Well, It’s The Time to Try Out New Things
After having been at work for so many years, once retirement comes around it can be a real shock to the system. Having spent decades in the workplace all of the free time that is presented to you can leave you feeling bewildered. Whilst many of us make plans for what we are going to do in our retirement years, the reality of the situation can sometimes leave people feeling slightly bewildered.
You could be in a situation where most of your friends are still working or moving to a new location and so some of the things you had thought you might be able to do with all of this new-found free time is simply not feasible. You need to give yourself a bit of a transition period in your first few years of retirement to keep yourself active and your mind engaged. Doing this will allow you to use your free time to the maximum whilst slowly unwinding rather than going from working full time to doing much less. So what sort of things could you being doing with all of this free time which has been presented to you?
What you can do is Speak with Other Retirees
If you have any friends or family who have also retired, then you should get in touch with them as soon as possible. Often we develop a network of friends through our employment but obviously once you retire the dynamics of these relationships will shift somewhat.
Obviously you will not be at work any longer whilst they continue to be and so you won’t be seeing these friends as much as you used to. Speak with any of your friends who have already retired and build up your relationships with these people. It is always important to have a support network around you so when this is significantly altered you need to build it back up. Make a concerted effort to make new friends with other people who have retired as early as possible. You will be able to find people to socialise with and you may also learn about some new activities or pastimes which you could do together.
You Can Do Your Old Hobbies but Now You Have Time for New Hobbies too
Throughout your life you will undoubtedly have wished to have had more spare time to enjoy the things you do to relax, unwind or just have fun. Well now you will have the time to spend doing these things so embrace it. The chances are you will be able to get even more involved in your old hobbies and you will be able to get even more out of them than before.
Discuss with any of your friends if they have any pastimes which sound of interest to you so you could try out something new with them. Even if you don’t find something of interest through a friend think about all of the things you always wanted to do but simply didn’t have the time to. You could start something completely new from scratch and given the extra time you have available you will be able to apply yourself to it fully. Time commitments will be less of an issue so really think about what you would like to try your hand at and try out new things rather than immediately discounting them, you never know what you might get into.
Try New Things & Push Yourself During Your Retirment
Just because you have retired doesn’t mean you can’t stop pushing yourself and trying out things you never had before. You might want to still be working in some sort of capacity and so you could look into volunteer work in some capacity. This will allow you to learn some new skills without the stresses of a paid job and it will let you transition from full time work to not working more easily as well as give you an activity to pass the time.
You should also go to events and meet new people whenever possible. Go along to things even if you are not sure it is for you because, even if nothing else, it will be a great opportunity to meet new people. Remember just because you are not working anymore you haven’t become incapable overnight. Push yourself and see what you can achieve. For example, just because you are no longer in full time employment doesn’t mean you can’t you could attend personal development courses or learn a new language etc. There are so many things to keep your mind and body active and now you have the time to do them, use it.
