What do you do with all of your free time?

I have been a "road warrior" business traveler for over 30 years. In big white Ford work vans I have crisscrossed North America. Transitioning into retirement I am planning to continue to travel with a van on my own time. But I have this one big fear: What will I do with all of my free time?

Volunteer!!!

Learn a language
Train for the Ironman
Visit every national park
Take up card counting
Become immersed in social media, convince everyone that you're the new Q, and only send happy messages
Do Van Aid
Learn to crochet, I hear there's a shortage of blankets in Nevada KIDDING
Become a gourmet campfire cook
Start a business
Become addicted to sitcoms from the Golden Age of Television
Go back to school
... Seriously, it's good that you're thinking about this in advance. I'm sure the answer is different for everyone. Do you have a hobby that you can blow up into something bigger? Anything at all that you've always wanted to try? A business idea that you could take a chance on once your basic expenses are covered?
The sky's the limit. Have fun planning. And then have fun improvising after Plan A blows up. But definitely think about it now in advance, that's

bullfrog ! said:

Volunteer!!!

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That's an honorable suggestion!

Morgana said:

Learn a language
Train for the Ironman
Visit every national park
Take up card counting
Become immersed in social media, convince everyone that you're the new Q, and only send happy messages
Do Van Aid
Learn to crochet, I hear there's a shortage of blankets in Nevada KIDDING
Become a gourmet campfire cook
Start a business
Become addicted to sitcoms from the Golden Age of Television
Go back to school
... Seriously, it's good that you're thinking about this in advance. I'm sure the answer is different for everyone. Do you have a hobby that you can blow up into something bigger? Anything at all that you've always wanted to try? A business idea that you could take a chance on once your basic expenses are covered?
The sky's the limit. Have fun planning. And then have fun improvising after Plan A blows up. But definitely think about it now in advance, that's

Click to expand...

What an eclectic list! Retire they say. Do what ever you want they say. Me: Deer in the headlights.

I'm beginning to realize that perhaps my real question is: "What does one do After they escape the rat race?" Did you have a clear vision of what you would do with this new freedom when you cut free? A vague idea?
I have had the idea of visiting every bathing hot springs in North America. I get blank looks or "Then what?" from co-workers. But working on the house and lawn and being a mechanic on the side sounds like just more rat race, what society expects. Am I making any sense?

What do you like to do? I could suggest a ton of stuff, but if you don't like, really like doing them then it is just more work.
Might be time to try some of the things you thought you might like then really dive in. Is it using the skills you have to advance your game of ??? or is it looking for all the folks you always wish you had time for. As in family members or a new set of friends or someone you want to help grow, as in mentoring someone or something. Also known as volunteering...

I smile at this because when hubby was getting ready to retire I was going to keep working for a few years. A home daycare provider then hubby started telling me he was going to "help" me.... yea this is one of those help as in give lots of direction and expect it to be done. That is fine as a marketing director/sales manager but NOT a preschool teacher who has never done anything with preschoolers. I closed up shop and we started something else 'cause I am not crazy.

We were going to go back on the road but then covid hit so that idea went away. Then we were going to try again but Mom and Dad needed us to help them with their next step so again that did not happen now we/hubby got really sick so now we are just going day to day.
I guess what I am saying is make plans and get started and do it.

I like the job I have right now I am a sub at a center I have worked for on and off for 30 yrs. As a sub I get to do just the parts I want no paperwork, no uncomfortable meetings, or boring trainings, or late-night staff stuff. nope I'm just a sub. If I don't want to work, I don't answer the phone.

If you found out tomorrow you only have a month to live, what would you do? What would you wish you had done? Those are your real answers.

You're making total sense, and that's why it's a good thing that you're thinking about it in advance.

For starters, don't worry about what looks your co-workers give you. If that's what you want to do, do it! It sounds great to me and will to 99% of everyone here, too. If that's the only thing worrying you then hey, nerts to them, you already have a plan.

If you do want more ideas, then brainstorm them, the crazier the better. Make a list. Eventually the ones that your "gut" likes best will start pushing themselves to the top of the list. Then research those, and start playing around with them mentally. If you're like me you'll have a few ideas that you absolutely love, but eventually you have to let go b/c they're not practical ... and other ideas that never occurred to you but all of a sudden you'll be thinking "hmmmm" and getting excited about something brand new.

Just take one step at a time. You don't have to decide right now. The deer in the headlights feeling is normal -- you'll get through it.

