Bit upset over work issues

Like Skydancer I did lots of temp jobs long ago and every office was different, it was clear to me that lots of them I wouldn't have fitted into in a permanent capacity. You had a successful career so don't take this to heart. When you feel ready tell them you are off, if they ask you to leave earlier just say what a relief, pick up your bag and go, so many organisations would be delighted to have you.

could this be age discrimination do you think?
I've had staff who have been over retirement age and for me age itself is no problem, one particular administrator had held a pretty high powered admin job and wanted a part time job to fill a couple of days a week, he was brilliant
If opening the post is difficult would a letter opening knife help?. It can take some time to get up to speed with a new job

Hi. I’ve had 6 or 7 part time jobs since I formally retired from education. Some I absolutely adored and others I couldn’t wait to leave but they were all entirely different from anything I’d done before. I’m still working part time in a writing role which I’d never dreamt of having. I’m saying leave! There’s loads of other opportunities for you and life is too short to be miserable at work. Good luck.

You sound like the kind of person I am - I work at my own speed and do things properly. I concentrate on one job at a time because my psychology studies taught me that multi tasking does not come easily to humans.

I have an assistant who does some packing and posting for me and she works methodically through a batch of parcels going at her own speed. She then takes them to the post office and makes sure that the paperwork is correct. Its not a speed test and as long as she gets through the batch thats the important thing.

Other posters have emphasized what a pressured environment s GP surgery is so you may not be suited. We all get older and slower - its a fact of life. We are not robots. Older employees often bring many benefits such as reliability and attention to detail rather than simply skimming past things.

I would take the advice above and look for an environment which is better suited to the speed you can comfortably work at. Possibly in a voluntary role if you dont need the income.

Why don't you sign up to a temping agency. I know several retired people who do this for a few weeks now and again when it suits them.

If they send you to somewhere you don't like you can always say you don't want to return the following week.

I have got permanent positions through posts that were originally temporary. Temping gives you and the employer chance to weigh one another up without commitment

Good secretarial/admin skills are hard to find

Take consolation anyone that you were a complete success in your career.
Stuff the bitchy ones/stressy ones/jealous ones/the ones who are making a career out of being joyless and dissatisfied. There are a lot of this type around, it may all depend on the management.
Give a job a fair try but if going in is making you unhappy, take a deep breath, say your piece to them and leave ‘em to it
There will be compatible jobs worth doing out there so go with your gut instinct.?

Have you thought of going for an interview with a temp agency just to find out what might be available? I temped for 2 years, albeit in my late 30s and found it fun... Most offices were fine and the one or two that weren't - at least I had an exit date...

Now in my 60s I interviewed for temp jobs in the area I was thinking of moving to and found the organisation very welcoming and happy to put me on their books.

It might give you the confidence that there are jobs out there but you don't have to commit long-term. Best of luck. It must be horrible for you in your present situation.

Sometimes differences of working practices can make a great difference to your acceptance.

I have never been good at so called "multi tasking" because as a psychology graduate I know that this is a nonsense concept. Humans were never intended by their nature to concentrate upon several things at once. The ability of most of us to do so is limited. I prefer to concentrate more deeply on one task, complete it, and then move on to the next. Of course this does not always fit in with the culture of some workplaces, who may see someone who approaches tasks in this way as "slow" or even "pedantic".

I found the answer in self employment because I can schedule tasks to suit myself and my own availability. If I have important work to do I disconnect the door bell, use ear plugs, and put on music to cover any extraneous sound. I really dont want to know about anything going on outside such as people trying to sell me stuff or whinming neighbours.

Is there any kind of pastime or hobby that you could possible work up into an income generating side hustle?