How did I know it was time?
I couldn't sleep a full night due to production/procurement pressures in the aerospace biz. Even with Ambien. I was burned out and had nothing left but anger and stress to fuel it.
Deciding factor?
A trip to Taos and a mate talking to me about my stress level being at a point that, when he called at work, he did not recognize my voice. And, after a blistering run, no smiles or high fives, just back on the lift. Got me thinking about my 50 to 70 hour weeks as a result of our acquisition by TransDigm Group.( As an ESOP, the acquisition made me very sound financially)
How long did I plan?
Started at the CO Springs airport on Sunday waiting to come back. Made the final call Weds. night before dinner. Went into the office at 3:30 the following Thursday and typed my letter of retirement and hit Send. Had talked to my money guy and he said I was more than good to go.
What kind of worker was I in the interim?
I expected to be told to leave as soon as my email was read as that is the TransDigm way. Office was cleaned out before I hit the Send key. Oddly, they wanted me to stay for the 2 weeks that I had given. Tried to get me to stay longer for more $$ or doing consulting. I worked as I had before my decision as they were still paying me and I owed them a full day's work.
I was 60 with my wife working for ICE so nice govt insurance bennies. No more vacation time budgeting for fun. Skiing 30 - 40 days a year, spent about 45 days at my Northern WI place last year, Canada Fly In every other year, several trips to Road America, time for SC projects and driving, lots of gym time and time with Mrs. Mike when she's not working to support my insurance needs
IMHO, if you are set financially and have things that you want to do more than work, go for it. We don't know what tomorrow will bring, especially Healthwise, and there are too many stories of retirement followed by almost immediate health issues or worse.