If you’ve been settled into a career for awhile, chances are your job is more than just a job. It provides you with a sense of fulfillment each day. Your social life is likely connected to your work life. While you may not miss the schedule and demands, you may miss the social connections, sense of meaning you gained from work, and the structure of your day. [1] X Expert Source Justin BarnesSenior Home Care Specialist Expert Interview. 6 March 2020. [2] X Research source Remind yourself that it’s okay and normal to be sad. Most people who retire experience some level of sadness initially. Allow yourself to feel what you’re feeling, good or bad, in the wake of retirement. Keep in mind emotions are not permanent. While you may dislike feelings of sadness you experience, do not expect them to last forever. [3] X Research source
It can be hard to reach out to someone who you have a bad history with. Try writing a letter or e-mail, as sometimes difficult conversations can be easier to get out in writing. Be open to seeing the other person’s point of view. There may have been a way you could have behaved differently to salvage a friendship or family relationship. Apologize. Even if you don’t feel you were in the wrong, an apology can go a long way. It shows the opposite party his or her feelings were heard and understood.
Make a list of what you can reasonably expect to do in the weeks or months following your retirement. Try not to stack your list with too much. Even with your newfound free time, it takes awhile to get into a new project. Remind yourself you’re not going to complete all your post-retirement plans within your first six months. [5] X Research source Allow yourself to adjust. You may see retirement as your chance to finally read War and Peace, but you may not feel like doing much reading right away. You may need some time to adjust emotionally before taking on new projects or pursuits.
You’re no longer bringing in a paycheck each week. You may feel less useful or fulfilled. However, retirement presents the exciting opportunity for new roles. You are now a caregiver. You will have more time to look out for elderly relatives and your children or grandchildren. You can also take retirement as an opportunity to get involved in your community. You can see yourself as an active community member as well. [7] X Research source As with any aspect of retirement, adjusting to a new identity can take time. Do not be surprised if it takes a few months to accept your new identity in your community and family.
Form a mutually acceptable plan for your future. You both likely have plans you want to pursue in retirement. What plans can you do together? What plans should you pursue on your own? Decide how much time you want to spend together. While doing activities together is important, it’s also important to have some alone time. [8] X Research source Talk about the little things as well. You may be looking forward to sleeping in each day as long as you want. Your spouse, however, may want to keep getting up early to maintain some schedule. Find a way to compromise. Maybe you can sleep in three days a week, but agree to get up the other four. Avoid codependency. If your partner did not work, that person may have a social life and schedule of his or her own. Try not to infringe on your partner’s time. Allow your partner to maintain his her own schedule and understand you will not always be included in plans.
Make plans with friends. This can be awkward, as oftentimes work plans are spur of the moment. You may have decided to grab a drink with a co-worker after a long day. Now, you’ll have to actively reach out when you want to spend time with friends. Try to talk to friends about the possibility of regularly scheduled social events, like weekly game nights. [10] X Expert Source Justin BarnesSenior Home Care Specialist Expert Interview. 6 March 2020. Get on social media. While Facebook or Twitter may seem like silly ways to stay in touch, you’d be surprised how many social events are planned via a social media platform. Simply maintaining a regular Facebook profile can help you maintain social connections after retirement. Reach out to non-work friends. During your career, you may have inadvertently limited your social contact to work friends. You may have lessened contact with friends from school or the community. Try to make plans with friends you neglected during your career.
Go through old photo albums or family movies to spur memories. Pause as you browse old albums and videos, trying to put yourself back in the moment and savor the memory. Ask yourself questions as you consider the past. Why did you make the choices you made? Are you happy with how you spent your time? If there’s anything you feel you missed out on, retirement could give you an opportunity to pursue it. Reminisce with others. Call up an old friend or family member and talk about the past. If you have family or friends in town, make plans to get coffee or drinks and talk about the past.
Stick to commitments, even small ones. For example, make a point of taking a long walk each morning. Shower every day. Make lunch for yourself every day at noon. [14] X Research source Consider your sleep schedule. If you’re not going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time each day, it can be hard to stick to other routines. While you may like the idea of being able to sleep in, consider getting up around 9 each morning anyway. A regular sleep schedule will allow you to maintain a regular exercise, eating, and social schedule as well.
Think about what you want to do now that you’re retired. When you were working, there were likely many things you simply did not have time for. Maybe you want to volunteer with your community more. Maybe you want to spend more time with your grandkids. Maybe there’s some reading you want to finally get done. Also, consider travel plans. If you never took that trip to California, maybe you can do so now if you have the time and money. Try to think of a realistic time table for retirement goals. You’re not going to check everything off your bucket list in a year. However, maybe you can hope to have accomplished some of your post-retirement goals in 2 to 3 years. [15] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source
It can be difficult to find employment, especially in a new field, after retiring. However, there may be organizations in your area dedicated to helping people starting second careers late in life. Browse the yellow pages or look online to see if there are any organizations in your community. [17] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source You could also consider part-time, less demanding work. Substitute teaching, for example, has a fairly easy certification process in most states. You would not have a regular, demanding schedule, but you would have some structure in your life. There are a lot of benefits to post-retirement work. Studies show it lessens depression associated with retirement and may stave off cognitive decay that comes with age. If you feel lost without a career as guidance, post-retirement work is worth considering. [18] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source
Consider what you always wanted to do, but never had time for when you were working. Maybe you always wanted to be on the local theater board, but simply could not fit the meetings into your schedule. Keep your personality type in mind. You may not enjoy all activities and events catered to the recently retired. It’s okay to pass on certain opportunities and social events. You should seek to find post-retirement involvement that suits your specific needs.
Relationships often fall to the wayside when you’re busy with work commitments. Your college roommate, who you thought you’d be close to for life, may have disappeared from your life over time. However, strong friendships tend to rekindle easily, even if a lot of time has passed. Call up a friend you have no seen in years. Consider visiting old friends. If you still know a lot of people in your hometown, make a trip to visit. If you’ve been promising your friend Matt from grad school you would come visit him Seattle one of these days, do so in retirement.
See if any local community centers or colleges offer memoir writing classes. Some universities allowed retired people to audit courses or take them for a small fee. You can also look into online courses. A wide variety of universities offer coursework online.
Talk to your doctor about your diet. If you’re older, you may be at risk for age-related health conditions. Have a full physical shortly after retirement and talk to your doctor about what your diet should ideally look like. Try to eat regularly. Oftentimes, mealtimes are dictated by breaks in work. For example, you may have stopped at 2 for lunch in the office each day. Now that you are retired, make an effort to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner at roughly the same times each day.
You can also buy a pill container at the supermarket which is divided into sections marked by the days of the week. You can place the pills you need to take each week in the container. This can be a helpful tool for tracking medications.
As you get older, certain activities may be difficult. Look for exercise groups for the elderly, like water aerobics, to keep active later in life.
Keep your mind active by doing puzzles, sudoku, and learning new hobbies. [20] X Expert Source Justin BarnesSenior Home Care Specialist Expert Interview. 6 March 2020.
