Upon leaving a lifetime of day to day work related activities it's not at all unusual for former executives and busy professionals to struggle with the transition from work to retirement....
Retirement planning counselors will tell you one of the most common problems is the disbelief that excess leisure time could possibly be a problem. Nonetheless, study after study shows that too much idle time directly correlates to a lesser degree of happiness in retirement.
That's due to the fact that excess retirement idle time often leads to feeling disconnected. It's very common for the loss of social interaction through employment to gradually cause many retirees to not feel needed or productive.
Given this, it's not surprising that retirees who consistently score the highest in happiness surveys are those with fuller schedules of meaningful activities in which they feel passionately about.
Whether you're soon to be retired or have been retired for years one of the best things you can do for yourself is to periodically conduct a "Retirement Passion Check". The objective is to focus on and crunch the possibilities on how to better infuse your passions into your day to day activities.
For some, this is a relatively easy task, but for others it may take weeks or even months.
The good news, however, is that the numbers are in your favor – by that I mean - retirees consistently score the highest in happiness surveys of all age groups.
If you are having trouble getting started – here's a list of things to consider.
Considerations:
- Don't lose site of the fact that retirement is a long-term venture.
- Be flexible in your thinking, the beauty of retirement is that it's your time, not your job.
- Find something that challenges you, if your time is spent on the too mundane you may lose interest, try to find your middle ground of being challenged but not stressed.
- Consider something that helps others. Invest your time in community activities or assisting in a cause you feel passionately about. This type of activity scores the highest in the happiness surveys.
- Consider learning something new; a new language, history classes at a local college, etc..
- Consider new hobbies, whether it's playing cards, buying a telescope, or painting sunsets the options are vast.
- Consider joining different hobby groups, this is one of the most most common ways to meet new people with similar interests in retirement.
- Write a book, maybe it will never be a best seller but who cares. An autobiography may be especially of interest to your loved ones and future generations.
- Consider a part-time job, this one has become much more popular over the past decade, and may be a great way to stay connected to your occupation. But it's also just as common for people to choose to do something entirely different.
- Start a business. Consider using your career experience to start that business you've always thought about.
- Work on a "Bucket List", but be careful with this one, happiness surveys show people that don't have good reasons to have items on their list end up feeling a low level of bucket list satisfaction.
In other words, make sure your bucket list is tied to your passions.
Whatever that "it" is for you, find it, pursue it, and enjoy.
Lastly, if you're struggling with your transition, talk to a professional retirement counselor. It's not at all uncommon (especially for early retirees) to have difficulties with this.
One word of caution: Retirement income security doesn't guarantee retirement happiness, and this stage of life is just as easy to screw up as any other.
Additional resources to consider:
How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free a book on retirement beyond the financials.
Retire Wow a website dedicated to helping retirees with ideas for creating a meaningful retirement, and much more.
