You’ve retired – now what do you do? You may have heard about the retirement depression where you have nothing to do, and you sit at home feeling sorry for yourself because everyone else is too busy to chat. How do you stay motivated in order to keep going after retirement?
When you retire, and you have enough money to live on, you have time to take up a hobby, take a class for fun, or even participate in a new sport. You can volunteer at one of the many worthy charities or even start a business. If you want to write a novel, now is your time to do so.
If you’re looking for something to fill your days after retirement, look no further for some great ideas. Let’s get going!
Take Up a New Hobby
What better time to take up a new hobby than during retirement? You could take up stamp collecting, woodworking, welding, or even put computers together from old parts. If you don’t know how to do something that you’re interested in, now is a great time to learn.
Have you always wanted to learn how to program? Now’s your chance. Take a class, then try it out at home.
A new hobby can motivate you to get out of bed in the morning, get out in social circles, and perhaps find something you can create a business out of.
Take Classes for Fun
Many colleges offer non-credit classes that you can take to enrich your knowledge or beef up a skill. Cooking classes held by trained chefs are very popular, as are investing courses. If you ever wanted to learn how to do something or gain more education on interesting topics, now is the time to take advantage of classes.
You could also go back to school to get your degree that you may not have been able to earn when you were younger. Some colleges may give you a discount if you are over a certain age. Check with the local college to see if you can qualify.
Volunteer for Worthy Causes
Homeless shelters, food pantries, or animal shelters often need volunteers to help with various tasks that employees are too busy to take care of. If you have a specific passion for animals, you may seek out animal shelters. Or if you want to serve food at a soup kitchen, there are plenty of opportunities to do so.
Libraries often need volunteers to either read to children or put books away, among other tasks. When you volunteer, you are getting out of the house and socializing, which is shown to help you adjust to retirement better.
Participate in a Sport
If you’re in shape and active already, you might want to participate in sports specifically geared to older people. Swimming, surfing, tennis, or even bowling can keep you busy, and perhaps you’ll want to compete with a team or league. If you’re looking to build more social connections, stay active, and retain your motivation to keep going after retirement, sports might be your thing.
Start a Business
After working in your career for 30-40 years, you should have picked up a few things that could prove valuable. Have you thought about starting a business? If you know something about programming or putting computers together, you might start a consulting firm. Or if you have mad skills with crocheting or crafting, you could open an online store on Etsy.
What better way to keep up the motivation after retirement than to do something you love for money? However, be careful because if you’re on disability, you won’t be able to make a lot of money, or you may lose disability payments.
Create and Stick to a Schedule
When you were working at your job, you didn’t have much say over your daily schedule. But now that you’re retired, your day is yours to do with as you please. If you don’t have a schedule, you may find retirement a little more difficult to adjust to.
A schedule that includes your favorite activities can give you a sense of purpose and accomplishment during retirement.
Deepen Bonds With Friends and Family
Do you remember when you often told friends and family that you would love to spend time with them when you have more time? Guess what? You have more time now. Now is the time to deepen your friendships or spend more time with your kids and grandkids.
Offer to take your grandkids to the park or zoo, or even let them spend time overnight.
Call your friends and set up a coffee date or take in a yoga class together.
Find a Part-Time Job to Stay Active
Even if you have enough money to live on in your retirement, you may start to miss the socialization and purpose that your job gave you. A part-time job might be the answer to the boredom that you may feel from being at home all the time. It can also give you some extra money that can be spent on small indulgences.
Mentor a Young Person in a Skill You Have
After working in your career for many years, you have skills that young people might need for their careers. You can mentor a young person or tutor them in skills such as math, English, computer programming, or other expertise. Mentoring is a great way to get your mind off how bored you are.
Start Writing Your Novel
Do you have a great idea for a novel? Now that you’re not working at a regular job, and if you’re not regularly caring for children, you have time to devote to writing your novel. You could even write articles for pay if that appeals to you. There are many places online that are looking for talented professionals to write content for their websites.
Learn a New Language
Have you ever wanted to learn a new language? Now that you’re retired, you have time to learn French, Spanish, or even Dutch.
Rosetta Stone is the most popular language-learning software available. Still, if you want to attend live classes, several colleges offer non-credit language classes that you can take if you’re interested.
Travel Anywhere You Desire
Many people, after retirement, often buy motorhomes to travel the US in. But if that’s not your thing, and you want to backpack in Europe, then do it. Retirement is the time to see the world if you wish, without too many responsibilities or obligations.
De-Clutter and Remodel Your Home
While many people complete “spring cleaning,” you might want to think about doing “retirement cleaning” to de-clutter and organize your home. If you have a lot of items related to your former career or job, and if you don’t need them, think about donating or selling those items.
Or, if you’ve wanted to remodel your home and get to some home improvement projects, now is a great time to do that.
Conclusion
Everyone looks forward to retirement so they can do what they want, go where they please and have more of a say in their schedules. But when people get to that stage in life, it’s often hard to adjust to the changes.
The best thing you can do at this point is to take some time to breathe and slow down for a while to “get your bearings” on this new change. Adjust your expectations before you jump into something new right away. Being constantly active can wear anyone out, so relax until you have the energy to do what you want to do.