Life After Financial Independence | Some Things I Never Expected

The sudden onset of Financial Independence was a huge adjustment for me, and I found myself going through several emotions as I coped with this changed mindset and lifestyle. While adjusting to lack of structure and a shift in my social circle didn’t come as a surprise, there were plenty of mindset and lifestyle changes that I would have never expected.

You Start Thinking in Long-Term Timescales

I’m a list person. And in my crazy-hectic-busy W2 life, I kept a daily to-do list. Lists were like a lifeline for me, keeping me sane as my mind struggled to keep track of all the things I needed to get done that day.

I had a system. When I got into work, I would look at the prior day’s task list and, anything that didn’t get crossed out and completed was brought over to the current day’s list. Which, of course, had a whole new set of items that needed completed. And I could not forget about the weekly and monthly lists, which I kept in the back of my notebook and tried to incorporate and break down into smaller steps throughout several days.

Project managers loved me.

Writing that, I chuckle inside. The sad truth is, most of those to-do items weren’t really that important. At least not to me. They were important to my job, in that accomplishing tasks assigned to a barrage of projects would look good to my boss and on my performance review, so I might get a raise that year. But, thinking back, what strikes me is the lack of personal to-do items. I had some, but they were pretty mundane. Go grocery shopping, do laundry, vacuum. Nothing that would really improve my life in a meaningful way. No long-term goals.

Until I shifted my mindset and began thinking more about my financial future. Then I began making goals just for me. They started small: analyze expenses, build a budget and analyze monthly, lower living expenses. Then they grew into goals that could move the needle in my life: join real estate investment group, purchase a triplex to owner-occupy, acquire a small multifamily to build passive income, discuss investment strategies with accountant.

As this shift occurred, the larger, long-term tasks took center stage as the mundane, daily tasks became ancillary. Sure, I should still do grocery shopping, but those items didn’t really drive my thoughts and days the way the larger goals did.

And as I exited corporate and found my inbox empty and task list dwindling, my mindset shifted towards these larger, more important goals. There’s a saying: “We overestimate what we can accomplish in a day, and underestimate what we can accomplish in a year.”

I absolutely love that saying. And saw it all the time in corporate. Days are filled with meetings and the emergency of the week, and when it comes time for performance reviews, we wonder why we didn’t accomplish those four annual goals. They were manageable, we were just so busy. This is what gets us – by cramming our days with menial busy-work tasks, we neglect the larger, more important items in our life. And because of this, we don’t accomplish those annual goals that could have easily been ticked off if we weren’t so distracted by crap that didn’t really matter.

Busy can be the roadblock to accomplishment. I have never seen this more clearly than now, a year and a half into the FI lifestyle. I still have goals, but my goals are annual, even five-year goals. Some of my goals are investment goals, and some are fitness goals. I even have some around-the-house fixer-upper goals. These longer timescales make sense, because there’s just no hurry. There’s rarely an external emergency that puts pressure on my days… and when that does happen, it’s an anomaly that I can address because I have the inner calm to handle it. Not an already frantic, over-scheduled mind struggling to cope with yet another emergency.

I’ve found the shift delightful. And I still have a to-do list. Every once in a while I’ll jot down some things to accomplish for the week. Perhaps for the month. But my important goals are annual, and my days are calm and focused. And, as a result, I think I accomplish a lot more. Maybe not as many mundane tasks, but I make the meaningful accomplishments.

Travel May Not Be As Important As a Comfy Home

When I first became untethered from my corporate desk, dreams of travel flooded my mind. As luck would have it, I had already purchased several vacations for me and family members for 2019, so when I left in April 2019, I had some travel to look forward to.

And it was wonderful. I enjoyed long weekend getaways in Texas, a trip to Ohio to visit my family, and a trip to Kauai with my mom.

As a worker-bee, I would daydream about travelling around the world in retirement, or perhaps taking a sabbatical to hop around a few countries. My job did give me the opportunity to work abroad, which was a fantastic experience, but I wanted more!

Or, so I thought.

Don’t get me wrong, travel is amazing. It opens you up and exposes you to different cultures. Nothing smashes stereotypes and assumptions more than travel and interacting with people around the world. You learn the differences among cultures. And, more importantly, you learn how many things are not different among cultures and people.

But having the freedom of time has helped me appreciate home more than I ever have.

Sure, at first, being at home all the time was a little daunting. But that was before I had some routines and got into my groove. Now, home is more than just a place I arrive at after a long day at work, just to microwave some food and plop in front of the TV. My home is my writing office, my art studio. It’s my chef’s kitchen and my cinema. Home is where we play board games and enjoy conversation with our friends. It’s become a part of my family and my life, and I find the energy I put into having a comfortable home comes back to me tenfold.

This doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy travel, and I still have plans for it. But travel is no longer an escape from a life I don’t enjoy and a home I don’t appreciate. Travel is an adventure and experience. And home is where I enjoy my life.

By Month Six, You’ll Wonder How You Ever Found Time for the 9-5

The first couple of months, in particular, were an awkward adjustment for me. I actually enjoyed the first couple of weeks, and felt like I had an extended staycation, catching up on sleep and wandering around aimlessly in an enjoyable way.

