Loves loose routines that can accommodate new things… but golf, workouts and walking my dog and cat are routines with little deviation. Happy to hear it’s beginning to feel like home- such a good feeling!
Thank you Nancy for another great blog! I agree with Rachel Norman PHD. Not having a routine has the potential to add anxiety and stress to ones life. Though I am not retired yet, having a daily/weekly set of routines gives each of us purpose in life. I am not saying that flying by the seat of our pants isn't fun, because it certainly can be. I think most of us are creatures of habits, and hopefully those habits provide purpose in ones life.
You’re so fun! Love the drinks for 8 for 10...that is for all 8 people by the way (not 8 each).
You know by saying “what day of the week is it” when you wake up means you’re cheating at our “Anyone know what day of the week today is (without looking at your phone) game”. He he. I love to ask people at pickleball “what day is it” and we know it’s either Friday or Monday (50/50 on these days)
Seriously, what a great life not to wait for Saturday and Sunday to actually “live life”.
Thank you to Portugal for sharing your lovely country so we can work less and live more in retirement. And thank you Nancy for keeping this blog. Routine...every Tuesday.
My favorite “routine” is “where is the next trip”. It’s easy and low cost to fly around Europe. I’m in Malta now for a few days and Ryanair a low cost airline gets us here at a great price.
So now I will get home and look to “next trip mode”. Thanks for another great post :)
Nancy, I love what you said about routine. Even though I been retired from sales for 7 years now we have a son in middle school so a routine is imposed and knowing the day of the week is still automatic. Without the structure of his school schedule I'd definitely have to set up something for myself. I notice our former colleagues who immediately found a new purpose for themselves upon retirement seem to be happier, healthier, and more mentally sharp while those who haven't seem a bit adrift.
That said there are days where I kind of chuckle to myself when I've run out of tasks and I run down Tutti Fruty's for a mango shake and just sit there and slowly sip it to kill the last hour before I have to pick my son up from school.
Like you (and like a lot of people) I've had to acknowledge some physical limitations and curtail my participation in some athletic endeavors but I still stay involved by supporting others like you do with pickle ball.
My routine starts every morning waking up slowly with a cup of coffee. Then I spend an hour to 90 minutes on social media promoting my avocado business and responding to my customers. Then I hit the gym for about 90 minutes but much of that time is spent resting between sets. Then a few hours of farm work or maybe make a YouTube vid. Then pick up my son from school. Then another hour of promotion on social media, then 4 hours of volunteer work at my son's football program. Once his football winds down the cooler weather is here and I'm able to put in a full day's work on the farm.
A friend of mine just got back from a University of Florida tour of Portugal's agriculture industry and she had great things to say about the country.
I really like your idea to remind myself of the day of the week as I wake each morning. Having days run together has to be the biggest surprise of retirement. I'm still in a bit of wonder at the flexiability of my schedule. I have been filling it with walks with friends, travel, gym sessions, practicing Portuguese and prepping our D-7 applications. I expect our life in Lisbon will include many of these elements but with a special twist of living life in an ancient city. Thanks Nancy. I have really enjoyed your posts.
Awareness of your own needs for a routine is very important for big changes, like immigration. I’m grateful for your routine of publishing as one of your readers in the process of heading to PT. I will also share this piece with my parents who are preparing to retire. Thank you 🙏
I still have 2 years before I can retire, but I am a creature of routine. I can’t imagine I won’t create one once I retire. And make the time to. learn new things, like how to operate a long arm quilting machine, practice ukulele more, try new recipes, etc.
So important to invent and reinvent routines, and yet this is the first time anyone has mentioned it. My routine has devolved into a gully, of 8 to 12 hour days managing the research, questions and opinions to produce Americans and Friends in Portugal FB group. I'm ready to climb back up to the surface and take beach walks, meet up, laugh and love every day. Thanks for the encouragement and notes on how important this will be to me.
A thoughtful post and valuable no doubt, but for someone who has resisted routine my whole life it makes me reflect on why I have made that choice over and over again. Therapy didn’t help either so with tongue in cheek, I’d like to ask two questions: why does it matter if it’s Tuesday? And does Tuesday really exist in the Universe , or is it fake news?
Hi Nancy. My routine has changed since we first moved here back in March. Then, our routine included golfing at Quinta da Ria, going to the beach at Manta Rota, shopping every other day for food. We went back to the US in May and were in a very bad auto accident in Florida. I won't go into detail other than to say my wife was killed and I suffered some serious injuries. I couldn't return here until the end of October, and I still use a rollator to walk, can't stand upright, and have lost over 40 pounds of muscle due to atrophy. While at my daughter's house, where I spent the past 4 months, I started a routine of morning meditation and gratitude journaling, and had twice a week physical therapy in home. Once I returned I have continued to meditation and gratitude journaling, and have now added three sessions per week with a personal trainer at my local gym here in Tavira. My hope it to be able to add back golf and walking on the beach in the not-too-distant future. Yes, I agree, routine is important once we retire. I have known too many people who retired and passed away within a few years because they were "lost". One of the downsides to military life I guess, if you depend on someone else to tell you what to do and when to do it.
