> Sergey Brin’s lesson for the rest of us

Is it? I know people who are really happy without doing much in their retirement. Probably because they weren't workaholics.

To my mind, if one doesn't have hobbies during the working years, then they will struggle to find purpose when they retite.

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DannyBee 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

This is kinda right, kinda wrong. I was a workaholic - I was a VP of engineering at Google. I'm doing fine retired.

You don't have to find purpose when you retire

At all.

Instead, you just have to be willing to face each day when the day has no expectations. You can do anything you want, and decide you love it, hate it, whatever. You can do it again the next day, or not. you can hate it one day and love it the next. It's completely up to you.

For some people, this lack of structure is crushing. For others, it's liberating.

It's similar to having spent significant time alone as an adult - some people can't deal with it, some can.

I meet a lot of people who are like "I haven't figured out what i will do when i retire". These are the people i worry about, because there isn't anything to figure out. They want a structure that probably won't exist. They will likely tire of trying to force their own structure on it, and seek structure elsewhere (IE work).

In the past 3 weeks i've done the following:

Building powered paper airplanes with the kids

Mentoring high school and college students

Advising startups.

Woodworking

Hacking on CNC machines

Hacking on minecraft mods.

Hacking on compilers.

Playing video games.

and a lot more.

The next 3 weeks may be the same or different, depending on lots of things (mood, energy, schedules).

There are also days i do nothing cool or useful at all, and feel great (and unapologetic - nobody gets to judge my retirement but me, my spouse, and my kids :P) about it

The world is really big, and has lots to do. You just have to be able to drive yourself because you aren't being forced into doing anything at all.

In the end - for some i also feel it's similar to divorce - lots of people don't get divorced because they don't want to deal with being alone.

Retirement similarly forces you to spend a lot of time with yourself (even if you have an SO and even if they are retired). Lots of people don't like that, at all, for various reasons. Work lets them ignore it.

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plicense 3 days ago | parent [-]

Just wanted to say, one of the exciting things I realized when I joined Google was that the maintainer of GDB was my org's director at that time. Not sure how much it matters, but it gave me confidence in the leadership to know that someone who knows the details is running the show at the top. It made me trust the leadership chain much more than I normally would otherwise.

	▲	DannyBee 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Thanks - it is truly and greatly appreciated :) I wonder if this was the LOL[1] days - looking back on it, it's hard to believe how much people outside the org cared about the name, and us trying to not take ourselves too seriously. [1] For everyone else, at one point we named the org Languages, Optimizations, and Libraries. People either loved or hated it.

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awendt 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

This! People need to get a life. I wouldn't have any trouble keeping myself busy after retirement. I do not have nearly enough time for the things I really WANT to do beside work.

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throw-qqqqq 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

This is also my sentiment.

I am saving up to retire early. If I mention this to friends, most look at me with big eyes and ask “But what will you spend your day on then!?” in a sceptical tone.

I imagine they think I want to drink beers and play golf all day every day, or something like that.

I’m a bit heart broken, that so many of my friends cannot imagine being masters of their own time, without thinking it would be bad for them and/or unproductive.

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deepvibrations 3 days ago | parent [-]

Yes, I have experienced exactly the same with friends and find it bizarre - essentially having total freedom seems to scare some people. Is it because we have been told what to do our whole life and so the thought of having to determine our own destiny each day is too much for some?

	▲	throw-qqqqq 3 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Well, my friends immediately assume I want some luxurious self-indulgent perpetual vacation/holiday-thing. They seem relieved when I explain it’s more of the perpetual weekend I’m aiming for: sleeping till I wake, reading, cooking, hanging with friends and family, coding on my FOSS projects etc.
	▲	yesimahuman 3 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I think it's also a uniquely American thing. We are so defined by our work and our careers here. It's kind of sad, in my opinion, but that's the reality.

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Cthulhu_ 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I think that's the one silver lining of the pandemic's lockdowns; some people were at home again for extended periods of time, finding themselves with a lot more free time and in a place that wasn't just for eating and sleeping.

	▲	saalweachter 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		I also have think that's a substantial reason behind the RTO push: some people found their lives empty without the office social environment, even after two years, and enough of them had the power to change it.

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yesimahuman 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Yea I've noticed this is the singular difference between those that enjoy early retirement and are successful doing it and those that aren't. Many ambitious people end up wrapping their entire identity up with work and feel completely lost with that gone. It's why so many successful founders throw themselves into new startups right after an exit, despite having way more than enough to retire. Personally, I've taken some time off since selling my startup and I've been so busy learning new things and building new hobbies that I can't imagine going back! Maybe I will one day, but it will likely involve something I've learned from during this time

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trueismywork 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Why? Why can work noy be your retirement plan as well? I have benefitted a lot from professors who have kept teaching (voluntarily) till physically possible.

	▲	Draiken 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		Putting all your eggs in one basket is one big reason. As a developer if, let's say, AI does make my profession no longer a viable option monetarily, what would happen if my entire identity is tied to it? You cannot fully control your career no matter what. Many external factors can affect it and you deeply if that's your identity. What if you can't even teach after retiring because nobody else cares about it? For me it's about risk/reward and unfortunately in our current system the fact that all my efforts reward someone else disproportionately more completely taints it.

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HellDunkel 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Yes. People are so much more enjoyable and interesting when they have a life, go out, have hobbies, do things a little different to everyone else.