As I move on in my 60s I sense that life is starting to speed up, almost to the point of "runaway" out of control. I find it more and more difficult to concentrate on what is really important and not allow the speed and stress of the everyday mundane rob me of contentment. I feel like there are important things for me to accomplish yet, but I can't seem to slow down enough to concentrate on a plan to accomplish them.

Does anyone else feel the same way, and if so, how have you resolved this sensation that you are rushing to the grave?

Retirement should give you all the time you need to get everything done. It doesn't.

Simplify, prioritize, and get better at saying NO. Retiring and moving away worked best for me.

I know exactly what you're feeling. I share this sensation.

All I can say is live deliberately, every day.

I've been feeling the same way for a few years and I'm just about to turn 46.

For me, I've pinned it down to not being in sole control of my future, both time-wise and financially. I was having minor panic attacks about this starting about a year and a half ago. They've subsided since I came up with a plan to become my own man, professionally.

The only thing I can offer is to prioritize what's important and then to grab what you want by the horns and bend it to your will.

A famous quote from someone on the 'fire say "life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end the faster it goes."

I finally made it to eighty a few months ago and must admit that life has slowed down whether or not I wanted it to. Just be patient.

Pretty sure retirement will work for us.

Even at 50 now, we put things to do on the list. We may or may not get the list done today. May not even get to ONE thing on the list.

But when the urge strikes to quit, to rest, to go fishing, to go hunting, to lay in the yard with the dog or whatever we do it.

Fact is, the next breath is not a given, and if we don't get the list done, its no big deal, if we die, someone else deals with it and I"m ok with that. most of whats on the list doesn't matter anyway. Except to us.

And don't get me wrong, IMHO we are not at all lazy, we just mix enjoyment with work and with life.

Don't want to get to the point that we work ourselves to death thinking, next year, yep next year i'll get back to Alaska and enjoy a fall. Nope, get to AK every fall and enjoy it. The dam list is still there when we get home. Grins.

And RE funds, at this point in our life, I think we'll be ok, but I don't much care, we are going to try to retire at 59 or 60. Go enjoy some more. If we run out of money at 80, I'm fairly sure it won't much matter by then to either of us... and flipping .gov can take care of us like it does every dam other person I've paid for over the yeras....

A knee replacement should slow you down for quite awhile.

Time stops for no man. We can no sooner slow it down than we can speed it up. We have no control over time nor do we know the time of our death (unless one decides to eat a bullet in the next 30 seconds).

My priorities yesterday were to walk with the dogs, watch the birds at the feeder for 1/2 hour and kill 5,247 wasps. I managed to check all of those off the list. Today is spray to kill a billion dandelions in the yard and take a little drive in the country with the wife.

The only thing I feel I need to accomplish is to enjoy and always work at being a better husband.

Great post Scott. Kudos.

you've got to do twice as much in a day just to keep up. never slow down ,stay in high gear til you fall over some day.enjoy the ride.

After multiple visits to the ER and in turn the ICU, I had to do the above. It actually gets easier as the days go by.

I didn't move per say, I just spend more time here over yonder, where life is slower and more peaceful. It is the only place where I have ever been that truly calms me. One plane ticket and a small cottage on the river, and the stress just dwindles away.

Time to make you and your well being a priority

This.

For me it is all based on volunteering. When a I focus on myself things slow down. I hasn't been at way in a very long time and I'm not sure when I'm getting off this roller coaster.

That for sure. More busy and jobs to do than ever. Everyday odd jobs and errands to get done.

Thats a great challenge and worthy goal. thanks for the sage thoughts.

Allah does not subtract from ones allotted time those hours spent in fishing

Limited time on the internet.

Slow it down, or it will get slowed down for you.

Better if its by choice.

Perspective.

Get you a couple of these and learn how to make/shoot paper patch ammo!

Parlorguns by Sharps45 2 7/8, on Flickr

Simply say "No," and schedule the day around your plans.

I think it's even worse for today's kids. With school, school sports, travel teams, clubs, etc kids absolutely need an organizer and driver. I sort of just let life happen when I was a kid.

Simplify. Sometimes we just wind up with too much stuff, too many projects, too many hobbies. Not saying to get rid of everything and just sit bored on the couch, but when you have too many things going on, there's literally never time to do it all, so it seems time rushes away. Try cleaning house, so to speak, in some areas of your life, you may be surprised how life slows a bit.

All good answers. I'll add one wrinkle.

In my mid-60's I took a job that multiplied my responsibility, especially for a bunch of other people, multipied the number of decisions, the stakes riding on them, and multiplied the speed.

I worked at managing the pace that was often too rapid to make good decisions, at getting better at saying "No" and delegating, etc. But for me the solution lay another direction.

I asked the Lord to increase my capacity (rather than to slow the onslaught).

My capacity for bigger faster heavier-stakes decisions amid harried scedule increased. People said I did the job well. I am now in process of retiring incrementally and am well down that road.

