How Fritz Gilbert spends his time in Retirement

By Fritz Gilbert, TheRetirementManifesto.com

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

I’ve had many of you ask how I spend my time in retirement, and when I realized I spend only 0.23% of my time managing our money, it made me ask myself the same question.

What do I do with all of my time now that I’m retired?

Today, I’ll answer that question.

As a bonus, I’ve made a “Before vs. After” comparison, showing how my time allocation has changed since retirement. It’s an interesting look at what areas have replaced the time previously consumed by commuting and work.  This one’s for you, Chuck (hey, you’ve read every one of my articles, you deserve an answer. Thank you for your loyalty!)

It’s the first time I’ve taken on this task, and it’s been enlightening.

I trust you’ll find it of interest …

How I spend my Time in Retirement

Time is an interesting concept in retirement.

The loss of the structure previously imposed by paid work adds a new element to the consumption of time.  Whereas a large chunk of my time was once consumed by work and commuting, today it’s entirely available to use as I choose.

24 hours a day.  7 days a week.

(If you’re curious, that’s 8,760 hours per year.  Actually, it’s 8,760 hours even if you’re not curious.  Wink.)

That’s imposing to a lot of pre-retirees, as well it should be.  I encourage any of you who’ve not yet crossed The Starting Line to spend some of your precious time thinking about how you’re going to use it when you get to “the other side”.  It’s an important question, and one of the most important you need to ponder to ensure a smooth transition into retirement.

With that as my introduction, here’s how I spend my time in retirement…

How I spend my Time (“Awake Time”)

For the sake of simplicity, I’m omitting sleep from the pie chart above.  For the record, I’ll touch on sleep first, then get into how I spend my “Awake Time”.

Sleep – 2,920 Hours/Year (33% of Total Time)

On average, I sleep about 8 hours/night.  I typically go to bed ~10:00 pm, and wake between 6:00 – 7:00 am.  Assuming my math is correct, that means I sleep 2,920 hours/year, an increase of 365 hours versus my working years.  For you math geniuses out there, that equates to 1 hour of additional sleep per night since I’ve retired.  Yep, that seems about right.

Now let’s get on to the fun stuff, which consumes the remaining 67% of “Awake Time” in a year.  For consistency, I’ll present these in the same order as shown in the pie chart above, starting with exercise.

Exercise – 858 Hours/Year (15% of “Awake Time”)

I like a bit of structure to start my day and every Mon/Wed/Fri that means arriving at the gym by 7:15 for Spin Class.  I love Spin, and I know I’ll be much more consistent with my exercise if I have a scheduled class to hold me accountable.  Following Spin, I take a Cross-Fit class, which focuses more on interval and weight training.  Combining the two makes a great start to the day, and I’m ready to take on the world when I return home shortly after 9:00 am.

In addition to the structured classes at the gym, I walk our dogs for 1 – 1.5 hours every day.  We have a scenic 1.3-mile loop in the woods behind our cabin, and I typically walk it twice a day.  When the weather is nice, I’ll throw in a weekly swim, or a mountain bike ride, or a hike.  If we’re spending time at our condo in Alabama, I’ll add some morning runs to my routine.  I like to mix it up, but always make exercise part of the structured component to my day.

Meals –  548 Hours/Year (9% of “Awake Time”)

My wife and I make it a routine to have lunch and dinner together.  Breakfast is a more haphazard affair, typically a quick bowl of cereal before I head to the gym, or a more leisurely time with several cups of coffee on a “non-gym” day.  Assuming ~1.5 hours/day for all meals combined, I spend 548 hours/year eating.

Family – 1,152 Hours/Year (13% of “Awake Time”)

I spend 850 hours more time with my family each year now that I’m retired than I did when I was working.  The vast majority of that increase comes from a lifestyle decision we made when we Purchased a Second Home in Retirementshortly after our daughter moved from the Pacific Northwest to Southern Alabama.  As mentioned in that post, we’re now spending a week every month in our Alabama condo, with our primary focus being quality time with our daughter and 3-year-old granddaughter.  We wouldn’t trade that time for anything, and consider it one of the greatest joys in our current retirement lifestyle.

