congrats!? maybe this the time to start his/her nights for food prep, household chores.(although my one friend came home from work to find the food alphabitized, lol)

maybe dh will have to be nudged into being more self-motivated...asking my dh to do things is very hard for me. i always feel guilty, lol...maybe you won't be! but then i wouldn't give up my books for anyone!

DH helps me with all of the gardening and housework. He is the cook in the family for the majority of the meals and does the laundry. I get to clean his messes in the kitchen!

He likes to stay up later than I do and sleep in. This is the time I do my hobbies. DH is more of a TV watcher than I am but I usually stay in the same room in the evening and do my craftwork.

It is amazing, we have grown so close since I stopped working we can finish each other's sentences and often say the same thing at the same time. He stopped working about 5 years before I did due to his health.

We are pretty careful with our money and don't spend a whole lot frivolously. We do plan special outings along the way. We are lucky, most of our neighbours are retired so we do have company that way.

Well.....Good Luck!

Take lots of Girl Trips with friends. Volunteer. Get Him to Volunteer.

Make a "work schedule", so you don't fall into a "rut". Been there.

Great question. I'll be facing this issue within a year or two and I've often wondered the same things. I'm hoping that my husband decides to work part time or do some consulting work so that he can ease his way into retirement. Luckily he loves to cook so that's one activity I'll be happy to give up. I know he'll also help with household chores but it will probably be up to me to ask for help.

What if you brought home a book or two on retirement and mentioned that you were interested in making the future years the best you could and suggested that he read them?
Is there a local senior group in your community or church that you both could join? The ones in my town schedule frequent trips of varying lengths. They'll plan a day trip to see a show, or for shopping in NYC, or to the Vietnam Memorial in DC, or even gambling at the casinos in Atlantic city. These are very reasonable in price. They also plan weekend jaunts for fall foliage or to visit a historic site like the Newport R.I. mansions etc. Some of the other groups offer trips in Europe too.

This would be an opportunity to expand your circle and your husband might meet some other men who share his interests.

been married twice but have been alone most of my life. So my retirement was based on me. I'd still advise getting a part time job to keep your finger in the pie so to speak and keep lots of acquaintences and friends. don't get into a stick in the mud existence. planning a schedule (flexible of course) gives you a great hold on the days and weeks

All these suggestions sound good. Except getting him to cook or do yardwork, both of which I love doing. He does enjoy keeping busy and has always worked, so encouraging him to find a parttime job might be just the ticket. Win-win. He's busy. I get me-time. We get money. I like it.

Actually, accomodating different sleep schedules is much easier after retirement than before. One rule: If its sleeping, don't poke it. LOL. You both can enjoy different interests, so long as you have a few things in common like taking an annual vacation trip, or visiting the relatives. There are times when you both need to be awake and dressed at the same time such as visiting, traveling, etc.

The main friction is who gets the TV controller. This conflict, too, can be reduced. One way is for hubby to get a smaller TV that he can move around to his "roon of interest" at the moment.

You will need to come to an agreement on the division of labor around the house: Who cooks, washes dishes, laundry, sweeps the floor, etc. One way is each one to clean up his own mess. At our house, we do our laundry separately. We each have different preferences and each doing their own laundry keeps us out of each other's hair. I don't much care how my laundry is done so long as the dirt gets gone. I separate my laundry into 2 piles: general stuff such as underclothing, socks, towels, things that need a vigorous washing with some bleach thrown in sometimes; The second pile is all the wash-n-wear stuff. When sorting the laundry, I will include my wife's socks. I rarely use the 2md rinse - she often uses the second rinse. She also has fabrics that need gentle care - I make sure that when I buy my clothes that I don't get any of those fabrics. By separating the laundry, we stay out of each other's hair.

The solution seem to be: keep from irritating your partner too much. If you can do that, then eveything else seems to fall into place.

My Mom gently took my Dads hand and showed him all the things in the house she had been meaning to get to but had not had time, IE: going around and getting all the carpet fuz near the wall that the vaccume does not get, cleaning behind things,cleaning cupboard shelves etc. LOL. Dad is one to do a bang up job on whatever he does and enjoyed helping get the house spic and span but he also found his own things to do so she would not FIND him more chores.I think he has painted the trim 4 times now! Giggle!

I do the cooking and laundry...he vacuums and dusts.
Other than that...we manage with "if you see something that needs to be done - do it".

The bed still gets made, the cat fed, the bathrooms are kept clean...we don't count who does what.

We grocery shop together...he carries the bags in and I unpack.

I get the trash together in the evening...he puts it out.

This all fell together by itself.

We deliberately have things we do, places we go...either alone or with other people. Can't be together 24/7.