After you retire, what will you do with all of your new-found time?
Are you concerned that you’ll be bored?
I’m always bewildered when I hear people say that they think retirement will be boring. I’ve heard many people say they don’t want to retire and they would rather keep working, because they have no idea what they would do with all that leisure time.
This is totally foreign to me. I never seem to find enough time to do everything I want to do.
In my Retirement Visualization Guide, I ask you to list things you really enjoy doing, things you have enjoyed doing in the past, and new things you want to try. If you have undertaken this exercise, chances are that there are more things you just haven’t thought of – yet.
The list below will stimulate you to come up with some more possibilities for activities you might pursue after you retire. It is by no means a complete list, but it should provide some good starting points for brainstorming and possibility thinking.
I firmly believe that in order to be truly happy and healthy in retirement, your life should contain a mix of activities that provide physical activity, mental simulation, socialization, and fulfillment.
That fulfillment may come from realizing lifelong dreams, satisfying your sense of purpose, or helping others. Or maybe they just make you happy in the moment! There are plenty of items on this list that will cover all of these categories.
This list can help you visualize everything that your retirement can be, and convince you to look forward to your retirement more positively, which should motivate you to plan and save more. If you’re already retired, this should re-energize you.
But there’s another reason to consider a list like this.
One of the most important decisions to make concerning your retirement is where you would most like to live.
The internet and magazine articles are full of lists of ideal retirement locations. Amazingly, they are all different! I discuss this more here, but one of the most important considerations to take into account when you think about the places that are best suited for you to live is whether a locale offers the amenities that are most important to you.
If you’re an avid golfer, does a given area offer good golf courses and a climate that will allow you to play for most of the year?
If you enjoy attending concerts, are the performers that you enjoy likely to stop in your city when they’re on tour? Are there local performers who can deliver concerts that you’ll want to attend?
Read 50 Things You Can Do During the Pandemic to learn more.
Here are 100 potential things you can do after you retire:
- Take art classes
- Join a community band or chorus
- Learn a new instrument, or rediscover an instrument you used to play
- Visit art museums
- Attend theatre
- Participate in community theatre
- Play golf
- Play tennis
- Go for long walks
- Ride your bicycle
- Attend concerts
- Play card games
- Play board games
- Volunteer as an usher
- Volunteer as a museum docent
- Become a tour guide
- Sew or knit clothing
- Write a memoir or autobiography
- Take up photography
- Learn a new language
- Organize tours for seniors
- Volunteer for Meals on Wheels
- Volunteer for a non-profit agency
- Create crafts
- Go to flea markets
- Operate a flea market booth
- Join a book club – or start one
- Join an investment club – or start one
- Go to movies
- Host movie nights
- Write a novel
- Take adult education classes
- Host wine tasting parties
- Take aerobics classes
- Practice yoga
- Swim
- Volunteer for political campaigns
- Join a local service club (Lions, Kiwanis, etc.)
- Start a website or blog
- Visit local restaurants and review them
- Join a discussion group – or start one
- Volunteer to teach English as a second language
- Research and document your family tree
- Research and document the history of your town
- Take cooking classes
- Visit or write to your friends on a regular basis
- Invent a new game
- Write poetry
- Attend poetry readings – or participate in them
- Restore old furniture
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This topic is explored in greater depth in my book Design Your Dream Retirement. This book will show you how to visualize your retirement in an optimistic, possibility-filled light, and provide you with the knowledge and tools to help you create a plan for achieving your retirement dreams. You will learn how to fill your life with a balance of activities and pursuits to keep you happy, healthy, and fulfilled.
- Redecorate your home
- Listen to everything in your music collection and create playlists
- Attend sporting events
- Compose music – or write funny lyrics to existing music
- Go fishing
- Get a pilot’s license
- Compile a collection of jokes or funny stories
- Record a CD
- Plant a garden
- Learn mixology
- Make your own beer or wine
- Compile a collection of your favorite quotes or bits of wisdom
- Work crossword puzzles
- Plan day trips to nearby places, and take photos and write about them
- Learn some magic tricks
- Create a performance (music, poetry, magic, ethnic dance, one-act plays, etc.) and perform at area nursing homes or anywhere else
- Invent things
- Start a new charity
- Start a business
- Be a pet sitter or a dog walker
- Go to concerts at local schools or colleges
- Take bird-watching trips (near or far)
- Watch art films
- Be a secret shopper
- Visit local tourist sites
- Start an internet radio station
- Join Toastmasters
- Create a comic strip
- Start a new club for some common interest
- Become a wedding officiant
- Take ballroom dancing lessons
- Go camping
- Learn how to sew, or how to sew new things
- Learn more about investing
- Learn, or get better at, woodworking
- Volunteer for a cause you’re interested in
- Mentor someone
- Play bingo
- Visit people who are confined to their homes, or who live in nursing homes
- Reconnect with a hobby from earlier in your life
- Learn calligraphy
- Update Wikipedia with things you know about
- Join a gym
- Take a pottery class
- Find something you can make that you can give to others or sell
- Become a wedding or party planner
- Write a play
- Volunteer at a food bank
- Serve on a board (HOA, non-profit, school board, church, etc.)
