As you move into the next phase of life, the horizon may seem broad. There are so many possibilities that await. Whether you are looking to discover a new passion or lingering on your porch with your morning coffee, retirement provides an opportunity to reset your life rhythm. The trick is to find what you want to pursue, avoid boredom, and focus on what’s important and interesting to you in order to make the most of the years to come.
Here’s what to do in retirement:
- Look for fitness opportunities.
- Care for a pet.
- Stay social.
- Explore the world.
- Take on a new hobby.
- Grow your own food.
- Study your family’s ancestry.
- Declutter your home.
- Get in touch with nature.
- Play brain games.
Find Fitness Opportunities
Staying active can help you sleep better, maintain a healthy weight, and reduce your risk for disease.
If you are always exercising, you may decide to continue your regimen. In retirement, you can also try out new gyms that offer classes for seniors. You can take a morning walk with your neighbors, check out the trails with a hiking club, or join a local sports team.
Take Care of Pets
If you love animals, consider going to the local animal shelter. You can adopt a cat or dog to accompany you.
If you already own a pet, you can research the implications of getting another. For those of you who are interested in animals, but can’t keep one at home, volunteering at an animal organization might be fulfilling.
For short-term pet stays, consider fostering a pet and helping furry creatures find their forever homes.
Stay Social
While the serenity of retirement may seem peaceful during the first few months, it can also lead to feelings of loneliness and alienation later. Look for ways to maintain regular human contact. You can visit family once a week or invite friends over for dinner twice a month. Card clubs, tennis groups, aqua aerobics classes, and other group activities can also build rapport.
Travel the world
Some retirees choose to spend a year or more abroad in order to discover a new country. Others took several months to travel around Europe or sail to Hawaii.
The advantage of traveling while retired is that your time tends to be more flexible. You can find deals during the shoulder season, which is when prices are often lower than peak season in popular destinations.
Do a New Hobby
From drawing to ceramics to sculpture, there are a myriad of options for those of you who wish to develop their artistic talents.
Online courses, videos, and e-books provide instruction in crafts, cooking, sewing, brewing, and foreign languages, among other things.
You may also have access to local skills, such as a pianist offering side classes or a potter holding regular workshops.
Grow Your Own Food
If you’ve maintained a garden for the past few years, now might be a good time to expand its offerings. For those of you who have limited space, planting herbs indoors may be an option. Some neighborhoods offer community plots that you can rent out for a few months.
Study Your Family’s Ancestry
Learning about your genealogy could be as easy as going online and taking out a subscription to an ancestry website. You might interview relatives who have ties to your past family and visit local spots to find further records. You could decide to make a family book that tells your story and the stories of the past generations.
Tidy Up Your Home
Take advantage of the quiet hours to browse drawers, cupboards and cabinets that have been filled over the years. Screen and raid the attic room, basement and garage.
Get rid of the damaged items and donate other items to a local charity. Think about giving the memorabilia to a family member who will cherish it.
Connect with Nature
For turf that requires landscaping, evaluate whether the scope of work is something you can do yourself. You can contact a local nursery to help you find a selection of plants that will do well in your area. If you live near a forest or nature reserve, find a trail to enjoy the scenery.
Play Brain Games
Whether you enjoy crossword puzzles, Sudoku, or other brain teasers, incorporating these brain-boosting activities into your routine can help ward off memory loss and age-related diseases.
Apps and websites like Senior Games and AARP offer options geared towards retirees.
