What Do You Want Retired Life to Look Like?
Retiring conjures up a distinct image for some people. It might be that you’ve thought about your retired life for a long time, or it could be that you’re someone who has never liked the idea of putting work behind them.
It’s difficult to distinguish your own idea of retiring, from the idea that’s already been curated by popular culture.
It doesn’t have to be all golf and daytime TV, though.
The idea of a high percentage of your time being taken up by work might have been the norm for so long so that it’s difficult to know what you’d even do with this extra time, to the point where it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
The Questions of Money and Work
Not everyone is going to be able to completely relax into their retirement fund, though.
Some people are going to have more of a financial cushion than others, and this might mean that you need to make some money here and there.
However, when you have an ample retirement fund to work with, you can afford to work less and be more creative about how you make your money.
This could mean that you turn your attention towards your home, looking at things you no longer need, then selling them and getting them delivered through services like Shiply, helping you to declutter your home at the same time you’re making a bit of extra money.
Looking ahead to your hobbies, though, and ways that you can relax to pass the time, you might think about small ventures and how that can feed into making money.
For example, if you’re someone who enjoys arts and crafts, you might be able to sell your creations through a site like Etsy.
Alternatively, you could tackle a long-term project, such as writing a book in the hopes of getting it published, perhaps following a long-running ambition.
In general, though, some people might not feel comfortable completely disengaging with a structure. Some are going to still want something to do.
If money isn’t a problem, you might turn to volunteering. This can allow you to help causes you’re passionate about, getting involved with like-minded people and giving you a social outlet at the same time as a way to pass the time.
Hobbies on the Backburner
When you spend so much of your time working, it’s inevitable that your hobbies and interests are going to go on the backburner.
This is your time to embrace them more fully again, however. You might even discover that with time passing when you’ve had to sit them out, the landscape around your hobby has changed enough for you to have a lot to explore again.
Alternatively, if you feel as though you’ve struggled to find hobbies that you’ve really been able to connect with, this is a perfect time for new hobbies.
Gardening is a popular one for retirees, and part of this has to do with the therapeutic benefits it’s often touted as offering. This is something which also helps to improve your home environment, which can help some people to feel as though it’s still a productive way to pass the time.
Don’t feel panicked if you can’t immediately think of a way that you’d like to pass this time – there are a lot of options, and it’s natural to feel overwhelmed – so being open minded and experimental with this time can lead you to find options you’re happy with.
Staying Healthy
It’s easy to think of this time as being purely about relaxing – about being that time you’ve anticipated for so long where you can just put yourself first.
It’s important that you don’t neglect your health in this effort, though, as you might find it easy to do so.
The older you get, the more important it is to stay active, eat well, and keep your brain healthy. You might even discover that you generally feel more comfortable and relaxed the healthier you get – giving you yet another incentive to keep it as a priority.
After all, as discussed previously with work, not everyone is going to feel comfortable being sedentary.
Instead, you might want to use this opportunity to get more active, you can go on runs, take adventurous hikes into nature, or get into gardening and DIY projects.
This latter option might even help you to feel as though you’re staying healthy while indulging in your hobbies.