Loves loose routines that can accommodate new things… but golf, workouts and walking my dog and cat are routines with little deviation. Happy to hear it’s beginning to feel like home- such a good feeling!
Thank you Nancy for another great blog! I agree with Rachel Norman PHD. Not having a routine has the potential to add anxiety and stress to ones life. Though I am not retired yet, having a daily/weekly set of routines gives each of us purpose in life. I am not saying that flying by the seat of our pants isn't fun, because it certainly can be. I think most of us are creatures of habits, and hopefully those habits provide purpose in ones life.
You’re so fun! Love the drinks for 8 for 10...that is for all 8 people by the way (not 8 each).
You know by saying “what day of the week is it” when you wake up means you’re cheating at our “Anyone know what day of the week today is (without looking at your phone) game”. He he. I love to ask people at pickleball “what day is it” and we know it’s either Friday or Monday (50/50 on these days)
Seriously, what a great life not to wait for Saturday and Sunday to actually “live life”.
Thank you to Portugal for sharing your lovely country so we can work less and live more in retirement. And thank you Nancy for keeping this blog. Routine...every Tuesday.
My favorite “routine” is “where is the next trip”. It’s easy and low cost to fly around Europe. I’m in Malta now for a few days and Ryanair a low cost airline gets us here at a great price.
So now I will get home and look to “next trip mode”. Thanks for another great post :)
Nancy, I love what you said about routine. Even though I been retired from sales for 7 years now we have a son in middle school so a routine is imposed and knowing the day of the week is still automatic. Without the structure of his school schedule I'd definitely have to set up something for myself. I notice our former colleagues who immediately found a new purpose for themselves upon retirement seem to be happier, healthier, and more mentally sharp while those who haven't seem a bit adrift.
That said there are days where I kind of chuckle to myself when I've run out of tasks and I run down Tutti Fruty's for a mango shake and just sit there and slowly sip it to kill the last hour before I have to pick my son up from school.
Like you (and like a lot of people) I've had to acknowledge some physical limitations and curtail my participation in some athletic endeavors but I still stay involved by supporting others like you do with pickle ball.
My routine starts every morning waking up slowly with a cup of coffee. Then I spend an hour to 90 minutes on social media promoting my avocado business and responding to my customers. Then I hit the gym for about 90 minutes but much of that time is spent resting between sets. Then a few hours of farm work or maybe make a YouTube vid. Then pick up my son from school. Then another hour of promotion on social media, then 4 hours of volunteer work at my son's football program. Once his football winds down the cooler weather is here and I'm able to put in a full day's work on the farm.
A friend of mine just got back from a University of Florida tour of Portugal's agriculture industry and she had great things to say about the country.
I really like your idea to remind myself of the day of the week as I wake each morning. Having days run together has to be the biggest surprise of retirement. I'm still in a bit of wonder at the flexiability of my schedule. I have been filling it with walks with friends, travel, gym sessions, practicing Portuguese and prepping our D-7 applications. I expect our life in Lisbon will include many of these elements but with a special twist of living life in an ancient city. Thanks Nancy. I have really enjoyed your posts.
Awareness of your own needs for a routine is very important for big changes, like immigration. I’m grateful for your routine of publishing as one of your readers in the process of heading to PT. I will also share this piece with my parents who are preparing to retire. Thank you 🙏
I still have 2 years before I can retire, but I am a creature of routine. I can’t imagine I won’t create one once I retire. And make the time to. learn new things, like how to operate a long arm quilting machine, practice ukulele more, try new recipes, etc.
So important to invent and reinvent routines, and yet this is the first time anyone has mentioned it. My routine has devolved into a gully, of 8 to 12 hour days managing the research, questions and opinions to produce Americans and Friends in Portugal FB group. I'm ready to climb back up to the surface and take beach walks, meet up, laugh and love every day. Thanks for the encouragement and notes on how important this will be to me.
We are rediscovering the importance of routine as well! This is a very timely post for me.
I love your writing, and love the routine of reading your Friday posts.
A thoughtful post and valuable no doubt, but for someone who has resisted routine my whole life it makes me reflect on why I have made that choice over and over again. Therapy didn’t help either so with tongue in cheek, I’d like to ask two questions: why does it matter if it’s Tuesday? And does Tuesday really exist in the Universe , or is it fake news?
Hi Nancy. My routine has changed since we first moved here back in March. Then, our routine included golfing at Quinta da Ria, going to the beach at Manta Rota, shopping every other day for food. We went back to the US in May and were in a very bad auto accident in Florida. I won't go into detail other than to say my wife was killed and I suffered some serious injuries. I couldn't return here until the end of October, and I still use a rollator to walk, can't stand upright, and have lost over 40 pounds of muscle due to atrophy. While at my daughter's house, where I spent the past 4 months, I started a routine of morning meditation and gratitude journaling, and had twice a week physical therapy in home. Once I returned I have continued to meditation and gratitude journaling, and have now added three sessions per week with a personal trainer at my local gym here in Tavira. My hope it to be able to add back golf and walking on the beach in the not-too-distant future. Yes, I agree, routine is important once we retire. I have known too many people who retired and passed away within a few years because they were "lost". One of the downsides to military life I guess, if you depend on someone else to tell you what to do and when to do it.