Did you find yourself mentally switching off coming up to retirement

No, I retired from the NHS during the pandemic, and was so busy and working so many hours that I didn’t have any time to think about retiring at all. It was a big shock to the system to get up the first Monday morning after I’d retired and think my time was my own. It took me a good few months to mentally adjust though, I felt guilty.

I retired because I'd just had enough. I knew that if I stayed another year it would just be more of the same and I felt I'd completed all I needed to. From then on I couldn't come back from that realisation and my energy, drive, ambition and tolerance for the politics of it all vanished.

After a year of retirement my energy returned, I retrained and started another completely different career.

I retired early from full time infant teaching just before I was 60, 5 years ago, to go on supply a few days a week. I was a senior teacher and had been teaching since I was 21. I still tried to give my all but almost lost the plot 2 months before leaving date! On 2 occasions, firstly when I was booked to go on a maths course entitled “ innovative ways of using number lines” and secondly, following a lesson observation ( ( for continuing professional development) my feedback was.......
“ that was not a satisfactory lesson storynanny as you didn’t ask the children what they could do to get better”
This was a class of reception 4 and 5 year olds. The activity being referred to was a group “ playing” ( sorting activity with hidden shapes) in the sandpit.
After that I sort of gave up and went through the motions!
My wise dad said “ smile and take the money”
I did start a count down in my diary after that!

Beswitched

I'm hoping to retire this year and already feel as if I've mentally gone. I do all my work to the required standards and meet my deadlines. But I have very little interest in it, or in office politics etc.
It's very quiet at the moment. A few years ago I'd have been looking around for extra work but now I don't really. Neither does it bother me too much that my newish manager is inclined to hog all the 'sexy' work for himself. I mainly think 'let him at it'.

Is this a normal mindset as you approach retirement?

Yes! I’ve been retired for 16 years now, but can absolutely remember mentally switching off.

I think it is a healthy thing to begin to do in order to prepare for the next phase of your life - where you really start to live??

It didn’t happen to me. I had demanding clients right up to the last minute and had to look after them as well as sorting out the handover to my successor. What a relief to retire, not get up in the dark to catch a train and empty my head!

Think it's natural. I phased out by moving companies. Lesser presssured roles and then reduced hours. It was sometimes difficult to observe dreadful incompetence but I had no cans to carry so that was fine. Moved from employment to voluntary at 74 and now total 'freedom'. Genuinely love(d) my life thus far. One lucky girl.

Yes, I felt the same. Just got on with my work, counted down the days but not interested in any of the ongoing ‘dramas’ ?.

It was the same for me too. Once I'd decided on a date to formally retire, I felt a weight slowly lift from my shoulders. Right up until my last day, I continued to do my job 100%, filed reports, prepared fully for a handover to my successor and took full responsibility for the cases in my care. But I knew that I was caring less; I was less engaged or interested in meetings and felt that I was gradually letting go.