After decades of hard work, it’s finally time to retire. You cleaned out the desk at work, attended the office retirement party, and received warm congratulatory messages from co-workers, friends and family. Retirement is here at last.

What happens next may surprise you. No matter how well you’ve planned, the first year of living the retirement dream is going to have its share of bumps and adjustments. They may be more disruptive than you expect. With proper planning and positive attitude, retirement can be awesome. That said, don’t expect the transition from 40-plus years of full-time work to retirement to happen without some surprises and stress. 

Five adjustments to expect

Every person’s retirement experience will differ, but here are five common adjustments that new retirees often must make:

# 1  Drifting without a purpose 

Our careers help define us. It’s where most of our waking hours are spent for the majority of our lives. It’s what we’ve trained for. Jobs provide a mission and purpose. Retirement can create a vacuum and a void, where our motivating reason for getting up every day is no longer clear.

At first, many new retirees feel excitement and joy because of their new freedom. “I can sleep late, or get up early and play golf, or do whatever I choose!” But it’s not long before this euphoria wears off. In a 2012 study in the Journal of Happiness Studies, Elizabeth Mokyr Horner, PhD, of the University of California, Berkeley, calls this the “sugar rush” that many new retirees feel, but in time the rush turns into an emotional crash. (Read more of her report here). We will talk more later in this article about finding new purpose during retirement.

#2  Lack of a schedule

Jobs create structure in our daily lives during our working years. While we may complain about having to hit the alarm clock early and make the commute to the office with coffee cup in hand, what happens when you retire and it’s Monday morning and there’s nowhere to go? Now if you’re not yet retired, you may not see a problem with this scenario. “That is exactly what I want; no schedule and no demands,” you might think. But let me try to explain with this analogy: Have you ever been stranded at home for several days because of a snow storm, hurricane threat, or mild sickness? The first day was exciting. Sleep late. Stay in your pajamas all day. Catch up on your favorite TV series. By day three, however, you’ve got a bad case of cabin fever. Boredom sets in. The fun is gone. Truth is, you’re glad to get back to work. Without proper planning, this is what retirement can be like. Fun at first, but not for long.

We all need structure in our lives. If you don’t create a “new normal,” with worthwhile daily activities to get you up and out of the house, retirement is going to get boring fast.

#3  No more office buddies 

Unless you’ve been working from home and are already accustomed to a solitary existence, you may find one of the more unexpected hardships of retirement is losing your network of co-workers and friends on the job. You may complain about your co-workers now, but trust me, you will miss them later (OK, maybe not ALL of them!). Lots of conversation happens around the water cooler, cubicles and break rooms at work. You will miss the office banter, high fives, and even the gossip. Sure, everyone at your retirement party promises to keep in touch but don’t count on it. Life in the office goes on without you. As time passes, expect fewer and fewer texts and lunch invites from your old work buddies. Even if you are fortunate enough to hang onto one or more good friends from work, you would be wise to make it a priority to cultivate new friendships outside the office after your retire.

#4  Too much time with the spouse

Everyone laughs about this, until they experience it first-hand. Trust me, it’s a real thing. If you and your spouse retire around the same time or your spouse is already retired, suddenly you are going to find yourselves together 24/7, and no matter how much you love your spouse, we all need some separation and time to ourselves. While it’s great to have some shared friends and hobbies, it’s also healthy to have separate interests. That could be part-time jobs, volunteer opportunities, sports or hobbies. While it might not work for every couple, some couples even travel separately from time to time.

You and your spouse will need to have honest dialogue about this togetherness issue, and come up with a plan that works for you. Start talking about this well before you retire.

#5  Money worries

Even if you’ve saved well for retirement, adjusting to a life without a paycheck requires planning and time. At first there may be practical concerns such as balancing the month-by-month cash flow in order to pay bills, or meeting with financial advisors to start withdrawing money from retirement plans. You can probably resolve those issues with reasonable ease. The larger worry, however, is the nagging anxiety of wondering if you’ve saved enough and if the money will last for the rest of your life. Because that one is more of a mental challenge, it will be harder to fix.

When it comes to investing, there are few guarantees. That becomes more evident when you retire and cannot afford to make mistakes with your money. Every move you make with your portfolio involves risk-reward trade-offs. For me, I think part of the anxiety is knowing that we have accumulated all we are ever going to save and are now entering a period of spending down our savings. That’s scary. Because you are no longer earning money and accumulating a nest egg, you may feel less in control of the situation and more vulnerable to stock market declines and economic cycles.

I’m a Certified Financial Planner who saved well and started running the financial calculations years before I retired from full-time work. If I can admit I experienced these anxieties, then rest assured they are normal and nearly universal among new retirees.

Start planning early, become as well informed as possible, and surround yourself with good advisors. If you have a choice, don’t retire until you are confident the numbers line up and you can afford the loss of a steady paycheck. When it comes to making changes to your investment portfolio as you transition into retirement, take it slow and easy. Stick to investments you know and can understand. Avoid the hype, current fads and flashy new toys of the investment world. Remember, you can’t afford to make big mistakes at this stage of the game.

Summary

If you are nearing retirement or recently retired, then congratulations. You’ve worked long and hard to get here. Sure, you can expect some challenges during your first year of retirement. But fortunately, these are adjustments you can make, with a positive attitude and the will to do so. If married, share this article with your spouse and discuss it. Your retirement will have a major impact on your spouse’s life as well as yours, whether he or she retires at the same time or not. When you and your spouse are on the same page, then you will both be ready to better enjoy This Retirement Life.

What was your first year of retirement like? If retired, what advice would you give new retirees about making those critical first-year adjustments? Not yet retired? What are your greatest concerns? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below. We look forward to hearing from you!

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