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While I am not too worried about arranging a maximally productive schedule in retirement, I am curious about what readers’ daily schedule looks like in retirement.
Mine so far is wake up when I wake up, sit outside with a hot cup of coffee as I run through my gratitudes, respond to emails, blog and do research for fun, eat lunch, do any household chores/projects, hike a few miles with my wife, read, eat supper, and then read/watch British mysteries on TV. Bed at 9 pm.
What modifications have you made in the course of your retirement, and why did you make them?
Thanks to all of you for sharing! This has been so illuminating.
I go on morning walks and do physical therapy exercises most days. I take a lot of classes through my local senior center and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI, national continuing education for seniors). I also attend music concerts, theater performances and movies with interest groups through Olli and senior center. I loved working. I also love not working. I am financially secure thanks to reading Jonathan and other Bogle investors when I was saving for this time in my life.
I love your statement, “I loved working. I also love not working.” That captures my own sentiment. I never wanted to retire early because I love my work. And, I never want to go back because I love retirement!
I have been retired 15 years. My first few years I was doing half time volunteer work with a global Christian ministry. I have always had some level of volunteer work in retirement. Currently, I serve on the board of two retiree association, one small and one with 50K members. I usually spend about 30 hours a month on those.
I see a number of docs for various conditions that are under control thankfully. This tends to run in cycles and right now is about 1 appt a month.
I spend time keeping up with our finances, read my Bible, church on Sunday plus other church ministries during the week, read the WSJ, do research on things I am interested in, exercise every day, clean the house, do other chores and so forth. I stay busy and do not think I waste much time.
But I may not be the best judge of that.
My only daily scheduled routine is early a.m. walk with my walking partners. The rest of my schedule varies. I noticed that ‘mytimetotravel’ was the only one that mentioned organized volunteering, which is what I do that varies throughout the week or month. Anyone else out there that does something like that besides watching the grandkids or picking them up or helping the neighbors or friends.
Several of we HDers volunteer with AARP to prepare taxes in season. We have talked about volunteering at the Humane Society as well.
I help out at a church youth club every other Friday when I’m at my permanent home. Occasionally I also volunteer to lead racket sports development courses for seniors.
I am reading about lots of coffee being consumed. Me, too. The dog generally dictates morning rise time. Coffee, breakfast, and then, well, it depends. Nothing is fixed. Rarely go out to eat. Want to read, but then there is X. Some stretching and walking and then there are podcasts, which I really enjoy. As for the evening – its been baseball, Slow Horses, and Diplomate recently. In the past it was Morse and Endeavor and Sherlock Holmes. I need to expand my horizons and get a firm schedule and stick to it; said at no time during my retirement.
HD is quite an enjoyable daily read.
My second infancy.
sleeping … eating … pooping … playing with my toys … being with other kids (these days mostly my grandchildren)
It varies. We RV for several months of the year. In the RV I’m usually awake with the first rays of dawn. When travelling this way there are frequent time zone changes. Daylight is the most reliable indicator of the beginning of a new day. Each day is a mini-adventure. In 2025 we spent four months and 7,200 miles this way. That excludes short trips with a couple of RV groups.
When stationary, I revert to a morning alarm, but usually wake as the sun comes up, no matter what time is set on the alarm.
Each night I deal with nephrostomy tube issues, so I awake at 1am and again at 4-5am. Sometimes I get up at 4.
I go online, check emails and respond. Then I read news updates and economic and market analysis. I’ll spend some time on future trip planning and gathering ideas. If we are stationary, I start the coffee machine.
G awakes and then we chat while we eat a light breakfast. Then a walk. I am supposed to have a protein heavy diet, so I usually have a second breakfast an hour later.
Then I do whatever chores or pick a project from the list, etc. My formal writing gig ended this year, so I’ve gained a couple of hours each day.
There are frequent doctor visits and medical procedures. I have a list of attending “ologists”. Treatment is less frequent, but there is weekly wound care, nephrostomy exchanges and my CT and MRI, once every 4 months is now twice a year. My medical leash has become much longer. This is the eye of the storm, before dialysis begins or kidney failure occurs.
In the southwest, it is prudent to avoid outdoor chores after 11am. So, I pay bills and do indoor repairs when the sun is high. Temperatures begin to fall after 2pm. A social group meets outdoors at 4pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I usually attend one day a week. Every other Monday at 8:30am there is a resort wide information meeting.
We are currently in a resort community and there are a lot of activities. The Halloween doggie parade is at 4pm today and the dance begins at 6. It should be spooktacular. I’m the “sound guy” for a band and with dances beginning I need to boot the sound system, tablet and PC and make sure they are operational and ready for this season.
Every Sunday morning there is a small group breakfast.
I do need to use a calendar to keep all of this straight and avoid dropping anything out!
Thanks, Norm, for your response. I live in the mountains, mostly isolated from others, so my social life looks nothing like yours (or those who live in resort communities). Still, I can relate to needing a calendar.
Ah, British mysteries, that’s our routine as well-good old Britbox for us. New Tricks, Shetland, Death in Paradise, Shakespeare and Hathaway, Father Brown, but I wish I could find new episodes of Mrs Browns Boys too😎
We have been retired nearly 16 years and getting older in the process. The daily routine has changed over the years.