I hope that @Tony's Dream weighs in, because IIRC he really mapped out a plan in advance so he might have some pointers. But how much to plan vs. how much to wing it, that's different for everybody.

If your job skill is mechanics, then I bet you can find 1000 ways to incorporate that into a nomad, non-rat-racey life. I wish I had a skill like that. And you've already got the basic travel skills down. Man, you could really go to town.

If I were you I'd just totally pull the plug on giving a rat's ass what anyone else thinks of your plan. You do you. It's what you rat-raced for all these years, you've earned it!

The only other thing I'd say is make sure your health and finances are squared away as best as you can make them. Knowing that stuff is taken care of might lower the stress level too. Also, when the blue-sky stuff gets too stressful, it's good to have a few mundane tasks to knock off; and when that gets too rat-racey, you can go back to the blue-sky.

You don't have to DO anything right now. Have some fun for awhile thinking of all the stuff you could do. If it fits, maybe try some things out on weekends. Play around with stuff and don't worry too much.

Yikes I guess I had a lot of opinions on this. Hope something in there is useful. Good luck!

Hike, bike, fish, hunt and may do a little trapping as I just received my lifetime fishing/hunting and trapping permits from my state.

I'll share this with you.

My father worked in the aviation industry and traveled extensively. Much of his time was spent looking down at the ground and seeing sights he thought would be interesting to visit and he began to keep a small note tablet handy to annotate those things.

Before his retirement he purchased a Class C motor home and went about going to see those things. But he found he was doing a lot of driving between those places, racking up the miles on the rig, and burning lots of fuel & money. Then it hit him that when flying he couldn't stop and take side trips where in the RV he could. When he was first studying in his school days he was in journalism & geography and had learned the methods of investigation & research. So he put those skills together and began to visit Tourist Information centers in each state he entered to find out what was there to be seen. Then he began to write letters to tourist information departments to learn of things any of those states would like the public to see, such as museums, historic places, etc. There was no internet for him back then so he did everything with postage. (there were Xerox machines and he made plenty of form letters to send out)

He was into photo journalism too, so he took plenty of slides and would entertain the family gatherings during the holidays with photos of the places he had been. This is how I was learning how to go about being a nomad when my time would come.

Below there are a couple of websites where the bottom one is a portal of links to handy stuff. In the LINKS section at the upper left the section of "Trip Planning at Home or on the Road" there are some links that will make suggestions for side trips to see interesting things once you have an itinerary figured out. "Tripomatic", "Roadside America", and several others offer suggestions to help use your free time, that may otherwise be wasted, to enrich your life. There is so much out there.

Retirement can be a time for leisurely well planned travel. Some here use the 2-2-2 system for their traveling.

2-2-2 is a way of free ranging or traveling with a plan. Putting in by 2 pm avoids "drive time traffic" (3:30 to 6 pm) assures finding a more desirable camping space for 2 days with amenities such as power hookup's etc. Once in camp one can relax and partake of the sites and events at the Campground/State Park etc. The second day in camp can provide for planning the next leg of the trip and more sightseeing.

The third "2" is to break camp by 9 am (after morning drive time traffic 6 to 9 am is over) Then one can go about the itinerary that they set up going from place to place for sightseeing with a suggested maximum of 2 hours of driving time on the road. (this can vary and should be flexible....in southern or western regions it may require more)

Then try to put into the next Camping spot by 2 pm if possible....and repeat.
You can have more for your travel miles & dollars this way.

Jerome Brown said:

But I have this one big fear: What will I do with all of my free time?

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When I was a youngster we used to see how far we could go before we got stuck, and then we'd get unstuck... it could take awhile...

These days it's super easy to entertain yourself with internet. I spend time hiking around, riding my bike, meditating, reading, watching the stars, etc...

Jerome Brown said:

I have had the idea of visiting every bathing hot springs in North America.

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Just don't post videos or write a book.... and to the people who say "then what?" I don't think they realize how many there are. And then you can just do it again if you want, it will be entirely different. Take your time, enjoy each one.

Thanks everyone for such wonderful responses! I have posted on technical forums but never on social ones. Bob Wells is right about this being an open and welcoming community. You guys brought a tear to my eye.
So what am I going to do with this great advice? Dive deep into this forum and read (and maybe post now and again). It seems as if I have found an open community that aligns with where I am at in my life. I also think it's time to make friends with some fellow Nomads.
Thanks again!

I just subscribed and got rid of all of those pesky ads!

eDJ_ said:

I'll share this with you.

