I need motivation

I have been retired not quite a month now.

The first week I was sick with bronchitis so I was in bed. When I worked I was up at 5:00 a.m., at work by 6:30 and home by 5:00. I had no problem being in bed and asleep by 9:00 at the latest.

Now I can't sleep. I am wide awake some nights until midnight and sleep most of the day. I have no energy and no motivation to do anything.

I don't regret retiring at all. After 29 years it was time, but my goal is to move to Florida where my daughter and grands are and packing is not happening.

I kinda feel lost.

Comments for I need motivation

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Sallye, you are doing good!
by: Wendy, retirement enthusiast

So proud of your change in attitude!

You are right -- you cannot financially help her at every step. She needs to take action herself.

Will she be there for you, financially, when you need her most? Really unlikely, right? Aging is difficult, don't get yourself messed up any more financially.

Give her heart support. Be her cheerleader. BUT let her stand on her own two feet.

Sleep Well Girl!
Open my Eyes
by: Sallye/ mississippi

Wow...Thank you so much for all the great comments and suggestions. It has now been going on 6 months since I retired and I am doing better adjusting.

I am sleeping better and getting up earlier. I have put moving to Florida on hold indefinitely for several reasons. My daughter has been fighting a divorce from a narcissist for over a year and a half. Her dad has never been there for her as a father or financially so I have been the one to step up her whole life but she is breaking me financially.

I look back and realize I have done this because that's what you do for your kids but I can't anymore. Ive got to take care of me. I am guilty of putting her needs first.

Advice please.
Motivation - and sleep - will return.....
by: Shell

Your comments caught my eye because I had an upset in my sleep cycles after I retired, too.

For 3-6 months, I could be up half the night with no apparent reason (i.e., I was not doing anything different, no added caffiene, etc) and sleeping late, or even getting up at my normal early time, and needing to go back to bed.

It DID settle down, it just took time. I was never sure why it happened or why it changed, but eventually I drifted back into a healthy, normal sleep-wake routine.

So, give it time and let it be and it will likely be OK!

And, by the way, that is the best advice I have for everything else, too, as far as adjusting to retirement.
Retirement is not for the weak
by: Sherry/ NC

Joe, said it right!
Motivation
by: Sallye W.

Thank you for all the good suggestions and comments. Taking my time is a good idea!

Wendy: WOOT! Going into retirement with a nice, slow, lets-see-what-happens attitude. Allow yourself the time to get to know the retired you, there is a new person (minus hectic work life) emerging!
Hang in there
by: Jan/Idaho

I actually think that it is not uncommon to get illnesses right after retirement. I have talked to several people that this has happened to.

I retired in January of 2018 and immediately had an already scheduled foot surgery and a month later I had to have it revised. Then I got a stress fracture in the same foot.

During the recovery period I was tired and napped all the time. Also had no motivation which I found out was depression. It was a good 6 months and just as I was feeling better I ended up needing bilateral carpal tunnel surgery.

Little by little everything got better and I just took it a day at a time. Some days I got really inspired and cleaned house. Other days I just felt like reading or watching TV.

Just do what you need to do to care for yourself. I now feel so much better. I go the gym several days a week and take my dogs to the park most days. I meet friends for coffee or lunch. I agree, don't rush into moving.

Get your bearings and you may find that you would rather just visit your family. Good luck.
Ease back into night sleep
by: Laura in Vermont

You've been sick, so it makes sense you would sleep differently. Your new sleep pattern doesn't agree with you so when you are feeling fairly well recovered, start going to bed 15 minutes before midnight. Give that a week. It should get easier to fall asleep then. And then go to bed 15 minutes earlier than that. Rinse and repeat.

You could set an alarm for 8 hours after your bedtime, too, so you don't oversleep. Your old regime was an 8 hour night.

Soon you will find you are sleeping at night and up for the day. That should help with the energy and motivation you will want for your retirement plans. Best of luck!
Give yourself time...
by: Junebug in WI

It took me a full year to adjust to retirement. I am up earlier now than when I worked, but my body AND MIND needed time to adjust. 29 years puts a lot of habits in place; you will need to decide your new schedule and what motivates you. It is nice to be near family,, but remember that they have full lives so you will need to get out there and make your own new friends.

Good luck you will learn to love retirement.
Retirement Blues
by: Anonymous

I retired about a year ago and i faced a similar situation. Two months after i retired i came down with a illness that took over six months to heal. During that time i could not do anything but either lay in bed or on the couch watching tv. Boy was it boring.

When i was finally able to get around i also did not have the energy to do anything. But i decided that i had to start enjoying my retirement. I forced myself to go to the gym and do things around the house.

Now i am totally enjoying my retirement. It has become easier to find things to do.
Lost in Packing
by: Joe W.

I would re-focus your transition time to retirement and just explore and find some new possible pathways.

Retirement is not for the weak. It will probably take some courage and a good retirement plan to achieve any goals that you might have. If you haven't done any pre-retirement planning then it might take you a year or even several years to get going again.

My literal 'walk in the wilderness' took several years and as a result I developed many calluses and warts as byproducts by trying to implement my own process. I presently treated my calluses but I still have an appointment in early April to treat a stubborn wart.

And, yes I did discover my new self as being the Founder of the Seniorpreneur Project. Good Luck with your striving to be the best the you can be.

Joe W.
Seniorpreneur
You will get it
by: Sherry/ NC

Bronchitis is bad; I've had it through the years. It is dangerous because it can turn into pneumonia! Relax get well and it will take quite a while to get well. Just say to yourself I am sick. I will go to the
doctor and do what he says and you will be well again. Then when you are feeling good again you will be motivated to move to Florida.

Don't rush it you will be sorry.

Take good care for yourself and your family too!
Give yourself a break.
by: Wendy, retirement enthusiast

You just retired a month ago, you had bronchitis. Please give yourself a break -- let your mind and body heal itself from the long work life first.

Maybe start a long to do list:

-- break all the bigger things you need to do into small tasks
-- long lists of small jobs
-- think every room out, how to pack, what to give away/toss

When you are ready, the thinking is done, now the action takes first place -- when you are ready!

Right Now -- Breathe Deeply!

Enjoy your nothingness!

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