After a lifetime of working, retirement can feel like you’ve reached that long-awaited summit after a decades-long hike. You may be eagerly anticipating leisurely days filled with endless opportunities to pursue your interests, but if you don’t do a little planning ahead of time, that excitement about your retirement years can quickly turn into feelings of boredom, loneliness, sadness, or lack of motivation.
5 tips for a fulfilling retirement
- Prioritize physical activity. You’re likely familiar with the many benefits of physical activity as you age. If you have a regular fitness routine, keep up with it! If you don’t have one, it’s never too late to start! And remember, exercise doesn’t have to be complicated — just find a physical activity you enjoy that you will do consistently. If you’re intimidated by complicated fitness regimens or the latest fitness fad, walking is the perfect low-impact exercise. You don’t need any fancy equipment or expertise, just lace up those sneakers and head out the door!* If you’re feeling unmotivated, check out these helpful tips for staying motivated to exercise as you age.
- Nurture social connections. Almost as important as diet and exercise, cultivating friendships and social connections is a key component to living well in retirement. You might be surprised by how much of your socializing occurred at your workplace. Without that daily interaction with coworkers, you may find yourself missing the water cooler chatter or weekly lunch with your colleagues. Loneliness and social isolation are real concerns among older adults, and they can seriously impact your mental and physical health. Don’t know where to start? Most communities have thriving senior centers where you can exercise, play games, get a free or inexpensive meal, access resources, enjoy cultural programming, and socialize.
- Find your purpose. What are you passionate about? Maybe you worked at a desk your whole life but always wanted to try your hand at carpentry. Maybe you’ve always had a passion for art and want to pursue something creative. Volunteering is a wonderful way to give back and find meaning in your work. VolunteerMatch lists available volunteer opportunities and you can search by city and category, such as animals, arts and culture, children and youth, justice and legal, or older adults. SeniorCorps is another volunteer organization that matches people 55+ with volunteer opportunities. Many retirees find that consulting or part-time work is perfect because it helps keep their mind sharp, provides some socialization, and creates a routine.
- Keep learning. While it’s important to stay physically active, exercising your mind is just as important as exercising your body. Studies show that staying mentally active may help prevent cognitive decline and reduce the risk of dementia. This can take the form of puzzles, board games, crosswords, brain teasers, memory games, adult art classes, learning a new language, exploring your local library’s programming, or learning how to play a new musical instrument. And keep in mind that many colleges offer free or inexpensive college classes for older adults and retirees!
- Enjoy yourself! You’re retired, so now is the time to focus on all those things you said you wanted to spend more time on but were too busy to do when you were working! Gardening, travel, cooking, swimming, playing an instrument, lunch with friends, fishing, photography, hiking, joining a book club, yoga, crafting — the list goes on and on.
The importance of routines
It may seem weird to talk about routines when thinking about retirement — isn’t retirement about ditching the alarm clock and daily routines that defined your working days? While no one is saying you need to set an alarm clock every morning for a 5 a.m. fitness class, studies show that retirees who manage their free time more effectively ultimately end up feeling more fulfilled in retirement.
Of course, your retirement “routine” is going to look far different than your working routine. It’s less about what is part of your routine, and more about the fact that you have a loose structure to your days and weeks. This will help you maintain healthy habits and social connections and bring a sense of purpose to your days. It can be as simple as scheduling a few activities to anchor your week, like daily walks with your neighbor, weekly coffee dates with your spouse or a former coworker, or monthly book club meetings. Maybe you meet some friends at the local senior center for card games every other week.
The good news is that you are in control of creating the routine that works for you. And if it’s too rigid? You have the freedom to change it at any time!
Retirement resources
There are also lots of state and national resources available for retirees, including:
- NJ Advocates for Aging Well
- NJ County Offices on Aging
- National Council on Aging
- State of New Jersey Senior Services
- American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
