Jon, 71, retired five years ago after more than 25 years as a management consultant, helping organisations assess and develop their leaders. He lives alone in West London and sees his girlfriend, Caroline, who lives outside the city, every fortnight.
8:30am. Up at his usual time. Jon enjoys his sleep.
9:00am. Bran flakes, then a latte from his espresso machine. He loves coffee.
9:50am. Walks to the gym, ten minutes away, to meet a friend at ten. Jon used to run every day, but long covid reduced his lung capacity and he gave it up. He is working on getting back into shape.
10:00am. A workout with his friend, who is also retired and has been encouraging him to come along every morning.
11:30am. Home and showered.
12:00pm. A trip to the high street for groceries. Jon does not like cooking and is no good at it, so he mostly eats ready meals.
1:00pm. A beef lasagne from the microwave, eaten while he reads the newspaper.
1:30pm. He messages back and forth with Caroline for a while.
2:00pm. A book, until about 2:45pm. Jon is an avid reader.
3:00pm. His daughter video calls. His granddaughter is almost two, and the two of them are very important to him. He loves these catch-ups.
4:00pm. A nap until 5:45pm. Since long covid, he gets tired easily.
5:45pm. Up. A packet of cheese and onion Walkers crisps, then he gets ready for the evening.
7:00pm. Heads to the pub, which is only a two minute walk from his flat today. Quiz nights are often on Tuesdays, and Jon usually uses the evening to skip making dinner. He orders a meal and a lime and soda while he waits for the team.
7:45pm. The team arrives: a primary school teacher, a barista from the area, a few neighbours and local friends in their thirties, and the friend from this morning’s workout. Jon is usually the one who organises them.
8:00pm. The quiz starts, and Jon switches to a pint of cider. They come second today, though they often come first.
11:00pm. They leave the pub after a chat once the quiz is over. Jon is home by five past.
11:20pm. He messages Caroline an update on his day and how the quiz went. Then bed.
After the interview, Jon was asked how retirement is going so far. “This is genuinely the happiest and most satisfied period of my life.” He puts a lot of effort into building friendships, keeping up with people and widening his social circle, and says hello to people at the gym and when out because he never knows where a hello could take him. It is how he has built most of his friendships, including the pub quiz team. He loves to travel, and tries to go somewhere new with his family and his girlfriend, and he goes out to things like a comedy show or a wine tasting so the weeks do not blend together. His day to day is fairly boring by many people’s standards, and he is very happy and content with it.