How to Adjust to Retirement

We all dream of retiring after many years of working. We think of all the things we want to do that we haven't been able to find time for because of our jobs and careers. The children will be raised and out on their own. All we will have is time.

The American Association of Retired People (AARP) recommends developing a plan for the extra time you have when you retire. Why? After all the years of being confined to work schedules and commitments, the last thing you want is a schedule for your retirement time!

When I retired, it was not as I expected. I got up in the morning and thought of what I wanted to do that day. Some days I didn't do much of anything: I just loafed around. On other days, it was hard to choose an activity to fill my time. As the weeks passed, I found I had a lot of time to "fill up." The allure of not having to do anything was already wearing off. It became a chore to figure out what I wanted to do every day.

After my experience with the initial phase of retirement, I realized that I did need a plan. The work schedule cannot just disappear without something filling the empty block of time. I read many articles on enjoying retirement and came up with a schedule for my days.

First of all, go to bed and get up at your regular times. That part of your new life will remain the same. It's not good to change everything at one time. Secondly, try to eat your meals at the same time every day, just like you did when you were working.

I made a list of all the things I wanted to do in retirement. I assigned a block of time every day for projects: hobbies, reading, crocheting, golf, or other activities on my "retirement list." That time was the same time every day. It replaced the time I spent at work. One of the things I accomplished was organizing twenty-eight years of photos I had been putting in a large box and carrying it with me to other states when I moved.

I also assigned time for me to do the usual household activities. I do my household chores after breakfast: cleaning, shopping, laundry, repairing broken things (I am a widow, so I don't have anyone to help me).