At a loose end

[rigga]

Well as it happens, I did my last shift at work Monday night, decided I'd had enough and retired at 55
Family history has not had many making into their 60's, so when my twin sister passed at 50 from cancer, I kind of made my mind up that I wanted to buck the trend, and actually have a life after work that they never had.
Feels bloody strange to be honest, although technically I'm still employed until the 6/3, I'm off shift currently and then have 3 days holiday booked, but as for actually going into work ..... I'm done, no more 04.45 wake ups, no more nights.

More time down the garage I guess, and walking the dog's.

[stusco]

Enjoy😁

[veg]

Well Done mate and enjoy 👍

[29davyt]

Enjoy mate ! I finished when I was 54, 3 odd years ago , best thing I ever did 👍

[ajh]

I gave up 18mths ago at 53 and agree its best thing but one thing amazes me is Im almost as busy as I was with a full time job. Just shows how much people cram in these days, not good for your health!

[steve h]

I hope you don't miss it...
I enjoyed it so much, I would never have given it up... given the choice.

[st66]

I wish,,, still a slave to the rhythm another 14 yrs to go,,, grrrrr enjoy pal

[midlifecrisisrd]

Lucky boy, not jealous at all

I'm hoping to rap it at 55 too. 3 years to go although over the last year I'm lucky if I've worked 6 weeks with furlough/flexi furlough

Got a work day tomorrow

Steve

[cb250g5]

I stopped at 53, never looked back.

[dusty350]

I went at 50, mainly to preserve my knackered back. Luckily I was on the old pension scheme - I would have been penalized financially if I had carried on !!
Still work part time and seem as busy as ever, but with stuff of my choosing !

Good luck, you wont look back.

Dusty

[donkeychomp]

Congrats! Enjoy everything!

Alex

[gazzatt2]

enjoy
I want to retire earlier than the 67 im supposed too
been on furlough shielding since last March
a good practice run

[sbscnor]

Well done hope you find time for the bikes, I currently seriously thinking about it but like the idea of working part time.

[muttsnuts]

best thing I did was retire, but then the bikes/hobby has taken a life all of its own in the past 10+yrs, so I am now full time busy running my business/fixing bikes (as most of you know), but its on my terms so to speak and I have a really well equipped workshop now for doing all my projects, shame I actually don't have anytime to do them - still I've got one of the best retirements/jobs I suppose, combining a passion with work, so long as it pays its way and covers the costs of running the business, then I am happy

[mouse]

Well done Rigga. Same for me, i was self employed and this Covid s***e pretty much finished off my work, that and the fact that i was utterly fed up with the work too!

So, now i have a lot of free time, i will decide what to do in the future, but for now, i'm just pottering about and enjoying my bikes, i may get a part time job in the future, who knows.

I always thought it would be nice to retire while i still have some life left in me, not when i am so old that i retire and then keel over, what's the point!!

I think you have made the right decision especially considering your family history.

All the best

Mouse

[steven]

Well done mate.
Iv been talking about it since I was 50, but still working yet, (3 shifts) and I turned 54 on Sunday !
Im sure Id have no problems at all getting my day in, I just need to pluck up the courage to do it.
All the best for your retirement.
Steven.

[dusty350]

I've not doubt night shifts accelerate the aging process in our bodies ! We are diurnal creatures (daytime active) and not nocturnal ( night time active), and continued night time working takes a heavy toll over the years. I had a mate who joined us after being a night hours baker for Tesco's. He did 5 nights a week, midnight till 6am, and suffered migraines and cluster headaches regularly, and was generally not as well as a young guy should have been. He dropped to 2 nights a week when he joined us, and his health improved dramatically.
I dont miss nightshifts at all, now that I dont do them, but when I did, it was just part of the job and I didn't give it much thought. It's only when you step away you realise the toll they take.

Dusty

[350wayne]

I’ll second what Dusty just said ! I did nearly 20 years straight of permanent nights as a maintenance engineer in a factory . I’m finished now and didn’t realise how hard it was ( on my well being ) until I stopped ! Never again ....