Entertainment – 802 Hours/Year (14% of “Awake Time”)

According to FitBit, I’ve averaged 13,330 steps over the past month, only falling below 10k steps twice in that timeframe.  In writing this post, I also discovered that I’ve walked 4,478,654 steps (1,989 miles) in the past year,  an average of 12.3k per day.  Bottom Line:  I don’t sit around much during the day…

After my typically busy day in retirement, I have no problem admitting that I like to take it easy in the evenings.  Every night after dinner, my wife and I like to “chill out” in front of the TV with our dogs in our laps.  We’ve earned that right, and I make no apologies in announcing to the world that I spend the majority of my “9% Entertainment Time” watching Netflix, the news, documentaries, etc.  We also seldom miss an Atlanta Braves game and enjoyed watching “our Braves” win the World Series this year!  We also go out with friends more frequently now that we’re retired, and that’s included in the number.

Adventure – 528 Hours/Year (9% of “Awake Time”)

With an increase of 162% since my working years, “Adventure” is one of the areas we most enjoy in retirement.  In fact, as you’re reading these words we’re doing our last RV trip of the season, a Mon-Fri stay at a nearby State Park.  So…I trust you’ll understand if I don’t reply to any comments for a few days.  After all, I AM retired, right?

In addition to our regular RV trips (click here to see a summary of our major trips since retirement), we get out and enjoy the beauty of our Appalachian Mountain setting.  We go out on Lake Blue Ridge in our friend’s boat regularly, put our kayaks in the nearby rivers, and make a habit of pursuing our childhood joys.

Writing Studio – 400 Hours/Year (7% of “Awake Time”)

After settling down from my morning exercise routine, on weekdays I typically “structure” 1-2 hours in my treehouse writing studio before lunch (I tend to avoid my computer and writing studio time on weekends).  In addition to writing and managing my blog, I use this time to catch up on my emails, read other blogs and a variety of retirement/economic/personal finance articles.  In addition to my “structured” morning time, I spend a good bit of  “unstructured” time when I’ll wander out for an hour or two in an afternoon, typically when I’ve got a thought to capture or some free time to consume.  I’m sitting in that very chair as I write these words, and am glad to report those green leaves in the photo above have now turned into the golden hue of Fall.  I’m enjoying watching them fall as I do my final edit on this post.

I love my writing studio.

Woodworking/Hobbies – 160 Hours/Year (3% of “Awake Time”)

Before retirement, I could hardly drive a nail.  Now, I find pleasure in building dog houses for my wife’s charity in the shop we had built in 2020.  Interested in seeing more?  Come on in and take a tour.  The challenge of woodworking is a great pursuit in my retirement, and on the weeks that we’re home, I spend an estimated 4 hours/week making sawdust.   While we were in Alabama last week, I even built a custom bookshelf for my daughter’s birthday.

I’m proud to say, I can now drive a nail.

Charity – 168 Hours/Year (3% of “Awake Time”)

My regular readers are familiar with Freedom For Fido, the charity my wife started to build free dog fences for low-income recipients in our area.  Last weekend, we completed our 49th (!) fence build, and have established a predictable routine for each build.  We build two fences per month, and each follows the same process:

• Site Visit (1 Hour):  Layout the fence lines with the recipient, calculate required supplies.
• Purchase Supplies (1 Hour):  Fencing, wooden posts, t-posts, cement and gates.
• “Post Day” (2 Hours):  “Plant the posts” in cement and drive all the t-posts.
• “Freedom Day” (2 Hours):  “Hang the fencing” and release the Krakens.  The best part of the process!

