If you are retired, congratulations on all of your hard work that led you to this phase in your life! As you find yourself with more leisure time, this can be both a blessing and a curse. Filling your days in a way that makes you feel both fulfilled and happy can be deceptively challenging without any outside constraints. Here at Spokeo, we put together a list to help you!

A Structured Retirement

This does not have to be as structured as when you were working. Having a daily routine will help you begin your day with efficiency and eventually guide you to the things you actually want to do. It can be as simple as waking up around the same time every day and doing a series of light activities such as making coffee, watching the news, or taking a walk. Using tools like Trello.com can help you manage tasks such as laundry, grocery shopping and doctors appointments.

A Healthy Retirement

Now is the perfect time to prioritize your physical health. This can easily be worked into a daily or weekly routine and encompass things like exercise and diet. Plenty of gyms and health clubs have exercise classes for a variety of age groups such as yoga, zumba, weight lifting, even ballroom dancing!

A Stimulating Retirement

Like physical wellness, mental health should also be actively pursued. Constantly learning new skills is an excellent way to do this. Local community centers offer low price or even free classes such as painting, photography, or music. According to a study published by the International Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in 2014, playing a musical instrument may decrease your risk of dementia or cognitive impairment.

A Generous Retirement

Giving back to your community is an excellent way to gain fulfillment outside of your past career. Some examples are the local food bank or hospital. If you like animals, local animal shelters look for volunteers to walk dogs, help with adoption paperwork, cleaning, and more. Check the website of your local animal shelter to see what opportunities exist in your area. There is always the option to foster a dog or cat in your home if you would like to explore the idea of having a pet!

A Wander-ful Retirement

Now that you have more free time, a great way to spend it is seeing the world! Make a list of cities or countries that you have always wanted to visit. If the planning part of travel is not enjoyable to you, there are several senior friendly solutions. Cruises are an easy way to travel to many different places. With included lodging and meals all you have to plan is simply where you would like to visit.

A Planned Retirement

Just because you have spent so much time planning for this phase of your future does not mean that your future planning has to stop all together. Now that your time is your own you may want to make a list of all the things that you want to do and some personal or financial goals that you want to meet. Staying organized can help you achieve some of the things that are important to you.

A Meaningful Retirement

Your time is absolutely valuable! Now you can put your energy into the things that matter: people. This can manifest itself in many different ways. You could spend time with your grandchildren after school a few days a week. You could host a wine and cheese night for your neighbors to get to know them better. You could use sites like Facebook or Spokeo to try reconnect with old friends that you lost touch with years ago. Making friends of many different age groups will help grow your perspective.

A Flexible Retirement

Retirement is about you and your aspirations. Allow yourself the freedom to pick and choose what is important to you. If you do not feel like doing a pre-planned activity, dont! If you lose interest in one thing, switch to another. Your priority is your happiness and health.

Carpe Diem!