The days of planning trips and international travel are over, but we still hope for more road trips and several times a year to Cape Cod where we spend most of the summer.
This will be the first year in a long time we won’t be going to Florida in the winter.
Most mornings I am up around five, a habit I have never been able to break. I make a cup of coffee and grab my iPad. I check HD, my blog, stock market futures, my Fidelity account and read portions the WSJ and NYTs online.
When I can in the afternoon I like watching documentaries on YouTube-historical, archaeological, art and occasionally retirement planning shows.
Weekends usually involve a family activity, mostly a grandchild’s sports event.
Since Connie doesn’t drive anymore, I’m her Uber wherever she needs or wants to go. That’s pretty much a daily activity.
A trip to the supermarket is usually on the agenda as is preparing dinner although I must admit we are definitely eating out more or bringing home prepared foods.
Except in the winter, Tuesday and Thursday are golf days.
I suspect many people may find our lives a bit boring and that’s true, but I found that as you age, you don’t notice it.
Our days are pretty much how we want them to be – do something or nothing. Except for those darn doctor visits😢
Not boring at all. Can’t fault this: “Our days are pretty much how we want them to be…”
Boring is in the eye of the beholder, Dick. I appreciate the perspective of how your routines have changed to adapt to new situations and priorities in your lives.
Because we’re nomadic, it’s always changing, but there are some constants. Usually up in the neighborhood of 7am. Have some coffee, and a short, easy movement routine. Usually breakfast in, but not always. I like to get my workout in the morning, but sometimes it’s the afternoon. Almost daily have a long walk. We rarely have a car, so there’s always lots of walking even if it’s not “a walk” but we do like walking for its own sake and tend to choose to be in places where it’s enjoyable to do.
Depending on where we are, there may be something in the area that we want to make a point of doing at a certain time of day. I like coffee shops so I’m visiting them if we’re in an area that has them; sometimes that’s the two of us; sometimes just me. (This often leads to cake; it’s a weakness.) I do my brain training at some point, read at some point. Most evenings we have dinner in and watch some tv. Usually if we eat a meal out it’s breakfast or lunch.
Household activities are worth mentioning. Food is a bit of an adventure because even for basics, we don’t have a regular bakery or butcher etc, or know which store is best for this or that. My wife is gluten free so that adds a wrinkle when changing places. We also like to try local things wherever we are. So we spend more time and brain cells than most people on food. And at some point we’re also figuring out public transportation, how our appliances and the remote(s) work, and where we’re going to be next and how to get there.
One constant is reading in bed – always, and never on the phone. There’s nothing on my phone I want to see before sleep.
Thanks for sharing, Michael. I appreciate how your routine changes with context. Unfortunately, I love donuts, and must try all the varieties.
I hear you. Today I had a really good raspberry and white chocolate scone. Will be making the hour plus walk again down the Fife Coastal Path to hopefully try their coffee and walnut one; I dithered today and somebody else got the last of them.
For the first fifteen years I was either planning travel, traveling, or writing about travel. Then there were some down years with rheumatoid arthritis and then Covid isolation. Since I moved to the CCRC I have been staying busy. I do block Sunday for “introvert recharge day”, and I do try to keep mornings for reading my emails, playing a couple of word games and checking HumbleDollar. Doesn’t always work – I have a subcommittee meeting this coming Monday morning. In the afternoons I have line dance on Mondays and square dance on Fridays, and currently rhythm band on Wednesdays. Thursday afternoons I play Scrabble downtown. I volunteer in the library once a week and the gift shop twice a month. I use the weight machines at least twice a week and ideally three times, plus the treadmill or a walk outside at least once.
That doesn’t count lectures, expeditions, social events, etc. etc.
The alarm goes off at 8:00 and I often hit snooze a couple of times. I aim for lunch around 11:45, sometimes with a friend, sometimes at the communal table and sometimes in my apartment. Dinner is 6:00 to 6:30ish, again, sometimes with friends. I do the New York Times crossword at 10:00 pm, and then work on a jigsaw for a local thrift shop while listening to podcasts or Great Courses. I am getting behind on my reading…
You have a busy schedule! Sounds like fun.
We also have dedicated time to planning travel and travelling. With your 15 years experience, what have been some of your highlights? (We are always looking for ideas, even though we already have a long list.)
So many places… Also, they change. The Beijing I saw in 2004, never mind 1997, isn’t the Beijing you would see today.
Some highlights: the Trans-Mongolian, Samarkand and Khiva, Angkor Wat, Venice, the Karakoram Highway, flight seeing Everest, Taj Mahal, Luang Prabang in 2002…..I could go on. The posts on my blog don’t link any more, but take a look.
Thanks. I look forward to browsing!
You didn’t ask me, but if the opportunity ever arises again, try Israel and Russia. Two places that will change your view of the world.
Thanks! I appreciate the suggestions.
I’ve been retired for almost 5-1/2 years, but I still normally wake up between 6 and 7 AM every day.
