit on a porch someplace and wait to die is pretty unappealing to me. I need to *produce* something. Mind you, my breaks might be longer, but I'm going to work.

Don't forget to set aside some time for clubbing. :)
CTQWERTY
14 years ago
Art, get a place just barely in Idaho and then run for Congress!!!
farmerart
14 years ago
CTQ: You go to hell (or Washington D.C.)!
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