After all the years of hard work and as health concerns may slowly start to arise, options of ‘hanging it all up’ or ‘calling it a day’ is going to be the most exciting decision you are about to make. Now that you have finally retired, it is time to live the next chapters of our lives.
Retirement refers to the period of life in which you choose to permanently leave the workforce behind or withdraw from your active working life. The average retirement age around the world is 67, and most retirees have a national pension or a benefits-system that supplements a retirees’ income.
Each and everyone’s retirement is unique, and all of us can relate to wondering how we can make our retirement fun. Nobody wants a sad, lonely, and boring retirement. Here are ways you can enjoy your golden years and have a great time away from retirement boredom.
How To Keep Your Retirement Busy And Enjoyable
1. Volunteer for Your Favorite Cause or Local Organization
Volunteering and giving back to your local community organization that aligns with your beliefs and advocacies can be a great way to spend your retirement years and away from retirement boredom. Not only does volunteering help you do something for your free time, but it can also give you your sense of purpose and can challenge you to be better in many ways.
There is no such thing as a shortage of organizations that need volunteers, and you can always find one the fits for you and your desires of community involvement.
2. Join a Fitness Club Membership or a Gym
If you have always wanted to be in great shape and to keep yourself active and healthy, taking fitness classes or having a gym membership is also another option for you.
Exercise becomes very important by the time you are in your retirement years, and regularly working out will lower your chances of strokes, heart attacks, and other diseases. Physical activity also has a lot of positive effects on your mental health, like reducing the risks of dementia.
3. Do Your Home or House Projects
Have you been putting off or have wanted to do something in your home for years now? This could be the time your house projects get to be taken care of finally!
Retirement will now give you more time for home repairs or renovations that you have been neglecting for years. Whether it is turning a spare bedroom into a reading room or upgrading all of your appliances, you’ll have the freedom now to explore your choices and make the changes you have always wanted to do.
And since you will be at home most of the time, retiring is the best time to make sure your place is comfortable. You deserve to sit back, relax, and enjoy the home you’ve worked so long and so hard for.
4. Travel More!
When you are working full-time, it is hard to travel as much as you want. But when you enter retirement, you will have the freedom to visit all of the places you’ve always wanted to see and visit. Either you go on overseas trips or to check nearby cities you’ve never been before, retirement allows you to explore anytime and anywhere.
5. Try New Things
Learning the different aspects of life continues even after retirement, and you can always learn more when we try out new things.
You can try learning a new language, cook another international cuisine, or probably grow a different kind of flower or herb. New activities lead to fun discoveries and experiences.
6. Be a Mentor
After all the years of working, you have gained a lot of great experiences and insights. There are a lot of young adults and younger ones out there who need help and could benefit from all of these lessons you have learned. Connecting with somebody or a group of people who appreciates the knowledge you can offer is one of the best things to do as it gives you honor and value.
What Retirees Usually Do With Their Time
Just in case you wonder what most retirees do, here’s a list that you also might find interesting:
1. Leisure
These are the activities that many planned or has done it and got bored and chose a new different activity. Having something to do regularly saves you from the boredom in your retirement years.
- Fishing
- Golfing
- Visiting Museums and Cultural Centers
- Watching Plays and Concerts
- Hobbies
- Spending time with the Family
- Reading books
- Painting
- Woodworking
- Dancing
2. Continued Education
Some retirees considered either going back to school or pursue a degree they have always wanted to finish, whether college, graduate, or post-graduate school. Some also learned new skills of courses they have always wanted to take, such as learning about cooking, musical instruments, painting, writing, speaking a foreign language, how to use a computer, and many more.
3. Volunteer Work
Volunteering with charities and non-profit organizations, hospitals, associations, foundations, and even at churches, temples, schools, and other social work agencies are what most retirees also consider most. Not only are you able to have something to do and keep busy on, having a sense of purpose in life has been the main reason for choosing such involvement. Truly retirement isn’t boring at all!
4. Traveling
Some retirees spend most of their retirement years always on the go! Either traveling by land, water, or air, they travel away from home for trips, tours, to visit a friend or a relative, and for leisure purposes.
5. Entrepreneur
Retirement is also the best years of starting your own business if you have always think of having one. As having the free time and the funds to do so, opening your shop is what retirees also enjoy.