After (or before) breakfast I consider what my exercise schedule will be for that day. Most often it’s a bike ride to the trails of our local state park, but I mix it up with a trip to the YMCA for core workouts or a walk/hike somewhere.
I keep a Google calendar updated with my social schedule (usually lunches, but on Thursday nights I play pool). I also have volunteer activities – church stuff, reading tutor, etc. I try to make time for woodworking projects, mostly because I have a chair to finish.
I do watch some evening TV, often a movie or sports. I no longer watch television news. I read a lot, and sometimes have two books going on simultaneously.
I spend too much d*mn time on the computer. On the up side, there’s quality online stuff like Humble Dollar or MarketWatch. On the down side, I do too much doom scrolling and reading questionable (AI hallucination) articles.
Rinse and repeat.
Thanks for responding, Jeff!
I don’t watch television news either – just not comprehensive enough. I try to stick to 15 minutes with the New York Times and The Guardian. My daughter reports for public radio’s “Marketplace” so I get my economic news there.
I also keep two books going…usually a novel and a non-fiction book at the same time.
Cool. I used to really enjoy Marketplace when I had to drive to work.
On reading… I also often have two going, partially because of a rule analogous to my “no phone reading at bedtime” rule. I also don’t read finance or self-help kinds of things in bed – nothing that’s going to get me thinking about how “I should” or “I shouldn’t” do something right before sleep. Those kinds of things are daytime only. Bedtime is usually history or fiction.
The joy of my retirement schedule is that there is no schedule! The only consistent and predictable part of my day is my coffee first thing in the morning and a morning walk with my pup. Through trial and error, I have found that I prefer to be a sub for tennis or pickleball so I’m not anyone’s “regular” to be invited to play on certain days/times, though it often works out that I play one or both sports at least once a week. I also play cards with a group that I can request to be included when it appeals to me. I do resistance workouts with weights 3-4 days a week and yoga but not on any set schedule. And I love to go thrift store shopping if I need something but I seldom bring the same friend with me twice. The saying that variety is the spice of life is certainly true for me!
I like your (non) schedule, Jan! Isn’t thrifting fun? I can afford new, but why not reuse instead.
It’s fun, addicting and good for the planet! Glad to hear that you love it too, Carl! I’ve received far more compliments on my “new” clothes than I did when I bought retail.
Our’s is truly a grueling schedule, I don’t know how I ever had time to work.
We too get up when it suits us, usually in the 7AM neighborhood. Then it’s coffee or tea for a couple hours while I read the local paper, check emails, Facebook, HumbleDollar, and sometimes bank and credit card activity.
Chrissy is very organized and has broken down domestic chores into a 3 day schedule. Monday is floors day, Tuesday is bathroom day, and etc.
There are always errands such as doctors, groceries, little projects to accomplish.
I get to the gym three times per week, and exercise at home two or three times.
I meet different friends for lunch two or three times per week, and there’s at least a couple dinners out with Chris, often with friends or family.
There is always a little down time during the day when I check in on HumbleDollar, check the markets, or read.
For two or three hours in the evening we turn on the TV. We usually have something entertaining to stream. Bedtime is around 10PM.
All of this brings me to the worst thing of all about being retired; I never get a day off.
What a great concluding line! I am going to steal it. Thanks for sharing, Dan.
My mornings always start the same way, with a black coffee. After that, things split depending on the day. A few mornings each week I’m on grandkid duty, taking them to school. The other four I’m meeting up with various groups for racket sports, one of the better changes since retiring, shifting my games from those frantic evening slots to a more civilised morning routine.
Between one thing and another, that usually swallows up the morning and early afternoon. The rest of the afternoon and early evening gets carved up between time with my wife, cycling, and walking. Come late evening, I’m not much for TV—I’d rather be reading, writing, or cooking. Then there’s the garden, which is fairly large and demands attention, plus seeing friends whenever I can squeeze them in.
All I can tell you is this: it’s a good job I’m retired. Just writing down my schedule is exhausting, there’s no way paid employment could be shoehorned into the day!
Thank you, Mark. That is a busy but fun looking schedule.
In six years my schedule hasn’t changed at all. In the am hours of reading (investing, news, sports). The gym for weights or home stationary bicycling) before lunch, then hours of pleasure reading. Modifications are sometimes yard work or cutting the lawn as substitutes for exercise. This is interrupted several times per year for domestic and international travel of varying times frames, but generally international travel is for two weeks at a time to limit flight expenses.
Sorry, David, I don’t understand what you mean by limiting international travel to two weeks because of the airfare. I always figured that the longer I stayed, the less per day the airfare represented. Once I got to Europe or Asia I mostly switched to ground transport, or an occasional budget flight.
We do the same. In other words we go for two weeks at a time to see more when we travel in order to not have to fly twice to see all we want to. In other words we flew to Italy and traveled from Pompeii to Rome, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terra, Modena, and finally Venice all in one trip rather than breaking all those locations into two trips/flights from the US.
Oh. Clearly we have a different definition of a short – or long – trip. Mine usually lasted months rather than weeks.
Your schedule sounds wonderful, David. Domestic and International travel delightfully interrupt our daily schedule, too!