Retirement Plan: What To Do After the 9-to-5

A retirement plan is about a lot more than financial security. It’s more than a retirement annuity, it’s more than additional passive income streams, and it’s definitely more than ensuring your cash reserves are robust. A retirement plan is the answer to the question “what do I do when I retire?”. If your answers are as vague as “spend more time with X” – or even worse “I can’t wait not to do Y” – then this article is for you! Find out how to make your best retirement a reality.

Take Charge of Your Schedule

If you’re recently retired and feeling a little lost, that’s okay! It’s completely normal… After strictly adhering to a routine for decades, having so much of one’s time unstructured can be unsettling. And even if you retired years ago but want to make the most of your time there are easy ways to start. One of the best ways to regain direction is to find a new rhythm and that means taking charge of your schedule!  Taking charge of your schedule doesn’t mean strictly allocating each hour of every day to a certain activity. It does, however, mean having at least some idea of what you want each day to look like and allowing yourself the freedom to participate in activities that make you happy. 

Make Your Best Retirement Plan

What are those things that make you happy? This is the best place to start and it’s that part that we most intuitively understand and making a list can change “I’d like to spend more time with family” into “how to spend more time with family” or “fun things to do with family”. So pull out a pen and paper and write down at least 5 things you’d love to do more during your retirement. We recommend the following: 

1. Spend More Time With Family
2. Be More Physically Active
3. Connect With Friends
4. Dedicate More Time to Hobbies
5. Give Back to the Community

Your Ultimate Retirement Plan

This is where it starts to get really fun! Now that we’ve got our five pillars, we can begin to brainstorm the ultimate retirement plan! To help you do that, check out the inspirational ideas for retirement activities below:

• How to Spend More Time With Family

Connect with family on social media: Connecting with family on social media has never been easier thanks to super fast fibre internet. Sharing pictures, writing letters, and making future plans using social media is a wonderful way to stay close to loved ones even if they’re far away. Invite family for lunch: Sharing a meal together is an often underestimated bonding experience and you don’t even have to be an amazing cook to turn it into a truly special occasion! Each Faircape Life village each features a fantastic restaurant where residents can share a meal with family and friends! Home based catering and platters can also be ordered and delivered to your home! (If you’re already a village resident, get in touch with your Village Manager for details). Share (and show) interests: Finding shared interests is a sure fire way to connect more with family during retirement. DIY projects, gardening advice, dog training are some great family-friendly activities that can include the whole family. 

• How to Be More Physically Active

Join a walking club: Joining a walking club is a great way to make physical activity part of your new rhythm. There are so many benefits of becoming part of a walking group in retirement! It can help keep you accountable, help you make new friends, get you outdoors, and improve blood circulation. Go to the gym: Getting active in the gym isn’t just for muscle-bound blokes! The gym is a fantastic place to enjoy low impact exercise, tone muscles, and maybe even drop a pant size. All 6 Faircape Life villages feature on-site gymnasiums! Get gardening: Gardening is definitely one of our favourite ways to be physically active. It helps us stay fit and enjoy the outdoors, but more than that it’s wonderful for centring one’s emotions. Participate in group activities: Faircape Life villages all host a wide variety of group activities to help keep you fit! Yoga, pilates, dancing, and water gymnastics are just some of the fitness-focused activities residents can enjoy. Read More Fitness: “Stay Fit as a Fiddle During Lockdown”, by Staff Writer.

• How to Connect With Friends

Host a games night: Board games and card games are wholesome social activities to enjoy with friends! You might be surprised by how many lesser known games are incredibly fun to play – try out Banagram, Boggle, and Ticket to Ride. Of course, the classics are still a blast too. Visit the club house: Your local area may feature social clubs where you can get together with other locals, enjoy a beverage, and maybe even watch a cricket match. Faircape Life villages include club houses on-site to make socialising that much easier for residents. So if you’re a resident drop by and say hi! Work part time: If your life involved business meetings, working long hours at the office, or starting your own enterprise you may remember making some great friendship connections along the way. So why not give it a try now! It doesn’t have to be as gruelling as building your career was but being industrious is a great way to make meaningful connections.

• How to Enjoy Hobbies More

Block time: Blocking time for hobbies won’t only make sure you’ve got time to enjoy your favourite activities – it will help to make sure you don’t neglect the other important things in your life! For example, if you love sewing or knitting, set aside a number of hours for it and try not to exceed those hours. Take a break, get up and go for a walk, and enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend. Make it an occasion: Turning hobby time into an occasion will not only amplify your enjoyment of a hobby but can serve as a way to include others into your world. For example, if you love painting you can include friends and family in an excursion to an art gallery or host a painting night with a lovely meal.

• How to Give Back to the Community

Become a mentor: A mentor is someone who offers sage advice, a listening ear, and motivational support to a younger person. There are easy ways to find mentees with aspirations you can encourage. Get in touch with local schools, and businesses to see if your history and background aligns with those of any pupils or employees.  Volunteer: Volunteering one’s time to those in need is one of the most rewarding experiences in life. Contact your local place of worship, or non-profit organisation to see if they need help. Organise charity drives: There are always those in need! Whether it be animal shelters in need of food, or underprivileged schools in need of clothing, books or stationery – you can make a difference.  Become a Healthcare Companion: Did you know that residents can volunteer as a Healthcare Companion? Reach out to your village sister to find out how you can make a difference to somebody’s life today. Read More Community: “For the Love of Animals”, by Staff Writestay