What to Do in Retirement: 90 Fulfilling Ways to Spend Time

It seems that successive generations intend to retire earlier than ever before. This means that they will have more time to focus on leisure activities and spend time doing things that bring joy.

Nevertheless, people often have a misguided notion of what retirement entails.

When a person’s social life, sense of accomplishment, and identity is rooted in their profession, it is even more essential to find alternative outlets of interest once they hang up the suit and tie.

If you are contemplating what to do in retirement, check out our 90 fulfilling ways to spend time.

10 Fulfilling Ways To Earn Extra Money In Retirement

Making a bit of additional cash every month can significantly assist with stretching your retirement budget and ensuring your principal nest egg continues to grow.

However, finding a source of income in retirement is not simply about the money. Hopefully, now you have the freedom to pursue employment for reasons beyond career advancement or a paycheck.

For example, a retired nurse could put their skills to good use at a respite care center like Longhouse, and earn some money part-time.

Here are our 10 fulfilling ways to earn extra money in retirement:

• Rent a room in your home on Airbnb
• Provide room and board for a college student
• Sign up for Rent a Grandma
• Clean out your cupboards and garage and sell your stuff online
• Become a mystery shopper
• Start a small business
• Go bargain hunting at garage sales and resell on Craigslist or eBay
• Work online as a freelance writer or editor
• Shift your career to expert consulting
• Downsize your home and invest in a rental property

10 Home Renovations & DIY Jobs To Do In Retirement

Now is the time to attack the home renovations and do-it-yourself jobs that have been on the back burner.

Whether you plan to sell your cemetery plot or house in retirement or stay put, here are some ideas of what to do first:

• Clean the garage, attack or crawlspace
• Clean and replace guttering and downpipes
• Powerwash the driveway and pathways
• Upgrade your bathroom fixtures
• Retile the kitchen backsplash
• Install an alarm system
• Upgrade the security lighting
• Build an outdoor firepit
• Install new wall-to-wall carpeting
• Automate your home
• Change a bedroom into a hobby space

10 Satisfying Ways To Volunteer In Retirement

Did you know that retired Americans who volunteer report a higher level of well-being and a lower incidence of disability?

In addition, volunteering is an excellent outlet for pivoting your professional energy and finding a new purpose in your daily life.

Everyone can make a positive impact on their community by focusing on projects and charities that are near and dear.

Included below are a few general ideas to get you thinking, but feel free to cold call a specific charity or NGO and see how you could help.

A few hours of your time per week could mean the world to someone else.

• Use your trade skills to help a charity in need
• Join the seniors’ version of Peace Corps – AmeriCorps Seniors
• Cook healthy frozen meals for older friends
• Try virtual volunteering
• Organize a fundraiser
• Coach a kids’ sports team
• Speak to your local hospital about volunteer opportunities
• Go on a volunteering vacation
• Assist your favorite politician with their election campaign
• Look at listings on VolunteerMatch

10 Hobbies To Pursue Retirement

You don’t have to be a proficient or a master craftsperson to consider taking up a hobby in retirement.

Everyone needs to start at the beginning, and there is no age limit on when that starting point needs to be. If you dabbled in a hobby as a kid and wish you had kept it up, then now is your time.

Hobbies can be an excellent link to finding like-minded new friends and holiday destinations as well.

• Be a tourist in your own town
• Start a blog
• Go geocaching
• Learn to fly fish
• Start growing vegetables from seed
• Expand your gardening knowledge
• Start scrapbooking about your grandkids
• Crochet or knit scarves and beanies for charity
• Decluttering and donating to charity
• Train or plane spotting

10 Ways To Stay Fit In Retirement

Staying fit as you age is about much more than vanity. Did you know that you could save a significant amount of money on your life insurance or medical care if you exercise regularly?

In addition, exercise has been scientifically proven to decrease the risk of stroke, high blood pressure, depression, and many types of cancer in senior citizens.

Exercise is a reason to get out of the house and interact with like-minded people. Even light physical activity releases brain chemicals that can make you feel happier, think clearly, and reduce stress.

Here are a few of our ideas for getting your body moving in retirement:

• Start a dog walking service
• Go golfing
• Join the Pickleball craze
• Join an aqua aerobics class
• Check for local mall walking clubs
• Try different types of yoga
• Get a membership at your local pool and swim laps
• Buy a treadmill and watch tv while exercising
• Hike in your local national park
• Play with your grandchildren at the park

10 Ways To Focus On Mental Health In Retirement

We highly encourage people to accept that adjusting to retirement might take time. Often, people have a honeymoon phase in which the liberation of not needing to get up and dressed for work is exhilarating.

However, the high of newfound freedom can then slip into boredom, wistfulness, and feeling isolated.

Creating a new identity for yourself in retirement can be more challenging for some than for others.

To better reorient yourself, here are some ways to focus on mental health in retirement:

• Try Thai Chi
• Maintain your social connections
• Book a weekly video chat with long-distance family and friends
• Be sure to get a restful night’s sleep
• Try meditation or directed mindfulness
• Treat yourself to a spa treatment you enjoy
• Keep to a daily and weekly schedule
• Continue to set small goals and work towards attaining them
• Branch out and meet new friends with common interests through sites like Meetups
• Learn the importance of saying no
• Admit when you need a helping hand and find good respite care.

10 Social Groups To Seek Out In Retirement

Did you know that scientific studies have proven that social group memberships in retirement are associated with living longer?

Whereas many assume that their retirement years will be a time for renewed vigor, the opposite has been seen to be true.

If you aren’t part of a club already, here are some social groups you may wish to look into:

• Play bridge
• Start a book club
• Join The Red Hat Society
• Try out for the National Senior Games
• Join a local gardening club
• Sign up with the AARP – American Association for Retired Persons
• Take classes with SilverSneakers
• See if there is a Senior Planet near you
• Start a dinner club
• Google your favorite hobby and see if there is a devoted club or forum online

10 Fun Classes And Experiences To Sign Up For In Retirement

Every day is an opportunity to learn new things. It might be cliche, but one of the best aspects of life is having new experiences, making memories, and challenging ourselves.

You don’t have to go back to university, check out our fun class and experiences for an intriguing way to spend your time.

• Get some inspiration for your next cocktail party
• Take a beginner’s course in creative doodling
• Improve your photography with color and lighting effects
• Computer basics
• Learn to use your smartphone
• Take a creative writing class with Margaret Atwood
• Learn to sleep better
• Perfect your pasta-making skills
• Improve your wine lingo with a wine appreciation class
• Let Bill Clinton teach you about Inclusive Leadership

10 Unique Ways To Travel In Retirement

We would encourage everyone to use their twilight years to branch out and try new things to stay young at heart.

Check out some more of our unique ways to travel in retirement:

• Cross country skiing
• Horseback riding adventure
• Island hop on a cruise ship
• Buy an RV and hit the road
• Explore famous train journeys
• Head out on safari in the wilds of Africa
• Go on a volunteering vacation
• Follow your favorite band like a groupie
• Join a tour for singles, widowers, history buffs, or whatever takes your fancy
• Load up your backpack and buy a round the world ticket

There is no doubt that some of the items on our list involve a more significant financial outlay than others. Formulating the precise amount of money you will need in retirement involves a massive number of constantly changing variables.

The best way to plan for retirement for most of us is to work closely with a financial advisor in the decades leading up to retirement.

However, regardless of the figure in your bank account, we hope that we’ve sparked an interest in pursuing a few adventures in the months ahead.

Whether you want to try a new book genre or take a gin tasting class online, there is no better time to start than today.