I retired just barely over a year ago. I expected to take about a year just to recover from the stress that had built up over the years (only a few significant

I retired just barely over a year ago. I expected to take about a year just to recover from the stress that had built up over the years (only a few significant vacations) and accelerated at my last job (never more than a day or two at a time for 3.5 years). So I spent a lot of time doing absolutely nothing. I binge-watched several shows on TV, read a lot, played video games, etc. I kept up with my share of housework and parenting duties, but that's about it. I always knew I couldn't live like that indefinitely. There are plenty of nasty disparaging comments here from kids who've clearly never worked long enough or hard enough or had a strong enough sense of responsibility to get that weary, but there is a tiny nugget of truth to some of what they say. Some structure and goals are necessary to stay sane IMO. Even during my idle period I mostly stuck to my routine. No sleeping in until noon, not bothering to get dressed, etc. In the last couple of months, I've kind of come out of hibernation. I haven't started any major projects, but I've made several upgrades to the decor especially in my own room. There's even art on the walls. OK, one wall. ;) I refinished a couple of pieces of furniture. I've gotten into resin crafting, especially things that glow. At some point I expect I'll dabble a bit in 3D printing to complement that. When the pandemic conditions ease and my daughter (currently a senior in HS) is safely ensconced in college, I'll probably do a bit more traveling, but still mostly short activity-focused trips - e.g. hiking or snowboarding in mid-week, depending on the season. I even have a couple of ideas for apps, completely unrelated to what I used to do professionally (distributed filesystems and such FWIW) and I absolutely will not get all wrapped up in all of the non-coding things that make professional development such a grind. Contrary to what the callow youth say, it's not necessary to push that hard to feel happy and fulfilled. People make themselves that way, but that's their choice and it's not mine any more. I'll write the code to do what I want it to do, probably publish it somewhere/somehow, but I'm not going to get tied down handling demands from over-entitled users. So basically my life is getting back to almost what it was before, just a little bit better. Instead of getting crushed under the weight of responsibility at work, I spend the same part of each day doing a variety of things as the mood strikes me. When something starts to feel like a grind, I context switch. That freedom is IMO the whole point of retirement, and what any mentally healthy person should strive for.