My father worked in the aviation industry and traveled extensively. Much of his time was spent looking down at the ground and seeing sights he thought would be interesting to visit and he began to keep a small note tablet handy to annotate those things.

Before his retirement he purchased a Class C motor home and went about going to see those things. But he found he was doing a lot of driving between those places, racking up the miles on the rig, and burning lots of fuel & money. Then it hit him that when flying he couldn't stop and take side trips where in the RV he could. When he was first studying in his school days he was in journalism & geography and had learned the methods of investigation & research. So he put those skills together and began to visit Tourist Information centers in each state he entered to find out what was there to be seen. Then he began to write letters to tourist information departments to learn of things any of those states would like the public to see, such as museums, historic places, etc. There was no internet for him back then so he did everything with postage. (there were Xerox machines and he made plenty of form letters to send out)

He was into photo journalism too, so he took plenty of slides and would entertain the family gatherings during the holidays with photos of the places he had been. This is how I was learning how to go about being a nomad when my time would come.

Below there are a couple of websites where the bottom one is a portal of links to handy stuff. In the LINKS section at the upper left the section of "Trip Planning at Home or on the Road" there are some links that will make suggestions for side trips to see interesting things once you have an itinerary figured out. "Tripomatic", "Roadside America", and several others offer suggestions to help use your free time, that may otherwise be wasted, to enrich your life. There is so much out there.

Retirement can be a time for leisurely well planned travel. Some here use the 2-2-2 system for their traveling.

2-2-2 is a way of free ranging or traveling with a plan. Putting in by 2 pm avoids "drive time traffic" (3:30 to 6 pm) assures finding a more desirable camping space for 2 days with amenities such as power hookup's etc. Once in camp one can relax and partake of the sites and events at the Campground/State Park etc. The second day in camp can provide for planning the next leg of the trip and more sightseeing.

The third "2" is to break camp by 9 am (after morning drive time traffic 6 to 9 am is over) Then one can go about the itinerary that they set up going from place to place for sightseeing with a suggested maximum of 2 hours of driving time on the road. (this can vary and should be flexible....in southern or western regions it may require more)

Then try to put into the next Camping spot by 2 pm if possible....and repeat.
You can have more for your travel miles & dollars this way.

Click to expand...

I like that 2-2-2! Like ducking and dodging the rat race.

Jerome Brown said:

I have been a "road warrior" business traveler for over 30 years. In big white Ford work vans I have crisscrossed North America. Transitioning into retirement I am planning to continue to travel with a van on my own time. But I have this one big fear: What will I do with all of my free time?

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The question is why is that being classified as a fear? Do you think that “dying of boredom” is an actual threat that you will be incapable of solving? If it is such a big fear why are you doing nothing to prevent it now? You are not a 4year old child who can’t figure out how to entertain yourself, you are a mature adult with a lifetime of learning and a huge array of possibilities in front of you as well as a lifetime’s accumulation of skill sets and interest. Start making list of things you enjoyed doing and things you always wanted to learn to do…if you had the time to do them. Because now you will have that very precious free time you always wanted to have. A bit of boredom now and again is normal, it is not a fatal condition. It can be used as a springboard to motivate you to try new things. Or you can choose to sit around being bored which can be very restful if you relax into it and savor the feeling of finally having nothing to do but unwind and relax. Those are some of the best days ever!!!

I'm a Thrill Seeker & have had a full life doing many things but I just wanted to say Don't Miss an Adventure!

Welcome to the Forum................Nice Ride............It looks Familiar

Jerome Brown said:

I like that 2-2-2! Like ducking and dodging the rat race.

Click to expand...

Forum History.

Cyndi's rule of two's. On the road by 2pm, drive for two hours, stay for two weeks.

And the joy of crossing cattle guards,

Dude; your first mistake is asking other people what you should do.

and now that you’ve gotten that out of the way….

Bye
jonny boi livin the dream

Boredom cure. I sometimes think of buying a moderately priced slingshot and practicing flinging some rocks with it until I can at least hit a target more often than I miss it. Reason for doing that…none at all other than I did not get to do that fun stuff very often as a young girl. Plus it is something easy and inexpensive to do out of doors. Hand to eye muscle coordination skills are always good to engage in and keep some very critical areas of our brains active as we age. It involves some exercise gathering up stones. If you can’t do the bending you can use one of those picking up objects extension tools. Target shooting contest with fellow campers…sure that works too for cheap entertainment time that most everyone can try at campsites where tossing small rocks does no harm. Safety first! Not an activity that is going to work around Quartzsite on BLM camping lands unless you go way back in away from the congested areas.