I retired from Knox College last September. I'd worked in the computer software industry for a couple of decades, and for the last 16 years I'd been a professor of computer science. I'd also done research in computer science education, software development, computer security, and the history of cryptology. I'd written 4 books and had lots of great students and colleagues (and some not so great, but that happens).
Since I've retired I've finished two more books, one on software development and one on the history of cryptology. I'd been working on them for quite a while and the book contracts just happened to be nailed down during my last year of teaching. When I was a full-time faculty member I could never get much research or writing done during the school year because at a small college you've got a ton of things to do during the year, none of which involve your own agenda. Realistically the only time I could do research and writing was during winter break and during the summer. Knox didn't have summer school so I had a leisurely (!) three months to work on my stuff.
As of last June, I'm not teaching and so I've got lots more time to work on research and writing. For the last 9 months I've been mostly head down finishing the two books. They are both now in the can; one has been published (see here) and I expect the galleys of the second in another week or so (see here).
So now I am looking at the prospect of doing....what? At the moment I've got no real deadlines. I have a book review to do and an abstract for a book chapter, but they are both sufficiently far in the future that I have no problem procrastinating. I have several other longer-term research projects I've planned to work on, but they can also safely be put off for a while. So I'm discovering that I'm a really good procrastinator. Without a real daily schedule, I find myself wandering around the house, doing chores, but not engaging intellectually. I've got a long, long list of books to read, and I really should post to this blog more often, but for some reason that all seems so hard to do at present.
Sorry for the whine. I'm actually in a really lucky position. Lots of potential projects. I still have lots of research and writing ideas. I have lots of chores and projects to do around the house. My wife and I have lots of travel plans and we love spending more time together. I'm healthy. It's just that I've realized that I need to be much more intentional about working to a new schedule, figuring out what each day will be like. I also need to learn to relax. It turns out I'm really bad at that. No time like the present. I think I'll go read a book.