Then the restlessness set in. I was caught up on sleep and wasn’t really sure what to do with my days. And was caught off guard by feelings of depression and boredom.

But then I started finding my way. My mindset shifted towards more long-term goals. I set meaningful intentions, and built daily and weekly routines around those intentions. And before I knew it, my days filled up. I made time for daily exercise, prioritized eating well, and took advantage of our local and state parks. Dreams I had pushed to the side came to the forefront, and I began painting on canvas and writing fiction. I even submitted a screenplay I wrote to a competition.

And, before I knew it, several months had gone by. I remember when a former coworker asked me out to lunch and I had to book her for the following week! Later she asked me why I was so busy the week before. Honestly I can’t remember all the details, but do remember that my exercise routine had solidified, I was renovating a newly acquired (at that time) multifamily property and filling vacant units, and I believe I already had another lunch scheduled and a day hike at a nearby state park planned with my mom. She couldn’t believe how busy I was, and neither could I. Especially since I did not feel busy. I just felt engaged in life, doing things that meant a lot to me.

When I discuss leaving the corporate world or the typical nine-to-five job with others, many express concern about the possibility of getting bored.

This idea always blew my mind. Especially when I was in the middle of planning my escape from the corporate grind, the idea of boredom never occurred to me.

Turns out, I did experience it. But it was short-lived. And frankly, I think it was a normal response from a previously overstimulated brain that was used to being overwhelmed. I’ve since relaxed and learned to slow down and enjoy my days.

Since I’ve left corporate, I’ve had some job offers come through. It’s flattering, but pretty easy to turn down. The freedom is addicting, and I have no idea how I would fit that nine-to-five job into this quality life I’ve built for myself.

You’ll Become More In Tune with Nature and the Seasons

Becoming more in touch with nature and the seasons was probably the biggest surprise to me post-FI. Sure, I was used to feeling sleepier in the depths of winter, and craved swimming in the lake during the summer. But otherwise, I was pretty removed from nature. Every morning I woke up to the alarm clock. Regardless of the sunrise or weather conditions, I got up, got ready, and drove to work. I stayed inside under the glow of florescent lights until the clock told me it was time to go home. And I’d spend about five minutes outside walking from my office to my car, to drive back home, go inside, and stay there until a clock told me to go to bed.

I still have an alarm clock that I use. And I still have morning and evening routines. But I’ve discovered my mood, energy, and daily rhythms change with the seasons, and I change accordingly. In Central Texas, we really only have summer and winter (arguable winter if I consult my family from the North!).

In the summer, I typically wake up bright and early around 5:30 so I can get outside and exercise before the heat. This gives me lots of time in the day to come home, make breakfast, and get chores done. During the heat of the summer, I tend to get sleepy around one or two in the afternoon. If I have things I need to do, I make some tea and push through, getting my second wind around four in the afternoon. But if I have the time, I’ll take a nap, wake up in about an hour refreshed, and carry on with my day. Sleep time is typically ten in the evening, but I’ve been known to push that.

Contrast that to winter. When the nights get longer and days get cooler, my wake up time is pushed back to 7:30. I still exercise outside, but find with the shorter days that I have less energy. Instead of doing busy or physical projects, I tend to do more “thinking” tasks. I bake hot meals and have less cold meals and salads. And I rarely take a nap, as I’m usually in bed earlier, sleeping more during the cooler months. The feeling is overall more lazy. Or maybe it’s slow and steady. Whereas the summertime is more prone to bursts of high energy.

I find I pay more attention to seasonal things. In January and February, we’ll likely get some really cold snaps, maybe even snow and ice. The last freeze – if we have one – will happen in February. This can be the perfect time to deep clean the house and recover from the holidays. In March, it’s time to plant your garden and get the landscaping in order. This effort will pay off in the summer. March and April have fair weather that’s perfect for day hikes and park excursions. Waking up earlier gets easier. April is wildflower season, and long drives to see the flowers are enjoyed by all. May is when the heat sets in. The garden is starting to produce and those March efforts are paying off. June, July, and August are absolutely scorching. Watering holes are visited frequently, exercise is done as close to dawn as possible, and BBQs are aplenty. Mid-afternoon naps become more frequent. Gardens and plants might start dying off under the intense heat, so you harvest what you can and try to keep the hardy plants alive. September marks the beginning of the second gardening season. Temperatures just barely start to drop. October finally gets some real temperature relief. This marks the last quarter of the year, and the beginning of the holiday season. First Halloween, then before we know it, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Weather from October to December is variable, ranging from 40s to 80s. As the sun rises later, so do the wakeup times. Outdoor exercise is no longer restricted to early morning, and it starts getting dark for dinner. The sun is lower and the light is less intense. With the cool evening air, bedtimes start moving up, and sleep times get longer. And then, before you know it, it’s almost the new year…

There’s a beauty in all of it. As you can slow down and change with the seasons, I think you find more balance and peace in life. Tasks take on the rhythm of nature rather than being crammed into an arbitrary schedule.