All throughout my varied careers I was a good employee. I worked hard, stayed late when needed, met deadlines, and worked well with others. My annual reviews were consistently positive and I received regular promotions along the way. I’m pretty sure my coworkers were genuinely sorry to see me go when I retired.
Now that I am no longer receiving a paycheck and no one is evaluating my work but me, I have to admit I’ve become somewhat of a summertime slacker.
I haven’t posted to my blog since July. I’ve partially written four or five posts, but summoning the motivation to re-write, re-re-write, then re-re-re-write them again has been a challenge. So there they sit. I just hope they are still relevant when I relocate my “ON” button.
This is not to say that I haven’t been busy. My husband and I have been involved in a few house projects, I’ve had several events to plan and to attend, I’ve taken some interesting classes, and we’ve had a series of house guests. But, I’ve come to realize that I’m much more likely to complete something if it has a deadline attached. No deadline? I’ll try to get to it tomorrow.
I know many bloggers follow a strict posting schedule. Some have monetized their blogs so posting regularly is important to their bottom-line. Others have made a commitment to themselves to post a specific number of times a week – or on specific days – and they faithfully maintain that schedule. A few seem to be bursting with inspiration, and links to their posts appear in my email inbox almost daily. Good for them.
I, on the other hand, seem to have liquefied into a puddle of prolonged procrastination. If this was a job and I had a boss, she would have fired me long ago… that is if she could find me.
Where we live, summer weather often continues into October. In fact, that month can yield some of our nicest temperatures. Soon will begin what those of us who are permanent residents refer to as the “locals’ summer.” Most of the tourists are gone from our beaches and parks, the kids are in school, and the roads, stores, and attractions become less congested. The weeks between the first of September and the end of daylight savings time are usually my favorite time to enjoy my city.
I’m not too worried about my current lack of motivation. I’ve already started to fill my fall and winter calendar with interesting classes, workshops, and travel plans. After a long, long period of drought, weather forecasters are predicting an extended drenching of our area courtesy of El Nino. As the temperature starts to drop and the outdoors doesn’t beckon me like it is doing now, I’m sure I’ll be reunited with my self-discipline.
In the meantime, I’ll be outside avoiding anything that has a deadline and feels like work.
Retirementally Challenged 
I get slumpy in the summer too. I want to be outside or doing things and not behind a computer. My brain turns to mush so inspiration has a hard time finding a landing spot. Enjoy your time and I look forward to your return whenever it is.
Oh, Kate, you are one of those consistent – and consistently inspired – bloggers that I envy. I love how you always find an interesting story in the day-to-day of your life.
Who would fire you for the achieving the results of retirement? A calendar filled with classes, workshops, travel, visits with friends and feet up on the deck enjoying the sunshine seems like you are doing the job perfectly. So you just forgot to put in the regular reports? NBD.
In my old life (working), we were “required” to publish monthly reports on our project work. If we got 6-7 published a year, we were fine. See, even in the real world, documentation is not required for job performance!
My goal as a brand-new blogger is 1 a week to start, so I can get in the habit of doing them. Blogging 101 class helped me create a few to get started. Yes, deadlines are something I also work well on, so I am scheduling them onto my calendar to get into the habit of doing them! I hope to avoid becoming a puddle of prolonged procrastination. (LOVE IT). And if it ever starts feeling like work (versus conversing and connecting with others), I will be out of here.
Oh my, I remember those monthly reports! Although they weren’t fun to write, I was always so amazed at how much I had accomplished as I reviewed the prior month.
I think a once-a-week posting goal is good. I had originally thought I would post more often than that, but soon learned that life just kept getting in the way. I’m with you on the whole work v. connecting decision.
I think certain things need to be enjoyed and summer is definitely one of them!
You are so right! I’m going to try and squeeze that last drop out of this one. By some accounts, we may be carried away in a flood of rain in a few months.
Uff!
There are distinct advantages to being your own boss and setting your own schedule. You get to do why you want to do. Enjoy!
I’m lucky that my husband is a much better self-motivator than I am. If it were up to me, nothing of substance would get done during the summer. Right now he is up on the roof fixing our skylight which will be a REALLY GOOD THING once it starts raining.
