In my last post, I wrote about how, since FIREing, I seem to be finding my way to enjoying and living more in the moment than I have in decades. During my working days after starting to pursue FIRE, that was something I’d hoped would happen. Whether it actually would, however, was an open question. I’d just have to see.
Having now traded places from a working stiff to a layabout nonworking stiff, I’ve noticed other happy (or at least interesting) changes that seem to be happening. Here are a few:
Habit, you all
I’m nothing if not a creature of habit. No more so than as to my workday when I was working. And especially while I worked from home, having learned a few things about how to do that effectively. In each stint of my working remotely, I picked a specific location in the home where I’d set up my workplace. Although there’ve been times where I could have commandeered a spare bedroom for my office, I never did. Rather, I always worked from a main living space in my home. For the last few years, I worked from the dining room. Mostly because it has a nice flat table, comfortable chairs, and lots of natural light. It also allowed me to be situated in a place where I could see members of The Family coming and going, and where I was mere steps from the kitchen, a bathroom, and a door to the outside.
I also picked a single spot because it served the purpose of—at least during working hours—getting my brain to think, “OK, this is our workspace. I am now (focused on) working.” In that, it worked successfully for me.
In our current house, the dining room is on the upper floor of our two-floor residence, as are the bedrooms of Thing One (The Elder) and Thing Two (The Younger). The lower floor consists of, among other rooms, a comfortable living room, in which there’s a comfortable couch.
Whereas during my working days, I’d set up camp in the dining room at about 7:30 a.m. and work more or less consistently until about 4:00–4:30 p.m., things changed immediately once I FIRE’d. Now, my morning consists of helping Thing Two out the door and then coming down to the downstairs living room, where I jump on the laptop to do things like catch up on the news, read emails, surf the web, and bang out nonsensical blog posts, for example. Just as working from the dining room helped my brain delineate space and time dedicated to working, operating from a totally different place now helps my brain realize that there are no work obligations, and, usually, no time obligations.
This change wasn’t premeditated. But it’s sort of taken hold. I quite enjoy it.
Good reads
While working, I longed to be one of those people who read books all the time. I’m making good on this wish. In a typical year before FIREing, I’d read maybe one or two books at most. In a banner year, maybe three or four. More times than I care to admit, I read precisely zero books over the course of the year. That’s not to say I didn’t read a ton. I did. Magazines, newspapers, and blogs by the dozens each week. But books? Sadly, not so much.
Already this year, I’ve read three books cover to cover: My Beloved World, by Sonia Sotomayor (I really enjoyed it, and learned a lot about the Justice), Skinny Dip, by Carl Hiassen, an author I’d wanted to read for years (a light read, but something of a disappointment), and The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead (hands down one of the best books I’ve ever read; go out and read it now . . . right now!). I’ve also finished a book I’d long ago started: Beasts of No Nation, by Uzodinma Iweala (good, and highly disturbing, even for someone like me, who already knew a lot about the subject that the book covers). And I’m working on finishing another book I’d started but never got around to finishing (Race, by Studs Terkel) and have started yet another (Sick in the Head, by Judd Apatow).
In the days pursuing FIRE, I thought maybe this post-FIRE reading would be sporadic and I’d finish maybe five books over the course of the year. But once I started reading, I remembered something I’d sadly forgotten: I really enjoy reading books. A lot. And once I get started, I get on a roll. Previously, that roll invariably would be abruptly interrupted by work. Not now, baby! Sure, the wintery weather we’ve had in my neck of the woods of late has kept me indoors—and, so, more inclined to read—more than I’d like. But whatever the case, it’s been quite a very pleasant change of pace.
A full day
I’ve read a lot about people who FIRE finding themselves post-FIRE as busy or busier than they were while working. Sure, their days’ activities are all (or mostly) things that they want to do, rather than things they’d most definitely rather not do. But a lot of things and time.
I’ve made it a specific point to just not work for now. I’m pursuing some volunteer opportunities, but as to finding obligations that’ll take a part of my day on a regular basis, that’s as far as it goes for now.
But somewhat to my surprise, my days are pretty full. Leisurely, to be sure. But full. A typical day will involve the activities concerning getting Thing Two out the door and then parking my butt on the living room couch, then some house cleaning, a long walk or bike ride outside and getting groceries if I need to, reading, and cooking dinner for The Family. Once it warms up some more, and the daylight hours get even longer, there’ll be much more outside time.
So, all in all, little stress or feeling rushed. But full and enjoyable days. It’s awful nice.
And in the end . . .
I’m not surprised by any of these things. I mean, I sort of anticipated they might happen. And I’ve read of many others who’ve FIREd having experienced the same. But I am surprised by how fast all of these changes have happened. I’m only a little over a month in, and I already feel like I couldn’t go back to a full-time worker. It almost doesn’t feel real.
