Life After the Sun: Year One Review

You know that feeling. It usually shows up twice a year — mid-year review and end-of-year performance assessment.

The end-of-year review is the big one — the one tied to salary increases, bonus payouts, and any promotion you might be in the running for.

I have to be honest though. All of the performance reviews I had between the end of 2021 and my retirement in May of 2025 were the BEST.

I’m not saying that because they were always glowing reviews filled with nothing but praise. I mean, if we’re splitting hairs - they were mainly that. But that’s not the point.

The best part of any performance review wasn’t the rating — it was the feedback.

What I was doing well (keep doing that!)
Where I could have an even greater impact (tweak this, do more of that…).

It drove me.
It inspired me.
It challenged my own version of “but could that be even better”.

Now that the sun has set on my corporate career, and I’ve had a year to look back on retirement, I decided to write my own performance review.

Just like we did in the corporate space, I gathered feedback from key business partners. Fine. One was Keith. Some have four legs. A few live out of province. Just forget all that. I got 314 degree feedback. (It’s a thing - trust me!).

As you know, I am an open book and I am happy to share with you my One Year In - Retirement Performance Review.

Name: Denise Atthill
Title: Retired person
Salary band: variable; currently still able to pay her mortgage and drive her new-ish car.

Category: Work-Life Balance
Rating: Exceeds Expectations

Examples provided:

“Some days, she wouldn’t even get off the couch.”
“I saw her walking sometimes. Until it got cold outside. Then she disappeared.”
“I heard that she once watched 10 straight hours of Hallmark Christmas movies. It was still November.”
“Her Facebook and Instagram were plastered with pics from Panama. She’s such a show-off.”

Category: Stress Levels
Rating: Dramatically Improved

Examples provided:

“One day, she missed Monday garbage day and I saw her laughing. Who does that?”
“We ran out of high-protein yogurt at home and she actually said “that’s okay. I will have cereal instead.” I was shocked.”
“I remember her freaking out because she couldn’t find the Converse shoes that match her black leggings. She just sluffed it off and said, “it’s okay. I’ll wear my grey leggings instead.”

Category: Creative Exploration
Rating: Promising, with occasional glue mishaps

Examples included:

“I found her one morning with her hand glued to the kitchen table. She looked so cute and helpless. I didn’t have the heart to ask her how it happened.”
“One day, she was trying to drill holes in one of the shells she brought home from Panama. She drilled through the dish she was using and into the table. She wasn’t really mad. Just had a look of, “I need to try that again”. I mean, she’s got gumption!”

Category: Listening to the Quiet Voice
Rating: Significant Improvement

Example provided:

“She no longer rushes into decisions. Sometimes she just sits with them. It’s… unsettling. But also impressive.”

Somewhere between the glue mishaps, the missed garbage days, and the grey leggings… I started to realize something.

This version of a “performance review” looks very different from anything I used to receive.

There are no metrics.
No bonus targets.
No promotion track.

It’s funny how the definition of “doing well” changes when you finally have the space to decide what that means.

Doing well now looks like:

• laughing when you miss garbage day
• choosing cereal over yogurt or popcorn over broccoli
• spending time creating something… even if it ends with glue on your hands
• taking a walk because you want to, not because you “should.”

For years, I believed in the idea that life is brighter under the Sun.

And it was.
It REALLY was.

But this past year has shown me something else.

Life is still pretty bright… close to the shore.

The pace is different.
The priorities are different.
The pressure is gone.

But the feeling?

It might be brighter than ever.

If I were to summarize my first year of retirement performance…

I’d say I’m still learning.
Still growing.
And finally… doing well in the ways that matter most.

If you were to give yourself a performance review for the past year, what would it say?

Until next time, may a small wave of inspiration find you.