| SURVIVAL STRATEGIES FOR RECENT RETIREES |
| For the first time in your life, you are going to have to decide what to do with an extra 5,840 hours per year of unscheduled time. This is a lot different than planning what to do on a forty-eight-hour weekend or where to go on an annual two-week vacation. The greatest downside of retirement can be depression caused by a lack of purpose in life. What retirees need most is a way of putting structure back in the day. They need new goals to work towards and a new set of positive routines. Napping, drinking, smoking, excess eating, excessive television, and gambling are examples of negative routines. If you are doing these things, you are in a rut. It's time to change your lifestyle. Consider the following list of eight practical retirement strategies. Don't be fooled by their simplicity. New lifestyles are comprised of a collection of simple healthy and useful routines. 1. MAKE A DAILY THINGS-TO-DO LIST This is a key point. To provide some short-term goals, and to make sure that things you want to get done get accomplished, make a things- to-do list each evening before you go to sleep. Make the list short, achievable, and practical. The next morning, start checking them off as you achieve them. 2. PLAN AHEAD At least once a week, consider some of the bigger projects that will take time to implement, or that need appointments, assistance, or special tools to accomplish. These might include getting the rugs steam cleaned, a visit to the dentist, car repairs, hosting a party, repairing the broken fence, planting flowers, purchasing a computer, and getting on the Internet. Plan the individual steps leading to these events and put them on your things-to-do list. 3. PLAN YOUR SOCIAL LIFE Social contact is one of the most basic of human needs. When people retire, often their regular daily contact with people suddenly stops. Men in particular need to resocialize as retirees, especially if their after-hour friends have tended to be only colleagues from the work. Workplace friendships often diminish over time simply because the social interaction that occurred in the workplace is no longer available. You may need to reinvent your social life. Ask yourself, “Who can I call?” “Who can I visit?” “What league or organization can I join to meet people?” Seek out relatives, other retirees, volunteer groups, and neighbors. Host a gathering for special occasions such as Halloween or Christmas, card parties, reading clubs, sports nights, block parties, or baby showers for the grandchildren. Plan an interesting trip. Even retirees need a change of pace. 4. BUILD EXERCISE INTO YOUR DAILY ROUTINE Muscles and cardiovascular systems tend to atrophy when they are not used. That is why humans tend to get weaker as they get older. Sitting around watching television, or reading a book, or chatting on the telephone are activities that require minimal effort. Find ways to build exercise into your daily activities. Go for a twenty-minute walk. Climb stairs instead of taking the elevator. Park your car at the back of the parking lot and walk to the mall. Join a health fitness club and exercise all the muscles in your body three times a week. Take a swim fitness class and do your exercises in the water. Go for a hike in the woods and let the fresh air into your lungs. If you do any of these activities, most likely your energy and endurance will increase, and you will sleep more soundly. 5. SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE You have accumulated a lifetime of objects, trinkets, outdated appliances, and perhaps clothing that no longer fits. Maybe it’s time to consider having a garage sale, making donations to a goodwill association, or throwing stuff out. Get rid of the clutter in your life. Simplify. Keep the things that are useful and remove the rest. 6. INDULGE YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES Most people have favorite pastimes that they enjoy doing when time permits. When you worked full time these were the activities that you used to look forward to on weekends or on annual vacations: visiting people, camping, golfing, working on your family history, coaching a little league team, oil painting, playing the piano, or gardening. Make them the centerpieces in your retirement. Spend time doing the things that you enjoy. 7. IMPROVE YOUR RETIREMENT SKILLS Just because you were skillful and successful during your full-time career does not mean that you will automatically become talented in your chosen pursuits, hobbies, and pastimes in retirement. What made you good at your previous employment was repetitive training, theory courses, skill-building workshops, weekend retreats, and on-the-job practice. Retirement is no different. If you expect to suddenly become a golf pro, a published writer, or an expert painter simply because you are retired with time to spare, you may be in for a rude awakening. New hobbies take time to learn. Fortunately, there are workshops and courses on practically every hobby that you can imagine, each designed to help you hone your skills. Do your research. Write for workshop brochures or lists of evening school hobby courses or college catalogues. Scan the advertisements in your favorite hobby magazines and find out where adult workshops or conferences are being conducted. Talk to other hobbyists. Search the Internet for schools and colleges in North America that are willing to provide you with the expertise you need. Do not be afraid to travel to attend a multiple-day workshop. Local institutions cannot be expected to provide everything. 8. FIND A SUPPORT GROUP You are not the first person to be retired. Nor are you the only person to work on a particular hobby or project. Virtually every activity of human endeavor has a support group with people of similar interests who will share your enthusiasm for your favorite pastime. There are associations with monthly newsletters and meetings for people who enjoy sailing, traveling in motorhomes, and motorcycling; for poets, writers, artists, photographers, and musicians; for family history researchers, bird watchers, hikers, gardeners; people who love cooking; as well as book-critique groups, chess clubs, volunteer agencies, and religious groups. The list is endless. Begin your research. Find out where a support group is available for your hobby. Talk to people who enjoy the activity and ask them where they go for help. Study the ads in hobby magazines. Search the Internet for established national or regional associations or converse with hobby enthusiasts in an Internet chat room. 9. LOSE YOURSELF IN YOUR PROJECTS When the late comedian George Burns reached his hundredth birthday, people asked him what he thought contributed to his longevity. “Probably having something to look forward to each day has helped,” he replied. “It gives you a reason for getting out of bed every morning.” Most daily activities, such as shopping, watching television, washing the dishes, or reading the newspaper help to pass the time. But what retirees need in their lives are large projects that challenge them emotionally, physically, and intellectually. What things in life are you passionate about? Volunteering? Organizing some event? Being creative? Using your hands? Traveling? Being around people? Seek out activities that get you involved, excited, and happy. Keep in mind that extraordinary lives are lived by ordinary people who have an extraordinary passion for something greater than themselves. Excerpts from The Complete Guide to a Creative Retirement Copyright 2004 Rob Kelley |