6. Spending Time with the Family
Around 70% of retirees in the US alone spend the most time with their children and grandchildren in their retirement years. They usually offer chore work in which their busy children couldn’t do like doing the laundry, babysitting, sending and fetching kids from school, having a walk with the kids and pets, and many more. They keep themselves busy and away from boredom as they keep on eye for opportunities to help their loved ones.
7. Getting Part-Time Jobs
Part-time, temporary, or seasonal, some retirees still have that workaholic enthusiasm running through their blood! They are either continuing in the field they had been in the past or trying out something new like working as a barista for a café or restaurant.
And speaking of Part-Time Jobs, here is another list of jobs a retiree can consider if he/she desires something more to get rid of boredom in your retirement years completely.
WHAT PART TIME JOBS CAN A RETIREE HAVE?
1. Real Estate Agent
Many retirees become real estate brokers and agents that help clients buy, rent, or sell properties. Most real estate agents are self-employed and set their working hours and only change when there are clients.
Many older retired women consider being a property or real estate association manager. So if you are too bored in your retirement after leaving the workforce, it’s time to work on those negotiations and challenges!
2. Sales Jobs
Retirees who want to get out of the house and chat with people as potential customers can find a satisfying position in sales as working hours are also flexible. Commissions will serve as your income and sales jobs can allow you to mingle with other people in your team.
3. Child Care
A childcare worker gets to witness precious childhood moments such as playing with bubbles, helping with a puzzle piece or learning to talk. They are also responsible for the daily needs (dressing, bathing, feeding, etc.) of smaller children.
3.4% of women aged 62 and higher take positions caring for children to have the opportunity of playing a significant role in a child’s life. Definitely not boring as it is very fulfilling!
4. Consultant
If you have been in a high position in a particular field upon your retirement, you can work as a freelance consultant of different companies and establishments related to your field.
Consultants are called to analyze a problem and propose ways to make solutions and ways for a company to be profitable. Self-employed consultants are paid by the project, by the hour, or by how you can guide a company with your background experience worth a lot of years (and decades).
5. Writer
Whether it is sharing your lessons learned in life, on the job, or could be just you exploring your creative side, many people take on a writing career in their retirement years. Writers can work on a book, take assignments for newspapers, do blogs, and many more. They brainstorm ideas for articles and usually work on tight deadlines.
6. Musical Gigs or Entertainer
Your retirement can be the time to rediscover your musical or funny talents that you have set aside while working hard and raising a family. Some retirees find temporary or part-time jobs as musicians and singers and can perform solo or as a group.
You can perform at weddings, parties, bars, or private events, which makes marketing a need. You can also teach younger children how to play an instrument or have a vocal class.
7. Pet Sitting
This is something you can do for family members, friends, or neighbors who might need a hand when they are at work or away for vacation or business purposes.
If you love pets, animals, reptiles, fish, or any animals, you could open a pet sitting business or work for a company that provides animal care. You can also be a dog walker (a great way for exercise) or be a pet sitter on Rover or Wag.
7. Retail Jobs
The retail industry is always hiring, especially during the holidays. And if you don’t like committing to a long-term position, a holiday-season retail job can be perfect for you. You can set your schedule based on how many hours you are available, and many retailers offer discounts and perks to their employees. Great for buying presents for your grandchildren!
8. Driver
If you are very familiar with your place and can still drive for hours, you can be a driver either for a company or for private purposes. Driving-service companies such as Uber welcomes retirees to help them in their driving business. Other companies might need someone with longer experience. And if you just turned 65, you can boast more than 40 years of driving!
9. Teaching Jobs
Retired professionals often opt to teach in colleges, universities, and even in graduate schools as their credentials and long experience in their previous fields qualify them for such positions. But you don’t have to gain a lot of credentials to teach in your retirement years. You can tutor younger children to help them in school, or you can also teach English to international students. You can also work at the local daycare center to play and teach toddlers. Some apply through tutoring companies as part-time.
Bottom Line
A lot of people have put so much time and effort into building their careers that by the time they leave it behind, it can make them feel lost and bored to death. Some are even afraid to start a life being isolated the moment they stop working. The truth is, there are so many things to keep us from being bored, and there are a lot of things to enjoy ourselves from once we decide to retire.
Retirement isn’t boring. Retirement doesn’t mean you will be in the house all day doing nothing. Instead, it is the start of a new journey. Something not boring, but fun. Something worth it and enjoyable.
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