Are You Still Waiting for “One of These Days”?

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Are You Still Waiting for “One of These Days”?

What if you run out of days before it ever arrives?

Retired people have a favourite phrase. Not “pass the biscuits” or “what’s on telly tonight.” The real winner is: “One of these days.”

“One of these days I’ll clear the garage.”
“One of these days I’ll write that memoir.”
“One of these days I’ll call an old friend.”

It sounds harmless. A gentle shrug against the busyness of life. But listen carefully and it’s slightly haunting. Because “one of these days” has an expiry date — and none of us knows when it falls.

The neighbour who never got round to it

My old neighbour Jim, a retired teacher, was a master of the phrase. Friendly man, loved to chat. Whenever I asked him to join the walking group or the local book club, he’d chuckle:

“Ah, one of these days.”

But Jim never made it. Last year, he died quietly of a heart attack at home. His memoir unwritten. His adventures unwalked.

That was when the phrase stopped being casual for me. It began to sound like a promise we keep breaking to ourselves.

Why we delay

It’s not laziness. Humans are experts at stalling.

  • We wait for perfect conditions — the right weather, the right pen, the right mood.
  • We fear looking foolish, especially starting something new when everyone else seems ahead.
  • We imagine there’s still plenty of time.

But retirement is a trickster. Days blur, weeks vanish, years slide past. You tell yourself, “I’ve got all day” — and before you know it, it’s six in the evening and you’ve only managed to post a birthday card and watch Bargain Hunt.

An old pocket watch on a wooden table, light fading across it — symbolising time slipping away

The cruel maths of “someday”

Let’s do the sums.

Say you’re 70 and live to 85. That’s 15 years. Sounds decent. But it’s only 780 weeks. Roughly 5,400 days. And many of those will be swallowed by routines, family duties, and the ordinary admin of life.

So how many days are really left for the things you keep parking in the “one of these days” pile?

Suddenly it feels a bit like leaving your last piece of cake in the fridge — only to find someone else has eaten it.

A better phrase

Instead of “one of these days,” try something more concrete:

  • “This Tuesday.”
  • “By teatime.”
  • “Now.”

And keep it small. Call one old friend. Write one page. Buy one cheap train ticket. Clear three boxes from the loft.

Nobody ever wrote “Finish that novel” on a headstone, but plenty of us regret not starting.

My own guilty list

I had a list as long as anyone’s.

  • I was going to record myself playing the saxophone again. Eventually, I did. My embouchure was rusty, the neighbours probably thought a walrus was being strangled, but it still sounded like me — which was enough.
  • I was going to revisit Durham Cathedral. Last month I finally went. It was magnificent.
  • I was going to write more honestly online. You’re reading the result.

Each time I ticked something off, I grinned like a fool. Not because the world cared — but because I did.

The quiet truth

Retirement isn’t a pause button. It’s the last act. And we get to choose whether it’s scribbled in pencil or written in ink.

So the next time you hear yourself say “one of these days,” catch it. Swap it for a date. Put something small in motion.

Because life’s not waiting — and neither should you.

If this was useful, there’s more like it on my Substack, The Old Grey Thinker — join here: https://substack.com/@theoldgreythinker

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