6 Months Until Retirement
Updated: Aug 28
I am a 55-year-old, gainfully employed woman who has spent 25 years in the corporate world.
And I have the worst case
of senioritis imaginable.
I have about six months left before I retire, and I am just…over it.
I spent a career building a network, climbing the ladder, taking on more responsibility, more degrees and certifications, and trying to be the person who would always go the extra mile.
Now that I've gotten about as high as I'm going to get in the time I have left, something has shifted.
I don't care about any of it anymore.
I'm done volunteering to help when a team is understaffed. I'm done taking on extra projects. I'm done trying to impress anyone.
At this point, it's all I can do to show up, do my basic job, and go home.
This is what six months away from retirement looks like for me.
I've Already Retired—Just Not Officially
Mentally and emotionally, I've already retired.
But it's not quite the right time for me to actually leave—for a combination of financial and personal reasons. I also haven't announced my retirement at work yet, for a few specific reasons.
So right now, I have this strange little secret.
I know I'm leaving.
Nobody else does.
And knowing that changes the way I see everything.
I'm no longer wondering where this job is going to take me. I'm thinking about what my life is going to look like when this job is no longer taking me anywhere.
Outside of work, I'm researching how to find purpose in retirement. I'm thinking about hobbies I'd like to try. I'm thinking about what kind of workout routine I can realistically maintain when taking care of myself becomes one of my full-time jobs.
And on weekends, I'm experimenting with retirement.
I'm trying to have days that don't look like typical weekends—the kind where you have to cram everything you need to do into two precious days because Monday is coming.
Sometimes I let myself move through an entire Sunday as though I have nothing but time.
And it feels wonderful.
Until I think:
Why wait until I retire to start living this way?
The Problem With "Just Start Now"
This is where retirement starts to mess with my head.
I'll think, Start living your life today.
So I do.
I'll start a puzzle on a Sunday afternoon and spend a few hours working on it. I'm enjoying myself. I'm exactly where I want to be.
And then I don't touch that puzzle again for a month.
Because Monday through Friday, my time belongs to my job.
My downtime is limited. There are errands and chores and appointments and workouts and all the other little things that have to fit into the cracks of a life built around a 40-plus-hour workweek.
And the puzzle is low on the priority list.
That's when I feel it most strongly.
The resentment.
I get angry that my job is taking so much of my time and energy when I already know exactly what I want to be doing with both.
I don't want more money.
I want more life.
Some Things Actually Shouldn't Wait Until Retirement
That doesn't mean I'm putting everything off until I retire.
There are some things I want to start now because waiting would actually be counterproductive.
One example is: I want to get into the points-and-miles hobby when I retire.
That hobby requires time.
There are credit cards to research, welcome bonuses to understand, minimum spending requirements to meet, and strategies to learn. Some of the cards take several months to reach the initial spending requirement.
And there's another consideration: it's generally easier to qualify for credit cards when you're still earning an income.
So I'm starting now.
But I'm doing it in the cracks of my life.
I research cards when I have a few minutes. I read articles when I have some downtime. I try to learn the system while simultaneously feeling like I don't have enough time to learn the system.
And, once again, I find myself thinking:
I am so ready for my time to belong to me.
The Part of Retirement I'm Going to Miss Before I've Even Left
But here's the thing.
I'm not going to pretend that retirement is going to be perfect.
Because I know what I'm giving up, too.
My husband and I were able to take a three-week trip to Europe this summer. We've taken about a half dozen other trips around the country to see friends and family.
I'm redecorating our den.
We've made a few other significant purchases this year.
And we've been able to do all of that without giving any of it a second thought.
Why?
Because the income keeps coming.
And, perhaps even more importantly, the bonuses keep coming.
I am painfully aware that retirement means trading disposable income for disposable time.
There will still be money. We're not going to suddenly have nothing.
But there will be a different level of intentionality around how we spend it.
That three-week European vacation might still happen. But it won't happen with quite the same casual, Sure, let's do it attitude.
We'll have to think about it.
We'll have to plan for it.
And, yes, we may need to run some of those decisions by our financial advisor first.
Everyone's financial situation is different, of course. But I suspect this trade-off is part of retirement for many people:
You gain time and lose some freedom with money.
And that's a trade I'm willing to make.
But I'm not pretending it isn't a trade.
Trying to Appreciate the Job While I'm Still Here
So for these last six months, I'm trying to notice the things about having a job that I know I'll miss once I don't have one.
The consistent paycheck.
The ever-increasing income.
The bonuses.
The structure my job has given my days, weeks and years.
The feeling of being needed.
The feeling of being relevant.
The all-day interaction with coworkers—the ones I actually like, anyway.
These things have value.
I've spent 25 years building a life around having a career. It would be ridiculous to pretend that walking away from it won't change things.
And maybe that's part of what these final six months are for.
Not just counting down.
But paying attention.
Paying attention to what I'm leaving behind.
Paying attention to what I'm moving toward.
And paying attention to the parts of myself that have been waiting for more time.
What Will Give My Days Meaning?
That's probably the question I'm thinking about most.
For 25 years, work has given my life a certain amount of structure and purpose. Even when I complained about it, I knew where I needed to be, what needed to get done, and who was counting on me.
What happens when all of that disappears?
I don't think purpose in retirement necessarily means finding another job, starting a business, or suddenly discovering some grand new calling.
Maybe it's something much simpler.
Maybe it's figuring out what makes you feel useful, connected, curious, challenged, or alive.
That's one of the reasons I created the free Second Act Purpose Workbook.
It's not a guide to finding your one true purpose. It's a place to slow down and start asking better questions about what matters to you now—and what you want the next chapter of your life to look like.
Because I'm realizing that retirement isn't just about figuring out how to spend my time.
It's about figuring out what I want my time to mean.
Six Months to Go
Don't misunderstand me for even one minute.
The second it makes sense for my husband and I to retire, I'm out.
I am absolutely counting down the days.
But I'm also curious about what happens next.
Who will I be when I'm no longer a corporate employee?
What will I do with all those hours?
Will I find purpose?
Will I miss working?
Will I become one of those people who somehow manages to be busier in retirement than she ever was while working?
I don't know yet.
And that's the interesting part.
I'm six months away from finding out.
Maybe I'll document what happens.
Maybe I'll tell you what retirement actually feels like instead of what we're told it's supposed to feel like.
Maybe I'll figure some of it out along the way.
For now, I'm still working.
Still counting.
Still dreaming about what comes next.
And increasingly, very, very ready for my time to belong to me.
If you're somewhere in the middle of your own transition—whether retirement is six months away, six years away, or you're already figuring out what comes next—you don't have to have it all figured out.
That's really what Second Act is about.
Build the Body. Strengthen the Mind. Nurture the Soul. Live with Purpose.
If you're ready to take a step back and look at your life as a whole, I've created the free Second Act Reset Guide to help you do exactly that.
It's a simple place to pause, reflect, and start thinking about what you want this next chapter to look and feel like.
Because maybe the goal isn't to figure out your entire Second Act today.
Maybe it's simply to start asking yourself:
What do I want the next chapter of my life to be?
Bonus Tool
The Retirement You Actually Want
The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity
Retirement isn't just about figuring out when to stop working. It's about figuring out what you're going to do with all the time you've gained. This is the kind of book that can get you thinking about that question before you actually walk away from your career.
As an Amazon Associate, Second Act may earn from qualifying purchases.
Comments