Your retirement brings a sense of freedom, giving you precious time and endless options for how to spend it now you don’t have to work to earn your living. But breaking away from your long-term work routine can leave you feeling a bit lost and struggling to know where to start.
To stay healthy in retirement, people often focus on staying active and perhaps eating a healthier diet, but it’s also important to think about your mental health. With average life-expectancy rising, your retirement could last much longer than you thought. Being both active and engaged are key to living a longer and happier life.
Drawing on our clients’ experiences over many years, we’ve put together some tips to help you make the most of this exciting next stage of your life.
Communicate with your family about your ideas
Proper communication with your spouse and close family members is an important part of preparing for retirement. This can help you get an idea of interests and passions you’d like to pursue together, as well as individual hobbies. Couples who live a happy retired life have found the right balance for them by enjoying fulfilling activities together and doing things apart.
Have something to work towards
It’s likely you’ve been used to setting goals in both your personal life and your career and it’s useful to continue this habit in your retirement. By setting a goal, you create direction in your life, and give yourself something to focus on and challenge yourself to achieve. All the better if you’re pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, as growth makes us feel alive. Of course, the most important thing about working towards a clear objective is the journey itself. Who will you become in the process?
Create a bucket list
If you’ve seen the film of the same name, you may think of a bucket list as something you reserve for the last months or years of your life. In fact, it’s a great way for you to start identifying your dreams and priorities for the coming years. Think about all the places, new hobbies, or challenges you’ve harboured a desire to explore. Then you can select several of these each year, giving you a clear sense of purpose and the chance to turn your dreams into reality.
If you’re comfortable sharing your bucket list with friends and family, you may find you share items on your list, and these could be something you decide to do together.
Don’t be afraid to be predictable – habit and routine are your friend
A life that is no longer driven by the commitment to be in a certain place at a specific time presents endless opportunity to break away from the routine and be more spontaneous. Yet we’re naturally creatures of habit and tend to thrive in predictable circumstances.
A morning routine can create momentum and help you avoid feeling as though you’re frittering away your retirement days, making it more likely you’ll start the day with a positive outlook and a sense of possibility.
Retirement gives you the gift of time, but only you can make the most of this.
Be sociable and make new connections
Having probably seen your colleagues on a daily basis, it’s not unusual to feel a bit isolated when you retire. So why not try combining your activities with socialising with friends and family? This could allow you to work on your physical and mental wellbeing at the same time, and you may find you have more shared interests than you realised.
If you have an interest that isn’t shared by your existing social network, it could be a great opportunity to meet new people by joining a group or club with people who do.
Try new things and reignite old passions
Doing something you’re passionate about is a fulfilling way to spend your retirement.
If you don’t know what your passion is yet, consider taking classes in something you’ve always wanted to try. This can be a great way to discover a hidden talent, or simply learn something you enjoy doing. Be patient – finding your passion may not happen overnight.
If you’re struggling for inspiration, try looking back at your childhood. What were the things you enjoyed when you had so much more free time?
Maybe you’ve always known your passion, but because of a lack of time or other commitments you’ve not been able to do anything about it – until now.
Following your passion will help you feel energised and motivated and increase your sense of wellbeing.
If you’d like to understand more about how to get the most from retirement, including ticking some of those dreams off your bucket list, please contact us at your@lifemattersfp.flywheelstaging.com or call 01202 025481.