5 of the Best Ways to Avoid Boredom in Retirement

5 of the Best Ways to Avoid Boredom in Retirement

Plenty of retirees and pre-retirees assume they are capable of performing DIY (do it yourself) financial planning that sets the stage for an enjoyable retirement.  

Unfortunately, many of those who assume they do not need the assistance of a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional may end up making significant mistakes that could leave them with insufficient savings for retirement.  

The result of failing to plan for retirement with the assistance of a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional could be soul-crushing boredom during the golden years that should have been an enjoyable time chock full of activities and excitement.  The moral of this story is everyone needs a truly comprehensive financial plan. 

However, even if you are a diligent saver, you could still end up retired and bored!

Let’s take a quick look at five ways to avoid boredom after retiring.

 

1. Stay Active!

Remaining active is the key to enjoying your golden years.  However, activity is not strictly limited to that of the physical variety.  Mental activity is just as important as physical activity.  Fail to stimulate your mind as well as your body and you will find you may become bored and depressed.  So stay busy!  

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Try picking up a new hobby, join a sports league, hang out with the neighbors or simply go for a hike.  Just about any activity is better than sitting idle in front of the TV or computer hour after hour.  

If you aren’t sure as to which activities you would enjoy, try a bunch to see which one suits your fancy the most and pursue that hobby/activity with friends, family, and strangers who have the potential to become friends.  Even if your activities are limited to swimming in the pool, walking around the block, and playing cards, each of those activities is vastly superior to sitting around the house and doing little-to-nothing but killing time.

 

2. Volunteer

Now that you have plenty of time as a new retiree, it is time to consider giving back.  Volunteering keeps you busy, stimulates your mind, and provides a purpose.  Volunteer for a local community-oriented organization, give back to the society that helped you earn a living and you will feel that much better about your contributions to the world around you during retirement.  

Examples of volunteering include delivering meals to the elderly and needy, volunteering at a soup kitchen, and/or spending time at the local community center.  If your neighbors are senior citizens, sick or immobile, lend a helping hand.  Once you are giving back to your community, you will feel that much better about yourself, have something to do during the day, and ultimately you will be helping to make the world a better place.

 

3. Take up a New Hobby

Life is all about discovering new things, broadening your horizons, and rounding your edges.  If you have grown tired of your current hobbies or do not have any hobbies, it is imperative that you start at least one new hobby during your golden years.  The best way to pinpoint the perfect new hobby is to try a bunch of them.  

From golfing to tennis, sewing, card collecting, making fun YouTube videos, hiking and even playing video games, there are plenty of things to do now that you have exited the workforce.  If you are hesitant to start a new hobby all by yourself, ask your significant other, adult child, neighbor or friends if they have any interest in starting a new hobby with you.  Picking up a new hobby and getting the most out of it really will prove significantly easier when someone else is willing to accompany you. 

 

4. Research/Genealogy

Now that you are retired, you have plenty of time to conduct research and learn about the world around you.  Seize the opportunity to head to the local library where you can read countless books, use the free internet and study whatever subject you are passionate about.  If you aren’t interested in performing research about history or other subjects, shift the focus to your family lineage. 

Delve into your family’s genealogy, get a sense of your family’s history and you will have a better idea of what your roots are really all about.  If your family is particularly large, creating a family tree will take up a considerable amount of time.  However, this isn’t a problem as you have all the time in the world now that you are retired.  

Embrace this challenge, explore your lineage and share your findings with the entirety of your family.  In fact, creating a family tree that details the entirety of your family lineage in a detailed manner is a project everyone in the family can contribute to.  Once the family tree is constructed, make copies for everyone in the family, possibly with surrounding framing for a truly artful presentation.

 

5. Mentor

Even if you have kids, you still may want to consider mentoring.  Be a big brother or big sister to a community member in need and you will find you are that much more fulfilled.  Even if you simply mentor a budding professional in the field you worked in while you were in the labor force, you will find it gives you a meaningful purpose.  

It is quite possible your mentorship will help an individual in your local community reach new heights both in terms of his or her career and also in the context of personal growth.  After all, there is no sense hoarding all of your knowledge and life advice after retirement.  Now that you are no longer competing with others in the workforce, it is time to share your advice, knowledge, and expertise with those who are looking to climb the ladder and retire comfortably.

At Prism Planning Partners, we are CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™️ Professionals committed to facilitating important questions so that we can help you explore all of your opportunities. We offer a broad array of financial planning and consulting services for our clients-including retirement, investment, and estate planning.

Contact us today and let us illuminate your possibilities!

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