David
Wilson has some advice for fellow retirees
Most of us look forward impatiently to the day we can
retire. We’re constantly being told that 60 is the new 40, and that we can
expect to have between 10 and 20 years of active retirement if we stop working
in our sixth decade. Yet the reality doesn’t always live up to the dream. Ill
health can stop us abruptly in our tracks. Money is a worry for many. And
there’s a big group who just don’t know what to do with all that free time they
have when they do finally retire. I left an absorbing jobs as a teacher and
company trainer just over two years ago, so I’m still learning how to handle my
new-found freedom. But I’m beginning to realise from my own experience, and the
experiences of my retired friends, that there are some things we really should
do to maximise our happiness after we finish working. So here are my ten tips to
increase the chances that you’ll be happy when you retire:
1. Establish routines of time and place. You probably had to do this
when you were working. Even if you didn’t, familiar routines don’t stop you
from being spontaneous as well. Routines help you to do daily chores on
auto-pilot, and they free up your psychic energy to do something different each
day.
2. Keep improving those time management
skills you learned at work. You don’t need to be over-strict about
it now you’ve retired, but calculate mentally how much time you have each day,
and how long you can devote to each of the things you enjoy doing. And know
your body clock. Each of us has a different period of the day when we’re at our
best.
3. Get plenty of sleep. For
most of us that means at least seven or eight hours on a regular basis. Try going to bed at the same time each night.
In addition to enough sleep, take time out to rest. As we get older, we need to
do this just to keep our energy levels up to the mark.
4. Be mindful about everything you do each
day.
Enjoy or learn to enjoy everything you do, and however pleasant or unpleasant
it is.
5. Have a clear idea of what you really enjoy
doing, not what other people want you to do. You will have more
quality time to spend with your partner and attend to each other’s needs, but
don’t crowd each other out. That can spell relationship difficulties. But what
do you really want to do? It can be
anything from reading a book to going for a country walk. You decide what to do and when
you are going to do it.
6. Eat wisely. Don’t skip meals. Make
sure your diet is reasonably low-fat and don’t binge on carbs: they put on
weight. Include five portions of fruit
and green vegetables each day. Drink alcohol in moderation. It’s ok sometimes
to have a small glass of red wine with your dinner but aim for at least three
alcohol-free days each week.
7. Make time for regular exercise every week.
Depending on the state of your health and fitness, go swimming or visit the gym
for at least half and hour or an hour three times a week. If you can’t manage
that, try vigorous walking for 30 minutes to an hour each day. Get outdoors and
enjoy your surroundings. You now have more time to observe the people and places
around you. Regular exercise will help you sleep better and simply make you
feel good.
8. Learn something new. It
could be a degree course if you’re feeling ambitious; or a new language (I’ve
taken up Portuguese), new knowledge or a new skill. Take up something you really enjoy learning,
for its own sake, not because you have to do it.
9. Spend time with people and make new
friends. Actively seek out new
friendships with people of all ages. Keeping up-to-date with people and events
around you is particularly important at our stage of life. Social media provide
excellent opportunities for this as well as being a source of new friends. But
make sure you have some face-to-face communication with people every day,
especially if you live alone. And they don’t need to be friends. People who
serve you in a supermarket, café or restaurant, or even people who ring your
doorbell will do (be careful here, but not too suspicious!)
1 Be positive! Try to
see the good in yourself, in other people and in things that happen around you,
however hard it may be at times. Take the long view, and don’t let setbacks set
you back for ever. Be thankful for what you have and can do, not resentful
about what you don’t have or fail to do. Try to eradicate negative thinking; it
can be done with practice.
Maybe you’re already doing some of these things, but there
may be some you’re neglecting. I find they all help build up confidence in myself
as a retiree. And hopefully, they will help you to have a long and happy
retirement.
David
Wilson is practising at being retired. He lives in York, England.
©David Wilson May
2019
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