When a senior gets retired after working his whole adult life, he undergoes mixed feelings of nervousness, anxiety, fear, and others. The fear of the unknown is something we all experience, since day one, of gaining a conscience.
Retirement is a time of freedom and independence if a person takes it optimistically. Similarly, if it is seen from a pessimist’s perspective, it can be challenging and depressing. The practical and healthy approach is to make a bucket list.
Exactly the way you made a bucket list in your late teens, to try every thrilling task out of rebellion. Now you make a bucket list for your exciting old age but obviously, this is on the safer side.
By considering your limitations, both physical and mental, you make a 21 pointers bucket list to keep busy and stay happy!
Some are obvious, self-explanatory healthy activities, while some have an element of surprise to them.
These are the most effective out of 101 fun things to do in retirement. Let’s call these exciting retirement jobs that you shall do for yourself! Consider yourself self-employed!
These top the charts, based on their efficacy. Here are the 21 healthy and fun activities after retirement, to keep you in shape; mentally, spiritually, and physically.
1. Get Moving
First of all, caring about physical health is the easiest. Start a morning walk regime. For retired athletes go for morning jogs with pets. For veterans, join golf clubs. For family people who are introverts by nature, play with your grandchildren, in the backyard. Yard games can be most uplifting, since they make you physically fit and they’re real fun, in old age.
2. Do Brain Exercises
Card games with old buddies, solving newspaper puzzles, playing Scrabble, playing word games, playing solitaire, and playing chess can be great for ridding you of the threat of becoming a patient of Alzheimer’s Disease. You can play games on IPad too, the graphics are bigger and visible for senior citizens. Plus, there is a huge variety to choose from and you do not necessarily need buddies.
3. Watch Quality Television
Since birth, one of the most trusted and reliable companions in the form of a babysitter, a time passer, a quality time provider, and an escape resort, has been your TV. People do not pay tribute or well-deserved homage to their TVs. Now you’re a senior citizen and should be wise enough to give it its due credit. Watch quality TV, one which engages your mind. Crime genre and detective TV shows and movies are the best anti-aging antidote, for your mind.
4. Game Night, Anyone?
Research shows that senior citizens who indulge in card games with their buddies, usually feel engaged and uplifted during these sessions. You’re not as aggressive or competitive as before, but it keeps your mind fresh and busy. A little bookish or boring senior can play chess too.
5. Hang Out with Friends
Try to stay in touch with your buddies, the ones that are alive. If none are left, make new friends, and upgrade the acquaintances to friends, if they’re a little trustworthy. The most important rule of a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life is “loving yourself!” Make compromises because you need people to talk to.
Talk to the care staff if you’re in a nursing home or home for the elderly. It’s not the place, it’s basically the people that matter. Social interaction will also keep you happy!
6. Find purpose
After retirement, it becomes difficult for people to find a purpose in life. Generally, as long as you’re working, you never take out time to ruminate or think! Where it was good for a young age, now it’s time to ponder and reflect with wisdom.
Cherish the old age, if you have a large family with grandchildren, keep busy with them. It makes you happy, but do not let your parents take advantage of you.
They might burden you with responsibility, but you’re too old to be overburdened, always remember the miracles of saying “no” at the right time. Babysit when you want hugs and kisses.
7. Play a New Instrument
It’s never too late to sign up for learning a new musical instrument. Pick up whichever one you’ve always been intrigued by. Buy it, and start taking online classes through youtube or other tutorials, if you’re short on budget. If you can afford it, join a music class for that instrument. Now you’re truly free, do not keep busy like your office, be creative now and try having fun!
8. Start Dancing
Dancing is a lot of fun, joining a class or a gym in senior hours. Zumba is an easy dance style; anyone can pick up steps in a matter of hours. Who cares if you’re side stepping, no one’s watching either. Enjoy and spoil yourself now!
9. Become a Mentor
You might not believe it but age adds to wisdom, and it did to you too. Test it! Go to library senior sessions, go to book signing events, go to save environment events in your town, and subscribe with them. You’ll receive newsletters informing you about more author book releases. Meet people and indulge in creative activities.
