Just too little time.

ESBlonde

Some facts in my life.
12 years ago I was made redundant as the three business owners decided to sell off and stop worrying. 5 years later the youngest died aged 62. His money didn't help him then. 
The business I now work for is owned by two brothers who are comfortsble millionairs.  The oldest is almost blind and relies on staff help at home. The other died earlier this year at 71. 
I have started a two year plan to retire early and have the time. I may not be super rich in cash,  but comfortable. I have equipped my woodwork hobby shop, my veg garden is well established and the house will be up to date maintained before I stop work so as to not have jobs pending for many years. I have several band and music projects running gently and having just had a week off work littering I'm sure retirement will suit me well. 

57Deluxe

must be the Watchmaker's mantra - "I need more time..."

darthed1981

57Deluxe said:

must be the Watchmaker's mantra - "I need more time..."

Also the Caretaker

Sorry, someone mentioned Star Trek Voyager earlier...

stratman3142

Having goals, interests/hobbies and areas to improve is a great place to be. The journey rather than the end state is fulfilling. I'm retired now and I still don't have time and don't expect to be able to achieve everything I want to do, because I'll keep adding to the list.

Bridgehouse

I personally think it’s about feeling a sense of achievement.

You can spend all the time you like thinking about things you’d like to do - enough things to fill three lifetimes. 

But you can’t do them all. So I like to think that if I do some things that give me a sense of achievement then I’ve filled my time, to some extent, wisely

TheBigDipper

Platitude Alert...

"Grant me the ability to do what I can, accept it when I cannot and the wisdom to be able to tell the difference".

Not original, I know, but I find it helpful. I've finally accepted I'll never play for England, for example... Or headline at The Rainbow.

All I can offer is that retiring doesn't give you any more time - not for me, anyway. You just have different pressures on your time from different sources. Losing the driver of needing to earn an income also means you lose an easy source of priority setting. When work makes you busy and demands your presence, some of your scheduling becomes out of your control (and therefore responsibility)

Sporky

Bridgehouse said:

I personally think it’s about feeling a sense of achievement.

I'd say its about happiness, which is a product of purpose (or sense of achievement) and pleasure. Without both you're either a workaholic (and we all know workaholic isn't good for you) or a hedonist. Different people have different balance points, and the balance point for each of us shifts over time, but being happy is an excellent goal.

Like @ttony I am a dabbler. Its unlikely I'll be great at anything, but I'll have a darned good time at a lot of things.

Chalky

gringopig said:

fandango said:

If by working out life's priorities, folk mean discipline, then I'm all for it.

"Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction." Margaret Thatcher.

Did you just quote Margaret Thatcher? I mean, she's not wrong but but but...

ArrGGhhH!

<conflicted>

She's pretty much quoting Marcus Aurelius and other Stoics so you can relax.

Stoicism is purposeful. Hedonism, which is what many on here are expressing, is essentially purposeless by comparison.

octatonic

Sporky said:

Like @ttony I am a dabbler. Its unlikely I'll be great at anything, but I'll have a darned good time at a lot of things.

I guess I have tendencies in that direction too.
It is partly why I got out of guitar building- I realised I'd have to basically stop playing to make it work.
Selling the machinery and chucking the money into my studio was one of the best things I've done for myself- concentrating on playing and producing and narrowing down my list of available things to do. I'm happier for it.

TTBZ

With an 18 month old son who's constantly on the go I struggle to find time to do everything I want as well. My interests seem to be all the ones that are time consuming and expensive which doesn't fit into family life too well! Mountain biking has fallen by the wayside and I probably ride that once every few months whereas before it was probably once or twice a week.

Guitar is the only one I can really pick up for a quick 10 minute noodle but wish I could dedicate more time to it as I'm starting to see my skills slipping now. At one point I used to consider myself a fairly good guitarist but I definitely wouldn't say that now! Its a bit sad but I'd never let my family life suffer to please my own ego.

Jalapeno

@thomasross20 - Elon Musk and his 120hrs a week - it's driving him straight to a nervous breakdown (if he hasn't already).

The quotation above ^^^^ "Grant me the ability to do what I can, accept it when I cannot and the wisdom to be able to tell the difference".Is pretty sagacious advice.  Don't dissapoint yourself dabbling in too much (or worse dreaming about dabbling - the Amazon book syndrome of buy-a-how-to-book-and-never-read-it ...

Looking forward to retiring - it's the reason I've dropped to 4 days a week - the main idea is to get in the guitar fettling bit of the shed and practice more. Maybe (only maybe) get back into recording a smidge (strictly for my own amusement/ego deflation).