Well said! I’d be fired right along with you! Not yet retired, so those work related deadlines and challenges still top my priority list. Somehow, family/home needs have once again squeezed ahead of my personal goals. Time to do a bit of rearranging. Thanks for the reminder😊
Deadlines have a much greater urgency when a paycheck is attached. Now that I’ve retired, sometimes I have to make up deadlines just to get myself moving.
You towed the mark during your career and now it’s time to enjoy retirement. Your muse will be ready when you are.
I hope my muse has just been on vacation and hasn’t joined some ex-pat colony somewhere in the southern hemisphere.
😊. I write a similar post way too often, Janis! In fact I’m about to publish a ‘gone fishing’ notice for September. I love the thinking, writing and communicating part of blogging but the computer machinations to turn my handwriting into correctly spelled type, crop & upload obligatory photos, and checking that something in WP hasn’t gone funky on me (it does regularly), those parts are work and eat away hours I could be doing all those other things you mentioned. I love what you have to say, but I will patiently wait till you choose to say it, knowing we both have full lives pursuing interests that were shelved durung those years on the job.
Plus … That chair, that view … It would take a lot to turn my eyes in the direction of a monitor. Enjoy!
You’ve said it so well. The joys of blogging can often get overshadowed by the mechanics. I’ll miss you when you are out “fishing” but look forward to hearing all about the great things you caught while away.
A “puddle of prolonged procrastination.” At least you still have your honed alliterative skills. Don’t stay away too long or we might liquefy.
Oh, please don’t liquefy! I enjoy reading your well-reasoned musings too much!
Merci. I am just not as alliterative. Thanks for stopping by, it means a great deal.
But look what you did: you took what you perceive as a lack of writing motivation and churned it into an interesting post. 🙂
I know, huh? I felt that it was important to get at least one post in August and yesterday was my last chance. So, you see what I mean about deadlines? Now, back to relaxing…
Relax, enjoy, … your computer will be there when you’re ready!
I suffer from PPP also and I’m not even a blogger!
When I transitioned from student (with summers off) to full-time worker-bee, it took a long, long time to get used to working when others were out playing. Now that I’m retired, I am happily enjoying my free time with no “back-to-school” or “back-to-work” eventuality hanging over my head.
Slacker? You? Nah! This photo of you is awesome (jealous of that view!)…and you deserve every second with your feet up and relaxing. It is nice to see you post this! Enjoy all of your choices and live it UP!
Nice of you to say, but I think the term sort of fits me right now. Not that being a slacker is a totally bad thing… I just don’t get much “important stuff” done.
And isn’t it wonderful that it’s not a job?
I wouldn’t trade my current “career” for anything. The pay sort of sucks, but the benefits are outstanding.
I too am ‘much more likely to complete something if it has a deadline attached’. I was born a procrastinator. Part of my high-school year book quote was ‘I’ll say yes to anything I can put off until tomorrow.’ Still rings true today. Lucky for me I worked in a high pressure environment where there was always a deadline. That kept me on my toes. And sailing sort of has deadlines (visitors, expiring visas, weather windows, cyclone seasons) which I so need to keep me focused. With regard to my blog, I only post when I’m inspired. Such is the freedom of having my own space!
I can really see why sailing like you are doing would require a series of very important deadlines – if you miss something, the consequences could be disastrous. I love your quote from high school! It could easily apply to me.
😉
“A liquified puddle of prolonged procrastination” … love it 🙂
I wouldn’t worry so much about enjoying your summer and being in blogging slo-mo. I prefer to think of it as being busy enjoying life rather than just writing about it 🙂
You are absolutely right! The good news is that I don’t have to write any updates for a boss justifying my paycheck.
Probably the hardest job these days is feeling okay to just BE and not DO every second. I hope you enjoy the BEING.
I’m pretty good at just being. My husband is the doer in our family and usually tries to rope me in on his projects. Actually, I’m grateful that he is a doer… if he wasn’t almost nothing would get done around here!
Thanks for commenting!