Anyone who’s worked for many years in a professional career will more than likely find retirement quite an adjustment. While you may be looking forward to enjoying lots more free time to pursue your passions, the change of pace can be quite an emotional process. This article explores how to transition from work into retirement.
Accepting the change of pace
The first few weeks or months of retirement can feel like an extended vacation. You may be elated to embrace your new lifestyle. But once the novelty wears off, you may find yourself feeling a little lost and aimless.
Without daily tasks and consistent workloads, many retirees are left feeling bored. Some new retirees even experience periods of depression and anxiety.
If you’re on the road to retirement, here are some of the things you should consider that may make the retirement transition easier.
Invest in personal relationships
Retirement can be very isolating. Many people in professional careers don’t realise the amount of socialising they do on a daily basis – chatting to a colleague in the corridor or over a quick cup of coffee may not seem like a big interaction, but once you stop going in to the office, you realise how even these small daily interactions helped to fill a social gap.
Once you retire, you should look out for opportunities to socialise and meet new people.
Take up a new sport
Participating in a sport is an easy way to regularly meet up with likeminded individuals. Popular retirement sports include golfing, walking, birding and bowling. All of these sports offer lots of opportunities to talk and connect while participating. Other more active sports like cycling and swimming are also gaining popularity amongst retirees.
Some of the best sporting options to consider involve something you’re passionate about. If you’ve always loved cars, consider looking into motorsport. If you’ve always wanted to dance, this could be the perfect opportunity to try tap dancing, jazz or even hip hop.
Follow your passions
It goes without saying that the transition into retirement is the perfect time to follow your passions. Perhaps you’ve always admired great photography – now is the time to invest in a camera and start taking photographs.
If you’ve always loved the bush, consider becoming a volunteer ranger, or taking some guiding courses just to gain more knowledge about South Africa’s wildlife.
If you’re passionate about cooking, get out the recipe books, sign up for cooking classes, or simply experiment away in the kitchen.
Set goals
One of the big reasons you may feel aimless in retirement is the lack of any sort of goals. In our careers we generally have both long- and short-term goals to work towards, but once retired we sometimes feel like we’re drifting. Set yourself personal goals and develop a rough timeline of when you’d like to achieve them by.
You may want to challenge yourself to learn something – take a course or study towards a degree.
You may want to plan a big holiday once a year. Perhaps you want to explore a new country, go on a road trip, or enjoy a cultural experience. Decide on a holiday and then dedicate time to planning and researching the trip.
Retirement could be the perfect opportunity to write a book, a goal many people hope to achieve in their lifetime.
Find purpose
Another reason many people feel lost after retirement is a lack of a sense of purpose. Spend some time thinking about purpose.
Do you want to be an influential figure in your grandchildren’s lives? How can you give your time to develop deep relationships with them and pass on your knowledge and love?
Could you help to improve the state of the country? Could you find a volunteering opportunity that helps you give back to the community?
Knysna Lifestyle Estate – an opportunity to comfortably transition into a new way of life.
A secure estate like Knysna Lifestyle Estate offers retirees an opportunity to embrace a new lifestyle. Sporting facilities like the swimming pool, gym and tennis court make it easy to start participating in a new sport that interests you. The estate even offers spinning and stretch and tone classes.
Knysna and the Garden Route are home to some of the most beautiful golf courses on the planet, and the Knysna Lifestyle Estate makes a great hub for exploring these courses.
Many of our residents get together in social clubs including a gardening club, who help to cultivate indigenous flowers and trees in the estate. Our birding club spend time together spotting many species of birds.
The Estate also boasts a bar and library where residents and their guests can gather to chat and socialise.
Enjoy your well-earned transition from work into retirement at the Knysna Lifestyle Estate. Contact us to find out about available stands or fully built homes for sale.