"Prepare hobbies for after retirement"—the moment you feel you need to prepare, it's already impossible.

Six months have passed since I retired.

Now that the procedures following my retirement have settled down, and I have finished arranging the purchase of a cemetery plot and gravestone, as well as home maintenance—things I had planned to do once I retired—there are moments in the day when I find myself with time on my hands.

My current basic schedule is as follows.
6:40 Drive my wife to the station (she asks me to drive her even though it's a 5-minute walk)
7:00–8:50 Meeting with AI to check this morning's stock market and select day-trading stocks (if decided early, I consider blog post ideas in the meantime)
9:00– Start day trading
10:00–11:15 Walking
12:00–12:30 Lunch
12:30–14:00 Cleaning, other chores, YouTube
14:00–15:00 Grocery shopping
15:00–16:30 Free time
16:30–17:00 Dinner preparation
17:00–19:00 Bath, games, blog, etc.
19:15– Pick up my wife from the station by car (it's a 5-minute walk, but... same as above)
19:30– Prepare dinner while my wife is in the bath

It's something like this.
I'm not sure if it's fulfilling or not. I vaguely wonder if this is okay.

While thinking about such things, I remembered the "bucket list" I made before retiring.

The results of the bucket list

Before retiring, I made a list. I wrote down 17 items of "things I want to do after retirement." It's a common story. Somewhere, I thought that would be a countermeasure.

Six months have passed, and I checked the results.

Looking at the items marked with a circle, they have something in common. None of them have an end. Household budget management is updated every month. Stocks move every day. Walking continues as long as I can. Cooking is slightly more efficient today than it was yesterday. Because there is no finished form, there is no time to quit.

The items marked with an X were all things I wrote while imagining a finished form. In short, it seems I was writing about "a version of myself who seems to be doing those things."

"I was busy" is an excuse

I have heard from several people that those who love fishing or surfing would stop by the ocean early in the morning before going to work. If you really wanted to do something, you would make time for what you love, no matter how busy you are.

The reason I wrote fishing and reading on my list was because I liked the way I looked when I was doing them. It wasn't that I actually liked them. Even if you try to have hobbies after retiring, it's difficult. I wasn't built that way to begin with.

Watching my wife, I understood the true nature of talent

My wife says she is full of things she wants to do after retirement. When I ask her what she wants to do, only small things come up. She wants to spend a whole day removing mold from the washroom and bathroom. She wants to make original New Year's decorations out of origami. She wants to make this year's New Year's cards with a more elaborate design.

At first, I thought, "Is that all?" Now, I have a different impression.

The common thread in what my wife wants to do is that there is no end. Mold will grow again. Origami decorations will be made again next year. New Year's cards start from zero every year. She is a person who finds joy in "doing" rather than "having done."

And my wife has a core of loving to draw since she was a child. She says she has suppressed her desire to draw because she would get too absorbed in it. She says she wants to draw to her heart's content after retirement.

I ended up asking, "What will you do with the pictures you draw? Where will you display them?"

My wife hadn't thought that far. She just wants to draw.

I thought to myself, there is no beating people like this. The difference between those who can immerse themselves without questioning the meaning and those who keep questioning the meaning is not something that can be overcome with effort. This is talent.

A story about a person who keeps questioning the meaning

Right now, I'm pulling out "Shiren the Wanderer 6" to play during my wide-open free time.

When I was employed, playing games on my days off would lead to evening, and I would feel empty. I felt like I hadn't produced anything and had wasted my day off. After retiring, I don't have that kind of guilt. But there is a different kind of emptiness. When I play games I've already cleared in the past, a sense of killing time drifts in.

In the end, I find myself thinking about the meaning.

There are people who can immerse themselves without questioning the meaning, and people who keep questioning the meaning. I think this is also an innate tendency. I don't believe it can be changed through effort.

So, what should I do?

For now, all I can say is that I will cherish the things that have continued. I can lose track of time while managing the household budget. My cooking is gradually becoming more efficient. I don't know anything beyond that yet.

Something might branch out from there, or it might not. I intend to watch over it for a while to see if anything sprouts.

I often hear people say, "Prepare a hobby for after retirement."
The moment you have to prepare, it's impossible.

Even so, life after retirement works out somehow. Just as it is for me now.