Time is a Corporate Obsession, and I want no more part of it!
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”
MICHAEL ALTSHULER
One of the great things about retirement is the liberation from clock-watching. Punctuality in the workplace has always been important to me, and it always used to drive me crazy when people would turn up late for appointments, especially when it was a manager. There is no excuse for using your seniority as cover for your lack of time management and planning ability. Especially when those same managers would happily call out a junior if they were late to a meeting. And don’t get me started on managers who would reschedule meetings just before they were due to start. These behaviours are the height of arrogance, sending a clear message that their time is more important than yours and that rule makers don’t need to abide by their own guidelines of appropriate behaviour in the workplace. But I’m getting sidetracked. The art of punctuality generally requires two things; Good time management and a good timepiece. The first allows you to plan your day, so you know what to expect, and the second allows you to monitor where you are in the plan.
Since I retired, there are very few events in my day where I need to be punctual. I am largely driven by bodily requirements rather than artificial ones. I generally wake up around 6:30 every morning, and although I have an alarm set to turn on lights and some music, I’m usually already awake. I go for lunch at a local restaurant around the same time every weekday, and that’s driven by how hungry I am and how popular some of the dishes are likely to be, as they can run out quite quickly with some favourite items. Finally, at night I go to bed when I’m tired, but usually between 10:30 and 11.
I am rarely compelled to be anywhere at any particular time unless it is by my choice. The few exceptions are concerts, long-distance travel, very occasional meetings with medical professionals, financial and other advisors, and board meetings, but as the chairman, I usually get to schedule these myself. In fact, I am probably more mindful about end times than start times. Like hospitality venues (pubs!) closing times or museum and attraction kicking-out times.
I still plan my day, but it’s planned in fluid chunks rather than discrete events; mornings for exercising, reading and learning; afternoons for writing and pro bono work; and evenings for socialising and chillout time.
I’m still something of a slave to my watch, but in a different way as it’s an Apple Watch. I rarely use it to see what time it is or how much longer something will take (except when cooking!). Instead, I check my activity rings on an unhealthily regular basis.
This relatively clock-constrained life suits me perfectly. I have enough of a routine to maintain good habits but plenty of fluidity to do the unexpected, like writing a new piece when the inspiration grabs me. As a result, I feel beholden to no one, and when I do need to fit in with other people’s plans, it’s a choice, not a chore. In fact, that’s largely what retirement is all about — finally being free to make choices rather than fitting into the grand plan set out by The Corporation (that rarely gets it right in any case!).
I am a semi-retired independent management consultant specialising in organisational change management and better Ways of Working. I’m from the UK but based in Prague in the Czech Republic. I mainly write about developing better ways of working (https://allygillcouk.blogspot.com/), about working in the Apple ecosystem (https://appleharvest.blogspot.com/) and about my adopted home in Prague (https://onlyinbohemia.blogspot.com/). However, I’m still fairly new to Medium (so please be gentle with me!)