Yahoo Finance A Day in the Life of a Retiree
Before I officially retired, I worried about what I would do to stay busy once I left the working world. I never had a problem entertaining myself during the weekends, because I was catching up on everything I could not get to during the week. But in retirement weekends are seven days long. I was concerned I might not effectively manage my time or would unintentionally waste precious hours. Without anyone or anything guiding my time, I feared facing an empty calendar. Above all, I wanted to avoid the worst case scenario too many retirees experience: boredom. It took too long to get here. I did not want to find myself adrift and lacking meaningful things to do.
But I believe I am getting the hang of it. I am able to try new things and live the life I want at a comfortable pace. Here is how I am filling my retirement days:
You don't have to be busy every minute. One of the hardest things for me to accept is that I do not have to be productive all the time. When I was working full time I could not sit still. I was convinced I should be doing something productive at all times. I found it challenging to sit long enough to watch an entire football game. I found myself feeling guilty if I was not engaged and working toward goals. Those habits can be hard to let go of, especially when they have been ingrained over multiple decades.
Now I realize that there are very few things I absolutely have to do. I have the luxury of free time on my hands. Since I don't have to be somewhere every minute, I can sit back. I have the opportunity to reflect on life, to savor a slow cup of coffee and to do nothing. And I am learning to do this without feeling guilty.
Create your own vision of retired life. My wife is edging closer to retirement and is hoping to join me soon. She likes to keep busy and enjoys the social interaction that comes with a regular job. The retirement life she envisions will initially include some form of work, preferably with reduced hours. A part-time gig will complement and enhance the retired life she hopes to enjoy. Her ideal part-time job would also help subsidize our health care for as long as possible.
I have compiled a list of interests, hobbies and passions that keep me busy most days. Although I am not against working in some capacity and would do so if we were to need the income, it is not something that would increase my retirement satisfaction. I am happy looking back on my career from the safety of my lounge chair. Down the road I am interested in examining volunteer options in our area. While my wife and I have different ideas about the ideal retirement, we are able to tailor our experiences to our individual preferences, and both should work just fine.
Grow your social network. Since I am no longer working there are fewer people I interact with on a regular basis. It takes effort to meet new people and establish relationships, and since I am retired I have time to do so. The best part is I can now choose who I spend my time with. As we venture out into the community we will meet all kinds of people in different situations. I look forward to getting to know some people better to share thoughtful discussions as well as just having fun. I plan to explore face to face interactions instead of Facebook connections. I prefer to discern who likes me through eye contact rather than clicks.
Learn something new. I may be too old for some things, but I have a curiosity that keeps on coming. I love reading and cannot pass a map without taking a closer look. I often find myself in front of a stack of books and choose one to read for a while before putting it down to jump into another. There are so many things I would like to know more about. These days it is exciting and easy to learn by attending an online course, tuning into a podcast or Googling your way around the Internet. I look forward to keeping up my studies for a long time to come.
Dave Bernard blogs at Retirement-Only The Beginning.
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