Spare Time and Retirement

After you retire, and the few weeks of jubilation, parties, and commotions come to a close, you are suddenly faced with a lot of extra time. This period of time is vital when it comes to playing out the course of your life. You want the remainder of your time to be spent in a healthy-living fashion. You want to go out and see the world, taking time to do the things you could have never fit into your previous schedule. Your outlook becomes geared towards experience over possessing goods. All of these ideals are highly sought after when we retire and below are a few options to get you prepared for utilizing this additional time to your advantage.

​Unwanted Things

Maybe, you will begin to fill your time with things that are unhealthy.  This could be anything from habitual eating to drugs and alcohol.  While this can fill your time, it is also very bad for you.  You should work to get these things out of your life.  If you do have an addiction problem, this is not as easy as you think. You might even start to wonder "how long does withdrawal last?" Fear not, with the proper motivation and support from your family and friends, you will be able to get through it.

Retirement Planning

Beyond the monetary concerns, there is also a need to plan out your weekly and monthly schedules. This brings a sense of recognition to your time and adds purposeful tasks and events that you enjoy. The idea of planning and putting these items in writing will bring back any lost sense of organization. Keeping you on task is a bulk of the work when it comes to utilizing free time. Starting a weekly organizer or posting a calendar that you will view daily is a good visual representation for success.

Planning also equates to your ability to include activities that you might not have done previously. For example, mental health and physical health become two of the major pillars of upkeep. We want to participate in events that keep us sharp in both fields. Trivia nights, bingo halls, card games, and other such mental inclusions can keep us socially healthy while also keeping our brains focused. If you are a little more self-secluded, brain teasers and puzzles are good for keeping our minds on the correct track. These items take a few hours from our day and keep us health-focused.

Eating right is another step to improving physical health as we age past retirement. Our bodies do not break down foods at levels we were once accustomed to, limiting our metabolism and calling for a steady diet of easy to digest foods. Softer items and items that move through the body at a quicker pace are great for picking us up and providing the energy and nutrients we need to get through our day-to-day lives.

​Avoiding Planning

​While planning can be good, you shouldn't overdo it. Some of us have worked hard our entire lives and it has been the only constant we have known. This puts us in a tough spot when retiring. We are often left to wallow within our thoughts, limiting our mental capabilities and getting into a funk. If you do not participate in activities or functions that keep your mental levels sharp, you often fall into an area that is difficult to climb out of. Just like our bodies begin to slow in terms of metabolism, our brain can slow in terms of output. If you allow yourself to succumb to unrealistic thoughts and mindsets, the reductions that follow could be terminal. Keep things upbeat, try as hard as you can to continue to chase achievements and goals, and set the bar to an attainable level. Never run out of ideas or options. Continuously over-schedule yourself so that you know you'll have something to rely on to take up your time. The worst you can do is fill your schedule with so many options that you must choose which one to do and which one to miss during a certain timeframe.