10 Effective Tips For Adjusting To Retirement: Making a Happy Retirement
Last Update on August 26, 2021 : Published on May 25, 2021
My father in law just got retired and he seemed quite sad about it. So, I asked him what’s wrong, you’re free now, you can travel, take a rest, and do whatever you want to do. He said that it’s all fine, it’s like a new phase, and it feels like a loss of identity to me! To me, it seemed that he is having a hard time adjusting to retirement. I tried to find the cause behind it and found that the monotonous life led him to experience sadness and anxiety.
After knowing this, I tried various tips shared over the internet to make a happy retirement for him and for adjusting to retirement. Sadly, only a few worked for him. In this blog, I am sharing 10 effective tips for adjusting to retirement based on personal experiences. So, let’s get started.
10 Tips for Adjusting to Retirement
1. Expect the Unexpected and Keep Moving
Retirement is related to an emotional process that most people experience. I have seen in most of the cases that the reason behind depression and sadness is that it feels like forever vacation. However, it’s a slow process and it takes time to adjust to this new lifestyle of monotony. Denying your feelings and suppressing your emotions might worsen the situation. Therefore, keep talking about your feelings and keep on moving.
Activity: You can try yoga or meditation for dealing with your emotions.
2. Plan Your Days
As I said, retirement brings a monotonous life. Therefore, don’t get into it. Instead, you can try to schedule your days and plan activities that bring joy into your life. Just don’t lean into the newspaper or the news channels, you can try nature therapy.
Activity: Every day is a new day to learn something new. Therefore, you can plan your days with new hobbies or nature therapy. You can just simply plan your day with a day in nature.
3. Setting Small Goals can Make a Happy Retirement
You have already done enough! Now, it’s time to make most of your life and enjoy as much as you can. Retirement is an opportunity to work on those small goals which are different than they were before. If you feel like you can be a good cook then make videos and upload it without giving a second thought.
Activity: It’s time to focus on your goals, therefore, find your area of interest and show some creativity.
4. Become a Team With Your Partner
During the phase of retirement, one thing I am pretty sure that your partner is really happy about and they might have planned something for this phase as well. Therefore, give it a talk, team up with your partner, and enjoy this phase with your partner as much as you can.
Activity: Team up with your partner and plan something together.
5. Increase Your Social Support
Sadly, retirement also brings up isolation. Therefore, don’t let this bug eat you from inside and try to increase your friendship with people around you. You can make new friends, go for a walk with them, or can cook together.
Activity: Make new friends and invite them for lunch or snacks.
6. If You’re Ready, Consider a Part-Time Job
If you feel like still working more, do not stress out and if you’re ready you can also consider another part-time job of your interest. If you’ve been a banker, you can look into share markets. If you think you’re a good artist, you can teach art to small kids.
Activity: Consider a part-time job of your interest and make sure it remains only “Part-time”.
7. Set a New Budget
I know you’ve already saved enough to enjoy your retirement phase. However, we never know what’s coming next. Therefore, make a new budget, cut off expenses, and invest in health insurance as well. In this way, you’ll be able to evaluate how much money you have for entertainment as well.
Activity: Make a new budget, discuss with your partner, and invest in something productive.
8. You Can Also Volunteer
If you’re not ready to enter a part-time job, you can start volunteering. Volunteering provides a sense of purpose to us. It also boosts our psychological well-being.
Activity: Try volunteering for a week, if it feels comfortable to you; continue it on a regular basis.
9. Be Flexible Towards Everything
There might be some days wherein you may don’t want to do anything. Therefore, welcome such days as well and become flexible towards every feeling and emotion related to your mind and body.
Activity: Talk to your partner or loved one about it and find out a solution together.
10. Talk About It
If you’re not ready to talk to your partner or loved one about your feelings then consider having a healthy talk with a counselor so that he/she can help you in adjusting to retirement in healthy ways. To connect with a counselor from BetterHelp, click here.
Disclaimer: As BetterHelp Affiliate, We may receive compensation from BetterHelp or other sources if you purchase products or services through the links provided on this page.
I hope this blog helps you to make your happy retirement with the tips to adjusting to retirement. Comment down and share your personal experiences with life after retirement. For more such inspiring content, follow Calm Sage on all social media platforms.
Thanks for reading!
Happy retirement! ☺
About The Author
Aayushi Kapoor
Aayushi is a Content Creator at Calm Sage. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Food Technology and a Master's Degree in Clinical Nutrition. Her constant interest in the improvement of mental health, nutrition, and overall wellness embarked upon her career as a “full-time educational writer.” She likes to make an asynchronous connection with her readers. Her mantra for living life is "What you seek is seeking you".
Thank just retired . Folks ask how do you like retirement ? Truth is I don’t know. There are so many layers I need time to sort all the out. This article was helpful.