- Go to monster truck rallies
What things on this list appeal to you?
What things that you would like to do should I add to the list? Please share in the comments below!
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© 2014 Dave Hughes. All rights reserved.
Photo credits:
Couple playing golf: SalFalko. Some rights reserved.
Appointment book: Steve Buissinne
25 Responses
I worry about retiring because i dont have any friends or family.Going to work everyday is the only time i get to talk to anyone.But after i go home i am alone and isolated.The thought of not going to work terrifies me.
Hi Angie,
As you contemplate what you would like to do with your life after you retire, perhaps some of your options should include opportunities for you to be with other people, such as volunteering, joining a club (such as a book club or Toastmasters), taking classes, etc.
Your concern is a common one. Many people rely on their work colleagues for their daily human contact. Socialization just kind of happens automatically. After you retire, you’ll need to be more intentional about how socialization happens in your life.
Best wishes,
Dave
I totally understand. Not having a hobby to take your time is terrible. All I did was work, now I have no purpose.
Hi Nil,
A lot of people find themselves in this situation. I look at retirement (a.k.a. renaissance) as a time when you can re-define yourself and re-structure your life the way you want. It’s never too late.
Good luck!
Thanks for this posting. Found while contemplating weekend decision to retire or continue working. Already started my analysis list, even though the decision seemed very clear-cut. Current opportunity continues to afford opportunity to leverage the aspects of my career experiences that I enjoyed, without the negative components. While the retirement date may be pushed out another year, my analysis should help me get better positioned for the eventuality. Thanks again for the insights!
Hi Rick,
Thanks! I’m glad you found the article to be helpful. Best wishes for your upcoming retirement!
Dave
You have “play bingo” but not “play bridge”? I’d put bingo right up there with “watching paint dry” and bridge is the most amazing game there is.
Hi Mick,
There are certainly more than just these 100 things to do after you retire. I suppose “play bridge” falls under “play card games,” although I’m sure most bridge players would argue that bridge isn’t just any card game!
Bridge certainly provides a good source of mental stimulation.
Thanks for your comment!
Dave
thanks for the article is great list
Thanks, Sean!
Wonderful suggestions, but I have limited walking ability. I can drive most anywhere with hand controls, but standing and walking for extended periods of time is difficult. I have worked for the last 46 Year’s, and am ready for some relaxation, but I tend to be a couch potato. Would appreciate some thoughts,!
Hi Vicki,
Thanks for your comment. It’s true that some of the suggestions on this list would be prohibitive for someone with limited mobility, but others are definitely still do-able. And this list is by no means the only 100 things you could possibly do.
Ultimately, it comes down to how much you want to be a couch potato vs. how much you want to do other things – even things that can be done without much physical activity (such as writing). It’s a matter of balance.
If you could volunteer @ a library there are kids who need someone to read to them. You could teach adults to read. Look into recording audio books for guide books for the blind. Work as a greeter or in an information desk at a hospital. The ASPCA can always use people to work with dogs or cats in their shelters.
These are excellent suggestions! Thank you!
Elliptical and recumbent bike are what I used after having both knees replaced. Low impact, and the elliptical will give you a great workout if you get one with bars for the arms to give the skiing motion for upper body.
Thanks for the tip! Those recumbent bikes look interesting, and most people who ride them really like them. I’ve also seen bikes where the foot pedals are little platforms that simulate the motion of an elliptical machine or skis.
You have listened many great activities, but I’m not quite ready to choose one just yet, maybe soon, my husband is already retired, he really needs some thing to pass his time besides just going to a gym all the time!
Hi Vanda,
Hopefully, you and your husband will have many years of retirement ahead of you, so you can try various things as time goes by.
This is a very good list. One thing I would definitely add is: researching family history, organizing family photos, etc., planning and participating in family reunions. A recent retiree, now 64, I have become addicted to tracing family connections on ancestry.com. My research gives rise to great conversations with my parents, now 88 and 90 but still sharp. I know many retirees who share this interest.
Hi Nancy,
This is an excellent suggestion! Thank you!
One idea: Record some of those conversations with your parents – either by audio/video or transcribed. I’m sure those stories will be memorable for you and your family. My dad used many unusual, but true sayings that I wish I could remember.
l see a lot of things that I would love to do in retirement my problem is where do I start
Hi Debbie,
This is a good problem to have! The great thing is, any choice is a good choice.
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all the things I want to do, but I take heart in knowing that I don’t have to do them all this year. If I’m lucky, I have 20-30 years ahead of me.
Thanks,
Dave
I have copied this list of things to do. I believe in trying anything once, then I know rather I like it or not. I know I want to take classes, and have a garden where I can grow my own salad makings. A job has always gave me the feeling of being needed. I don’t know if I can completely retire away from work. I will be looking for work of a part time nature before I do.
Originally, I thought that when I retired, I would have nothing to do with anything that resembled work ever again!
As it turned out, I now have a successful business as a wedding officiant. That’s not quite the same thing as a part-time job, but it does bring in money, it puts things to do on the calendar, and I still feel like I’m doing something productive.
Thanks for your comment!