You’ve been working hard all your life and look forward to retirement. Finally, you can enjoy the freedom and the luxury of doing all the things you’ve always wanted to. But then reality hits, and you wonder, exactly how will I spend my retirement days?
Switching from busy working days to more free hours can be liberating. But after some time, you feel the need for more structure. Creating structure in your days is essential to living a more fulfilling retired life.
Whilst it’s easy to fill up your time with passive activities like watching TV, surfing the internet, and refreshing your Facebook page. You will likely want to spend your days doing more fulfilling activities. And a structured day can help you with that. It doesn’t mean that you need to continue the same structure as your working days. You can enjoy your well-deserved downtime in retirement and combine this with a structured day that fits your needs perfectly.
When you retire, you don’t get 20 years of free time, instead, you get back some extra hours in a day that you don’t have to work anymore. And that’s why it’s important to fill these hours with new and fun activities that make you feel fulfilled at the end of your retirement day. That’s why you worked hard all those years to do what you love. Here is an example of what a typical retirement day could look like:
Sample Daily Schedule
- 7 am Wake up, drink water, stretch, or light exercise
- 8 am Eat a healthy breakfast
- 9 am Plan the day, set goals, and prioritize tasks
- 10 am Attend a fitness class or go for a walk
- Noon Have lunch and take a break
- 1 pm Work on personal projects or hobbies
- 3 pm Run errands or attend appointments
- 5 pm Relax, read a book, or watch TV
- 6 pm Prepare and have dinner
- 7 pm Spend time with family or friends
- 9 pm Wind down, practice mindfulness, and sleep.
Here are some ideas on structuring your day in retirement so you can make the most of it:
- Discover or rediscover your passion[1]
- Set goals for retirement
- Create new routines
- Wake up at the same time
- Exercise regularly
- Eat a healthy diet
- Keep social in retirement
- Manage your finances
- Stay mentally active
- Take breaks
- Take time for self-care
- Get a retirement hobby[2]
- Plan ahead
- Make a to-do list
- Break your day into chunks
- Limit your screen time
Balancing an overscheduled agenda and not getting bored is the trick to a happy retirement. You can enjoy your freedom, relax, and be spontaneous while having things to look forward to that make your life fun and interesting.
[1] https://retirementtipsandtricks.com/how-to-find-your-passion-in-retirement/
[2] https://retirementtipsandtricks.com/best-hobbies-in-retirement/