After retiring from a long career, it’s important to take time to enjoy the newfound free time in your life. You may be wondering how to fill your days when you’ve retired and no longer have work deadlines to meet or an office full of co-workers.
To help you get started, we’ve put together eight activities you might want to try in retirement.
1. Travel the World
Travel is one of the easiest ways to pass the time when you retire. Whether it’s a day trip or an extended excursion, seeing new things and exploring other countries can be both exciting and productive.
Try traveling internationally for your next vacation, because there are many opportunities to learn about different cultures. If domestic travel sounds more appealing, take advantage of frequent flyer miles for deeper discounts or use credit card rewards points to save money on airfare.
Once you’ve returned from your trip, consider writing about your experience so others can benefit from your knowledge too.
2. Visit Family + Friends
One common retirement is visiting friends and family members who may live far away. While you may not be able to get together as often as you’d like, spending time with loved ones is a great way to pass the time when you’re retired.
You might also consider inviting people over for dinner or hosting a picnic in your community so everyone can get together. Whether you choose to visit or host, use social media and other technology tools to keep in touch with friends and family members while you travel and stay connected throughout your retirement.
3. Take Up Volunteering
When you retire, it’s easy to feel like there’s nothing left for you to contribute to society. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth because volunteering is one of the best ways to fill your days in retirement.
You can find opportunities to volunteer with senior care organizations, food banks, or local schools. Even something as simple as regularly walking a neighbor’s dog is a helpful contribution that only takes an hour of your time each day.
4. Explore New Hobbies
If you’re not completely satisfied with retirement, then it may be time to try new hobbies or pick up old ones that have fallen by the wayside over the years.
One option is trying photography — take pictures of nature for fun or document what you’ve done during your day to capture all of life’s little moments.
Another is woodworking since tools are already in most people’s garages, and it provides one-of-a-kind gifts you won’t find in stores.
5. Take Yoga Classes
If you’re not familiar with yoga, it’s an excellent way to get in shape while also learning something new.
Yoga is more than just a short-term exercise program — it can help you improve your balance, reduce stress, and increase flexibility over time. Once you retire, it’s important to take care of yourself, so yoga classes are one of the best ways to pass the time when you retire for this reason alone.
6. Learn Something New
If there’s something on your bucket list that still isn’t checked off, then retirement is definitely the time to use your free time to complete that task.
It could be anything from learning how to code or taking up knitting — something that has always seemed out of reach.
Don’t let that stop you — especially in retirement when time is more abundant; there’s nothing holding you back from achieving your dreams so long as you put forth the effort to learn something new.
7. Start a Side Gig
Having a side gig in retirement is a great way to fill the hours and have some extra spending money.
Try searching for jobs on sites like Craigslist even if you don’t think your skills are a good fit. You never know until you try, so it’s definitely worth applying to any openings that interest you, especially since there isn’t pressure when you’re retired.
8. Take Advantage of Free Time by Sleeping In
In retirement, sleeping in is one of the best ways to pass the time because you can sleep as long as you want without guilt or repercussions from your boss!
In fact, our bodies need more sleep than most people get to function properly — make sure to take advantage of sleeping in during your retirement.
Retirement is a time of great change. Once you retire, it’s important to prioritize your time and make sure that you’re spending enough with friends and family members as well as doing volunteer work or pursuing other activities which bring joy into your life. Don’t let retirement pass without living fully; that’s what this stage of life is all about.