OrangeOkie: My "lifes philosophy" is not to "slow down" but to add to my schedule and to DO as much as possible in what ever time I have left (I am 67 and have been retired for 18 full years now).
Anymore I literally plan to be as busy as possible - and I have learned to like that.
I wish you luck in getting your priorities straight and enjoying doing that.
The MORE I can cram in a day (of things I enjoy doing!) the more happy I am at the end of that day, it seems.
Yesterday, for instance, I began the day fly fishing, then chased some guns for sale, then once it warmed up good I and a close friend shot over 200 Ground Squirrels, then at sundown I had an appointment to help another Rifle club member in repairing some vandalism at our local shooting range.
By filling every day with things I like to do, that seems to create a full and enjoyable life for me.
Again good luck to ya!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

When I feel frantic it's because I'm doing too much piddly crap and not getting to important stuff.

I think the two keys to getting to the important stuff is learning to just let go of stuff that isn't important, and if you find your work area cluttered, toss the accumulated crap. It's easy to pile up projects that you plan to get to or started and didn't finish and they've been lingering for years or decades. There is something seriously freeing about taking a truckload to the dump or filling up a dumpster with that accumulated crap that if you were honest with yourself you simply won't get to it.

With ties cut to things you aren't going to get to, and with a clean work area, the important things will get done, your stress will leave and you'll have that sense of accomplishment that's been lacking.

Turn stuff over to your wife, like I did. She's always late or procratinating about stuff.

Drives me nuts, but it does slow me down more than I'm used to doing things.

i'm just going to keep on going til its over. one differents in my life is i've been a remodeling contractor sense 1977. i have worked when i wanted to so long i don't take orders from anyone.i'm not planning to retire completely ever. i can work a shorter week and i've already started to.i can also choose easier jobs to do.no more 3-4 story high climbing around for me.

How do you get life to slow down for you?

Don't push it so hard.

Regain control.

I don't know if it is possible.

When I was in my 20s I managed to complain about too much going on to really be able to do any of it justice. An old geezer in his 80s told me not to worry, in my 30s things would slow down. I've passed 50 and it hasn't happened and I see no reason now to believe it ever will.

If I could find that lying ol' SOB's grave I'd probably pee on it.

I took a little nap today. Sprayed an acre of lawn to kill dandelions, filled the bird feeder twice, talked to the mailman for a few minutes, shot a pellet gun for awhile and went 2 for 2 on carpenter bees with 22 rat shot.

I might slow it up a bit tomorrow.

I know it sounds corny, but when things get too fast for me, I go fishing, or grab a shotgun or .22 and just go sit in the woods for a while. There's something very refreshing to me about time spent alone afield, or on the water.

Now that the kids are grown, things seem to move at a different pace for us. All the home renovation projects we put off literally for decades are now coming to the forefront. A new furnace goes in this weeks. Stumps are being ground next week. We are pricing replacement windows, and the troublesome gutters on the backside of the house got done last fall. We expect to be in this house for 5-10 years, so it's time to start knocking these projects off one at a time. It's nice to have something focus on, but knowing we've got plenty of time to act on it.

Do not make your day fit the plan
Make the day fit your plan
Relax, life is short--

You are exactly where I want to be.

I've started by taking every single weekend for me. NO work and no more committing too anything that I really do not want to do.

In addition, I put all career work down when I feel I've done enough and do nothing work related until the next morning. After a couple of visits with a work coach I was amazed at how many bad habits I had acquired. Like taking a Blackberry to bed with me. I quickly realized that was the last thing I was doing before bed and the first thing when I awoke. BAD!! Really bad!! I finally threw the BB away with no regrets.

I've also started to take time to realize everything I do. For example, when I wake up I don't jump right out of bed. I take the time to wake up and tell myself I am waking up. Same with everything I do now. When I go for a run I tell myself I'm taking a run and giving it the time I deserve. Before I would just run because it was part of my routine. My favorite is digging in the yard and garden. And yes I remind myself that I am working in the yard, which also reminds me I am not working and there is no need to stress.

There's more but that's a great start for me as my life for the past 15 years resembled lunch at the ant farm.

I retired at 62, and thought that would slow things down for me. Nope.

Now, I pack the car, strap on a canoe or kayak, and head to the woods.

Leaving tomorrow for 4 or 5 (or more) days.

Enjoy the race. What you do or don't do isn't going to change the destination, just if you enjoy the trip.

Learn to say "no" to all the people who demand your time for whatever reason.

Go off by yourself at least once a day and do something you really enjoy.

Nothing focuses the mind quite like three days on a good trout stream.

Go to work in a Japanese owned heavy industry factory.

It'll make life seem *way* too long.

I have a few beers after work and that seems to help slow things down.


Sucks though when you're always a week behind and never really catch up with work.

Funny how a few beers when we all younger actually sped things up huh??

Saved me the work.