VimFuego

I guess I'm lucky, in that I turned my hobby (gardening/estate work/DIY) into my livelihood. I work about 15 hours a week, spread over 4 days, and all my clients are within the village, so mostly I walk to them. I have a range of jobs, from a small suburban garden to a 10 acre manor house grounds (I'm lucky here in that I also get free firewood and they have a couple of fishing lakes that don't get fished except my me). So, while I don't earn a large amount by any stretch of the imagination, I earn a living each year and really enjoy what I do. 

If it helps, I am insufferably smug about it. 

thomasross20

@jalapeno - true, yes - I saw that story!

When would be good to start doing a 4 day week, I wonder... I know companies in the area offer this.......

TTony

thomasross20 said:

When would be good to start doing a 4 day week, I wonder... I know companies in the area offer this.......

Monday?

LuttiS

Chalky said:

gringopig said:

fandango said:

If by working out life's priorities, folk mean discipline, then I'm all for it.

"Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction." Margaret Thatcher.

Did you just quote Margaret Thatcher? I mean, she's not wrong but but but...

ArrGGhhH!

<conflicted>

She's pretty much quoting Marcus Aurelius and other Stoics so you can relax.

Stoicism is purposeful. Hedonism, which is what many on here are expressing, is essentially purposeless by comparison.

I'm a Seventh Day Hedonist...

 Best. Religion. Ever.

LuttiS

TTBZ said:

With an 18 month old son who's constantly on the go I struggle to find time to do everything I want as well. My interests seem to be all the ones that are time consuming and expensive which doesn't fit into family life too well! Mountain biking has fallen by the wayside and I probably ride that once every few months whereas before it was probably once or twice a week.

Guitar is the only one I can really pick up for a quick 10 minute noodle but wish I could dedicate more time to it as I'm starting to see my skills slipping now. At one point I used to consider myself a fairly good guitarist but I definitely wouldn't say that now! Its a bit sad but I'd never let my family life suffer to please my own ego.

Pretty much exactly the same situation... Only it's a girl and she's 25m.
I've lost so much as a guitarist and no longer pretty swish at drums. 
It does get a bit easier though.. these last 6m I've actually started having a little time

Just a little though.

FreddieVanHalen

octatonic said:

Sporky said:

Like @ttony I am a dabbler. Its unlikely I'll be great at anything, but I'll have a darned good time at a lot of things.

I guess I have tendencies in that direction too.

A lady called Barbara Sher wrote some books around this.

Her premise was basically that society pressures  people towards mastery and achievement, but actually it’s ok to dabble in a lot of things if that’s what really floats your boat.

Chalky

FreddieVanHalen said:

octatonic said:

Sporky said:

Like @ttony I am a dabbler. Its unlikely I'll be great at anything, but I'll have a darned good time at a lot of things.

I guess I have tendencies in that direction too.

A lady called Barbara Sher wrote some books around this.

Her premise was basically that society pressures  people towards mastery and achievement, but actually it’s ok to dabble in a lot of things if that’s what really floats your boat.

Though she writes from an American society viewpoint, and I don't think that level or strength of societal pressure exists here.  Serendipitous enjoyment is very acceptable here.

FreddieVanHalen

Chalky said:

FreddieVanHalen said

A lady called Barbara Sher wrote some books around this.

Her premise was basically that society pressures  people towards mastery and achievement, but actually it’s ok to dabble in a lot of things if that’s what really floats your boat.

Though she writes from an American society viewpoint, and I don't think that level or strength of societal pressure exists here.  Serendipitous enjoyment is very acceptable here.

That’s probably generally true, but it also depends on your work environment to a large extent.

Most of the firms I’ve worked for over the last couple of decades have either been American or inspired by a hard driving culture.

Sher seems to have  a following in Germany, not sure if that culture is more American in regards to this? I’ve never lived or worked there so don’t know..

Grunfeld

Chalky said:

gringopig said:

Did you just quote Margaret Thatcher? I mean, she's not wrong but but but...
ArrGGhhH!
<conflicted>

She's pretty much quoting Marcus Aurelius and other Stoics so you can relax.

You're making it worse!

Now I'm going to have it in my head that one of my favourite philosophers was a bloody Thatcherite!

===

I don't actually "do" politics, I have some views but not strong ones.

But when a politician says he or she likes a band, or poet, or anything really I just want them not to be associated with it.

A completely unreasonable view of mine.  But there it is anyway.  If Donald Trump said he was really into Michael Schenker, Silversun Pickups, and roots reggae from the 1970s I'd be gutted!