[rigga]

I did mixed nights and days, used to be afternoon shifts as well, but dropped them about a decade ago.
I actually preferred the nights, as I detested the early wake up for days, but they do really mess you about physically and mentality.
I only really had two jobs, I was a vauxhall trained mechanic for 20 years, and then moved to the railways for the last 19, and main reason I could finish early was of the DB pension scheme. I have less of a pension because I've gone before 62, so there is deduction scale applied there, but fortunately I bought 28 years of membership when I started by transferring a private pension I had into the scheme, so I have over 43 years in, and that's made it possible to go early.
Wife disliked me working nights, so she's all for it, but let's see what's she's like after a few months of me being around while she's home working.
Most of you who have done the same seem well happy with it, which has helped, its a big jump, and whilst i enjoyed the work and especially the lads I was with, and will most definitely miss them, the company which now was in charge were dreadful in many respects.

[350wayne]

Enjoy your retirement rigga , I’ve never looked back since I finished work , there aren’t enough hours in the day now , I honestly don’t know how I fitted in working full time ! You will fill your days with other stuff now , yes I miss the crack of working in a factory environment ( and the access to materials and machinery) but I don’t miss feeling jet lagged all the time because of shift working!!!!

[muttsnuts]

yep, I've just got into the workshop today, this morning was all about chasing around buying a house, having a cuppa with a mate I've not seen for a long time (covid compliant !!! ) , picking up some parts and buying some warm sausage rolls for mid morning break

[steve h]

Feb 25, 2021 14:11:26 GMT 1 muttsnuts said:

yep, I've just got into the workshop today, this morning was all about chasing around buying a house, having a cuppa with a mate I've not seen for a long time (covid compliant !!! ) , picking up some parts and buying some warm sausage rolls for mid morning break

Mutts, that sounds like retirement nirvana!! (apart from chasing around house buying)

[veg]

I must be really sad I did years of shifts, left a few years ago set up my own consultancy and absolutely love my job. I travel all over when not in lock down get to spend time with lots of different people and can’t imagine stopping.
However I know I’m lucky to be able to follow my dreams and get well paid for it.
Also being self employed I can call the boss a t**t and get away with it. 👍

[copper99]

Sounds good to me Rigga, I wish I could retire now but ill have to push on for another few years..enjoy it.

[st66]

I can see the benefit in early retirement if one can keep the mind busy,,, I used to work conto shifts, 7_3 3_11 11_7,,, did that for years and worked most weekends,, I was always at work,, it does take a toll in many ways could never sleep through the day so was always feckd on nights Pro plus and red bull constantly,,, gave it up about 6yrs ago, yes had loads dosh but no time to spend it,, think making money cost me my first marriage to be honest I was never there,, or she was at work,, some say it would be a blessing but no,, totally refuse to work nights now latest is about 8pmbut that's a full day start at 8 or earlier, but I'm always home now,, and I love my job,, my own boss so to speak no preasure and good pay,,,, so I'm happy but as said work till 68 so a bit yet,, by choice I guess house ect to pay for so on with the toil,, unless my numbers come up, ha fat chance I don't do the loto🙄🙄🙄 but if you can rigga mate I'd just do it mate and chill relax and enjoy life,, its far to short anyways,, wish you all the best as all in the future mate 👍👍

[beardy]

I’ve been self employed since 1985 and decided last April to take the furlough money on offer and catch up with loads of diy. My wife and kids have all carried on working so for once supporting me. Like others have said I would struggle to find the time to go to work now I’m so busy. But after nearly a year of this I’m starting to want to go back to work. Fridays don’t feel like the end of the week anymore and the weekend is just another 2 days. I also miss the banter of talking bollox at work. I’ll probably just compromise and go part time. Any way these are just my observations and I hope it goes well for you. 👍🏻

[itsnick350]

I retired early at 59 in December, it took me 3 years of thinking about the pros and cons until I finally thought there is more to life than work and whilst I had a very good job and package it came with a lot of responsibility and this caused stress, which isn’t the best thing for our health. It’s early days but I am living it, the best thing I’ve bought is a heater for the garage which will keep the wife happy!

[4l04ever]

I semi-retired last year at 54. I now have a part time job as a Design Technology Technician in a school 3 days a week, term time only, so get loads of holidays. I get to play in their workshops while they pay me :-) My pension fund is not that great, so probably going to stay on the part time for a while. Since I left my full time role, I have had a (nearly) new motorbike but not had chance to ride it yet due to weather and Covid.

My manager at school is very helpful, which makes a change, as I was used to having a complete arse for a manager.

Much better work/life balance now :-)