Question for retirees of more that 12 months....
 

My wife used to work at a local university in the HR department. She was in charge of the retirees and pension plans. She dealt with retirees all the time. From folks retired for many decades, to people wanting to retire and wanting to know when they can retire.

She says that on a regular basis she had to call a retiree to ask them to come and sign some paperwork. The standard reply was something like:

On my, I have to go to the grocery store this morning, and I have a doctors visit tomorrow, and I will go Church on Wednesday night, so I can't come in until Thursday.

They (retirees) can't seem to do more than one task per day.

My wife retired two years ago, and I am starting to see that manifest in her. I am not retired, but I work from home. Today, I have a dermatologist appointment this afternoon. My business partner texted me and want to meet at the airport to do a few minor updates on the G-1000 instruments on our airplane. For a few seconds I started to worry, how can I get two things done today! I will have several hours in between, so it is a silly idea that it will be hard to do at all.And I am not even retired. It that syndrome contagious?

How about you retirees? can you get multiple "chores" done in one day?

Maybe it's their way of saying " your paperwork problem is YOUR paperwork problem.

If and when I get in that sitch, I'll be likely to say something like "no, I don't have time to come over there and sign anything.
Send it over here with a courier and I'll sign it, while he waits".

And least that's how the fantasy goes. The reality may vary.

I think it has to do with not wanting to be rushed. Ever see a retiree get breakfast? It can be a 2-3 hour task. They want to take their time and chat with everyone. Same for going to the doctor, the grocery store, church, etc. After a lifetime of rushing around myself, I get it.

Then again, being a Gen Xer, I probably won't ever retire.

I can if I want to. One of the reasons to retire is to be less externally driven. I motivate myself now and kind of resent somebody thinking they can tell me what to do. And I have my routine. By the time I wake up, have coffee and watch some news, spend 20 minutes on the rower and do some arm and leg work on the weight machine, take a soak in the spa, shower, and have breakfast, it’s often after 10 AM. That’s MY time and I don’t want anyone telling me I NEED to fill out some damn paperwork for them. No, what I need is my morning routine, plus all the other stuff I’ve planned for the day.

Sammy and Chris aren’t far off in their comments.

The paperwork HAS to be signed because the laws of the state or federal government change, or the companies providing the coverage have changed. If they don't sign, the health plan coverage an retirement payments will stop. It was not just to make them sign "just because" it was a law.

My parents are guilty of this all the time, they tell me how busy they are with non-stop events, meetings, and get-togethers. They actually get in "GO MODE" 3 days before leaving on a trip, and can't be bothered during those stressful times. (I pack the day of, or the night before).

These same people have breakfast at 7:00, lunch at 11:30, and Dinner at 5:30 rigidly without exception, and then want to call me when the evening news is over about 7:15PM, just when I am hopefully sitting down for the first time all day long (started at 4:30 AM) eating some dinner....arghhhhh !

Just over a year now and this it me to a tee ^^^^ I can wake up with nothing planned for the day, but if somebody puts the simplest short notice demand on me I get a little resentful.

Because I'm retired, my wife, daughter, and a neighbor seem to think I'm the go-to errand boy. (e.g. "Dad, can you watch your grandson today so I can go shopping". "Honey, will you pick up my Rx at CVS" "Craig, can you open my gate for the delivery guy today). I'm like...S#it, I was going to watch a rerun of the 1984 Masters Golf :(

I get asked all the time how I entertain myself all day. Oddly, I'm NEVER bored. I golf Tue, Wed, and Fri, cook dinner every night, if there's waves I go surfing, load bullets, and can always find a project around the house. If it's raining I read (last resort).

Now LEAVE ME ALONE and GET OFF MY LAWN!

I didn't retire.

My motivation did.

Whatever it is, I can do it tomorrow.

Repeat.

I understand that things have to be done, but your OP implied that there is some reason the retiree's schedule isn't acceptable. Why isn't it? Why can't your wife say, "OK, see you Thursday."

"She says that on a regular basis she had to call a retiree to ask them to come and sign some paperwork. The standard reply was something like:
On my, I have to go to the grocery store this morning, and I have a doctors visit tomorrow, and I will go Church on Wednesday night, so I can't come in until Thursday."

I have been retired for one year now and have no problem multi tasking if I want to . Much different then when you HAVE to .

Yes I can accomplish more than one thing in a day, easily. However if someone wants me to drive somewhere just to sign some papers I will push back and try to avoid the driving unless I have other business in the same area.

This is my fifteenth year of retirement. My wife still works, so I am up early each morning to cook her breakfast and get her things ready for her. When she leaves, it's breakfast time for me and maybe looking at this OT for a while. Then I might take a walk for a couple of miles and think about what I need to get done around here for the day. Since we live away from the masses, I organize my errands, shopping, and activities together to get them done efficiently. If I need to meet an appointment, I work it into my schedule. I can't imagine somebody who is retired making an excuse for not going to an appointment because they have to go to the grocery store. I've always been a fairly high energy person, though I have to admit it's not going in a positive direction at this point.

Think what happens if as a retiree you don't have much to do so you get in the habit of spreading things out over several days if you can.

Mult tasking.............
 

I can get several things done per day, and I have been retired for almost 10 years. My wife who has been retired for a year longer than me, not so much!

It's not just a retiree thing. A family member that never worked outside the home has been like this as long as I have known her.

She did, all the time. Unless the deadline to get it signed was NOW. So many would procrastinate and assume the issue would just go away on its own. They were very flexible about when it was signed, as long as it was before the real drop dead deadline to continue on the coverage. And that approached after months of calls and letters.

It was all things with DOB, SSN, and stuff you don't want in the wrong hands. They had to see the person sign it and have a witness and get it notarized.

Glen, if I answer your question, I'll be spent for the rest of the day.

Touched on it with needing routine. It upsets my 75 year old system to have variations in my routine. I HATE travel these days...it upsets my system. It's more than just my digestive system. You young guys will understand once you reach my years...if you're lucky enough to keep breathing that long.

Only if I "have" too....

I've managed to squeeze ten years into just a decade though....busy, busy, busy ;).

My single task today was repairing a window shade. Probably an hour job when I was working and didn't have time to do anything. I stretched it out to 6 hours. Why? Because I can :D