You’ll pick up students automatically, share your work-related wisdom and be a mentor. If you have had a rewarding life full of relationships, and a large family, share your approach with new kids. Tell college students how to go about their family or relationships.
10. Master your Chef skills
Now that you’re free and want to do something fun, why not cook? One of the best things about life is good food, isn’t it? Watch cooking videos on youtube, on TV, or buy a recipe book. Try a new dish every day, start with the easiest ones. Read “Cooking for Dummies?” Maybe!
You are not looking for recognition, have fun, and be light on yourself! Cook for your grandchildren after a beginner month, then start inviting your old buddies if your cooking tastes good.
11. Give back to the Community
Giving back to the community is an activity forgotten by most people during their youth. People generally do community work as a penalty for any mistake they made, during youth. Now you’re a whole person, you’ve grown wiser over time and you can understand the depth and significance of voluntary community work. Take up uplifting community work to feel good!
12. Get an Exciting Retirement Part Time Job
Being retired does not imply that you’re not eligible for a part-time job. Search for part-time employment and work remotely or in the office, whatever suits you. Stay busy and active, if you let yourself go, no one else is obligated to take care of your mind and body!
13. Write and Reflect
Start writing a little every day. Most people come up with their autobiographies after retirement. Veterans and politicians, above all. Here you can be enthusiastic and have ambition too. If you have had a career as an Engineer, share your tenure details with many firms, share insights about the best engineering agencies, how to apply for them, share your favorite architectural landmarks and heritage in your state, highlight their plus points, write about maintaining distance, and closeness with coworkers, in the engineering field.
14. Start Baking
No one can deny their love for freshly baked cake or cookies. If you’ve always been a people person, go for baking! Since you are someone who wants people to like you, bake every third or fourth day. Share a good batch with neighbors, with children outside.
Usually, there are 2 types of people, ones who cannot live without other people liking them and ones who are least bothered about the approval of others. Introverts do not need approval and know how to say “no”. These people go far in their careers, while extroverts living for people, make good families.
15. Travel
When you got married, you made a bucket list with your wife to visit Paris, the Pyramids, and other exotic places. Now that you are not pressed for financial concerns and are completely independent, make a new bucket list of the places you can afford to explore and get going!
16. Work with your Hands
There is a certain amount of pride that is good for your self-worth, you feel it when you work with your hands. After retirement, senior people should indulge in redecorating their homes, you can rework the furniture or repaint a room yourself. It gives you the best feeling of this world if you repaint a room, for an upcoming grandchild.
17. Pick up a Paintbrush
Even if you suck at drawing, start doodling. Join a drawing or basic sketching crash course. Start with books or youtube tutorials, if you do not want to spend any money. Buy a sketchbook and make it a habit to doodle sometimes. According to research, painting or drawing helps you feel uplifted, and does wonders for your spiritual well-being.
18. Go Back to School
Do you think you’re too old for school? Wrong! Now that you feel like a kid, your mind is actually reverting back to memory loss and confusion. Go back to school for auditing classes. If you’ve mastered any of the arts above, be a mentor for that. Start a career counseling session weekly, and teach students about engineering!
19. Get out and Meet people
It’s really important in your old age to literally surround yourself with good people to feel relevant. In youth, you might have been rebellious or anti-social but you could cherish it, then. Now you can get afflicted with Alzheimer’s or a permanent loss of short-term memory. If you become a victim, you cannot take care of yourself because you forget about taking regular meals or medications.
For people who do not have family members taking care of them, it is imperative to go out and spend positive time with other people. For people in old age homes or care centers, befriend the caretaker staff.
20. Grow your Garden
One of the best, healthiest, and most productive activities for the elderly is gardening. This keeps you busy and you enjoy yourself a lot. This accounts for the Vitamin D deficiency that babies or old people usually have, due to no exposure to sunlight.
You can actively participate in green initiatives of your local community as a regular protestor for any movement too. Again, there you can meet and befriend new people your age, too.
21. Take a hike
Even if you do not know about a new trail, do not worry! Take the necessary accessories like water, sunscreen, and snacks in your bag. Go for a hike, start with the easiest trails and you can make this a weekend activity!