Focus: FUN! - What The Heck Will You Do All Day?
Tools, tips and tricks to fill those leisure time hours in retirement
Netflix and… Bungie Jumping!!
Branching out a little in retirement could save your life
It’s FINALLY here! The day you get to retire! You’ve been looking forward to it for years… maybe longer…. You see yourself out on the lake fishing or out on the links golfing or, in my case, in my backyard by the fire pit with a glass of wine. Ahhh… Congratulations on making that dream come true! Maybe…
Let’s say you’ve had a solid 8-5 job for the last 30 years. That’s 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year that your time has not been your own. That equates to about 60 thousand additional hours that you have for yourself in the next 30! If you’re like most of us, though, that’s nowhere near what we spent on our obligations and responsibilities over the last 30 years. You probably put in way more hours than that at work, and/or had family obligations that took up much of your “free time.” OK, let’s be conservative and say you had obligations 12 hours a day 7 days a week for 30 years. That’s OVER 130 THOUSAND hours that you spent on someone else in your Second Act that you will have to spend on yourself in the Third Act! Fishing sounds awesome! 130 thousand hours of fishing?? Maybe not so awesome.
Here’s the thing. If you don't have a plan for those hours, we all know what will happen. Inertia will take over and you’ll resort to doing whatever is easiest in the moment. For too many of us, that means Netflix and potato chips. Boredom will set in and you may end up with some habits that lead to long term health impacts like obesity, depression and even addiction.
Wait! How did we go from the excitement of retiring to the good life to sitting on the couch killing ourselves with processed snack foods??? It doesn’t have to be like that! All you need is a plan and the motivation to live your best life. If you have that, 130 thousand hours will not be enough to enjoy all of the FUN adventures you’ll find for yourself!
Create a plan for your leisure time!
Creating your plan can be part of the FUN! You already have some idea of the things that you love to do. Start there and create a folder (either on your computer or in your filing cabinet) and load it with all of the pictures you can find of your favorite things to do. I love Pinterest for this! Create yourself an account and then search for things related to your favorite activities and pin them! This is great because then you can share them with your friends or significant other and everyone can get excited about your hobbies, vacations and other new interests and Pinterest will suggest other boards where you can find new inspiration for FUN things to do! It can be anything from an international trip you’re planning to a hobby that you do while you’re staring out the window, like birdwatching or people watching. Mine has information on the Maldives for a vacation we’re planning after this darn COVID is a thing of the past as well as a ton of Zentangle pictures. (What’s Zentangle? It’s doodling. The picture at the top of this article is an example of my handiwork. It’s a hobby that I do for absolutely no other reason than it’s FUN!) Get a good mix of stuff in your folder! Are there local places you want to visit, like museums or craft fairs or farmer’s markets? How about things you always wanted to learn to do, like play an instrument or grow an herb garden? Maybe there’s a dream destination, or just a place a couple hours away you’ve wanted to go for the weekend. Get ‘em all in that folder!
Update and share your plan regularly
Creating this folder does two things. First, it helps you brainstorm and think about all of the things there are to do in this world! Secondly, if you revisit your folder, update it and add to it regularly, it helps keep you motivated to do this stuff! And, if you share your folders with others, they can help with inspiration on things to add to your list of FUN activities to try and maybe even try some of them with you!
Schedule your FUN
It may seem counterintuitive, but until you get into a habit of pulling out your hobby equipment or Googling your favorite destination and booking something, inertia will probably take over and you’ll find yourself on the couch again, so scheduling time for FUN can be a good idea, at least initially. Take out your folder and find some stuff to do. Put it on your calendar. I have a HUGE wall calendar that I fill in with colored Sharpies. I put things on the schedule for at least 3 months in the future and then I get on with booking those that need a reservation and sometimes inviting people to do my activities and hobbies with me so I make sure I get them done! Get the resources you need to make it easy to transition into whatever it is you want to do. Put your knitting basket next to the chair where you have your evening tea, or put your laptop on the table before you go to bed to search for weekend getaways while you eat breakfast. Do whatever it takes to schedule and start your FUN activities.
Now do it!
Don’t ignore this aspect of your retirement! It’s not indulgent! Having FUN could, quite literally, save your life.
Habits To Build Confidence
Tiny: Search for pictures online that make you smile.
Bold: Write a list of all of the times you remember having the time of your life! Are there any you’d like to revisit? Schedule them!
Audacious: Start a travel fund with a goal to go wherever you’ve always wanted to go. Book a hotel there for after you retire (even if that is a few years from now). Contribute to the fund every month and talk about your trip every chance you get!
More Reading
Can’t get enough? Here are some more articles and resources to help you have the time of your life in retirement!
Need more inspiration? I created a list of 101 hobbies! It has everything from Acting to Zentangle and 99 things in between. Just reply to this email and I’ll send it to you.
Love travel and learning and can’t decide which to prioritize in retirement? Fear not! You can do both (at a very reasonable cost!) with Road Scholar. They even have trips specially designed for grandparents to do with their grandkids. I’m seriously thinking of rafting through the Grand Canyon!
Want to find ideas for FUN things to do in your area? Sign up for LivingSocial or Goldstar. You can score great deals to restaurants, amusements, festivals and live entertainment right in your backyard.
Next Week’s Focus: Wellness!
I hope you’ll join me next week for a read on your wellness journey.
Maybe combining wellness and FUN can make both a little easier..? Hmmm… Let’s explore that.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please comment, hit the “like” button, forward this link to all of your friends, shout it from your social media or buy a billboard ad on your local freeway! You could also just hit reply and send me an email letting me know.
I love the idea of scheduling FUN! This is something I want to start doing NOW! It's good to have something fun on the calendar. It makes the other regular days more manageable. I would love your link of activities, Jeri! Great article!