My wife and I arrive 30+ minutes early for each build day, so call it 7 hours/build x 24 builds a year, and you’re at 168 hours/year.  This likely understates our “charity” time, given the random time commitments that also seem to pop up from time to time (last week, for example, I spent 3 hours helping a volunteer put up a short-term kennel solution for an emergency situation.  We also rescued two dogs in the process).

Finding a way to “Give Back” is one of the most rewarding uses of your time.  If you’re not yet involved in helping others, I strongly encourage you to find a way to get engaged.

Reading – 183 Hours/Year (3% of “Awake Time”)

Take a look at the data above from my Goodreads profile.  It’s interesting to note that I retired in June 2018, and there’s been a direct correlation in the pages I’ve read since.  I’ve always loved reading but had little time for it when I was working. Now that I have the time in retirement, we’ve made an intentional change.

Every evening before we go to sleep, we spend ~30 minutes reading in bed.  Every. Night.  It’s become such a part of our routine that we never miss it.  Even on those nights when we’re dead tired, we read for a few minutes.  It’s become a great addition to our lives.  If you haven’t tried it yet, try adding it to your bedtime routine.  I fully expect to be doing it for the remainder of my life.

Everything Else – 1,082 Hours/Year (18% of “Awake Time”)

Rather than bore you with “everything else”, I’ll call it good at this point.  If you look at the pie chart above, you’ll see I’ve also categorized:

• House Projects – 2%
• Spiritual – 2%
• Board Work – 2%
• Managing Money – 0.23%
• Everything Else – 11%

If you’re perceptive, you’ll notice the “Board Work” bullet above.  It’s true – I’m still working!  However, the 128 hours/year I spend being a member of a Board of Directors pales in comparison to the ~3,000 hours I once spent commuting and working in a full-time job.  I’ve enjoyed the engagement on the Board of an international aluminum company since retirement.  It keeps me engaged, and I feel respected for the expertise I gained during my 33-year career in the business. More importantly, before accepting the gig I insisted on very strong ground rules – if I have other obligations which conflict with a board meeting, I choose the priority.  The Chairman agreed and has held to his word.  I’m thankful for their flexibility and was able to be at the birth of my granddaughter as a result.

Speaking of comparisons, below is the part of this post which I found most interesting:

How I Spent My Time While Working

For comparison’s sake, I’ve included the pie chart from my “working years” below:

Rather than discuss the detail, I’ll point out that almost half of my “Awake Time” was consumed by work and commuting (the two slices on the bottom of the pie).  I’m glad those days are behind me.

Of more interest, and the highlight of today’s post is the summary below.

SUMMARY:  How I Spend My Time in Retirement vs. Working Years

One of the most common questions I receive is how I spend my time in retirement vs. my working years.  What have I done with all of those hours once spent commuting and working?  For the benefit of Chuck and all of the others who have asked me that question, below is a summary I developed for today’s post:

The biggest changes to my time are summarized below:

Decreases from Working to Retirement:

• Working:  -2,820 hours
• Commuting:  – 625 hours

Increases from Working to Retirement:

• Family:  +852 hours
• Exercise:  +702 Hours
• Adventure:  +332 Hours
• Writing Studio: +300 Hours
• Reading:  +183 Hours

Conclusion

The 7 bullets in the section above explain how my time in retirement has changed more effectively than any words I could write.  I’m spending 2,872 fewer hours per year on mandated work and commuting.

I’m spending 2,872 more hours per year living life.

Isn’t that what retirement is all about?

Your Turn:  If you’ve retired, what are you doing with your time?  If you’re not yet retired, what are you most looking forward to?  Let’s chat in the comments.

PS – A note on methodology:  Obviously, I didn’t track every hour of my time over the course of a year.  Rather, I built a spreadsheet and did some math.  I spent a lot of time thinking about what I do with my time, and I made as accurate an estimate as possible.  I trust you’ve found the results of interest, even if they’re only, as my previous boss would say, “Directionally Correct.”