How do you motivate yourself in those last few years of work before retirement?

[Spiceup]

In 52 and financially could go comfortably at 55.

All my working life I've been driven, ambitious, conscientious, always looking to prove myself with one eye on the next job and enjoying a sense of achievement.

Lately, I really don't care. I do just enough to not mess up too badly, but have no interest in doing anything new or exciting.

What's worse is, I'm SLT in school and of the 6 people in that group, I'd say 5 are in the same boat. For the next 3-5 years the school is going to be run by people who've lost all interest. Things still get done but there's no oomph.

What can I do to shake myself up and what can we do as a group?

I've often wondered this and now I'm later 50s I can feel I'm counting down (only 2 more Xmases after this one etc). But I know people who are going early - Covid has probably had a lot to do with just being fed up of the relentlessness of it all.

Well I've hit 60 and was burnt out in adult care social work. I was lucky to be able to find a transfer to a less stressful team but they only had part time hours available so I went for it. I should be able to keep going a bit longer now. But I have to fake interest in all the appraisal/ career development stuff.

This thread worries me-so many of us will be expected to work in stressful jobs until 68 to have any hope of a decent pension

Going forward, some of the people will be able to work part time or take a few years out when dcs are small. This combined with flexible working and possible career changes will mean the work does not feel so continuous. I know some people may not have dcs but there may be more scope for an adult gap year in their 40s. Also people will start work later after college and it won't feel like long years of work. I had 9 years worked when I was 25 and now a lot of graduates are only starting work. I know that was my choice and everyone started work in mid to late teens in the 1980s.

When I started work, gap years and time out were not done by most people. They worked full time snd gave up their jobs when they had dcs.

I feel the relentlessness acutely now, as I have been in the work force since I was 15, did exams alongside work at 30, had dcs in my late 30s working full time throughout only recently shortening to 90% fulltime.

If I was born a few years later I would have started work later and may not feel like I am working years. If I was born earlier, like dh, I may have got into to a good Company and would have a full pension at 60. As it stands, I won't get the full work pension til 65 and the government won't give a pension til 68, despite me having started work at 15. People older or younger than me won't be affected so badly. A lot of women my age has children young, came out of their jobs and started back very part time years later. I am an anomaly (sp?) as I started work young but did not have dcs young.

I’m 54 and find my job much more stressful and tiring than I used to. I had kids late and the youngest won’t be through university until I’m 61. No way will I be able to reduce hours and salary until then and 7 years feels a long time. I have zero interest in further development / training but will absolutely have to complete quite a lot in these 7 years, my job changes regularly and I will have to keep up to date. Basically it’s a case of knuckle down and get on with it, wfh quite a bit and try to accept that it could be a lot worse! My job is not physically demanding and I need to remind myself that I am good at it.