What kinds of things have you found to do that are fulfilling since you retired?

Bobw235 said:
I just sent in an application to volunteer at a local hospice. I'm also spending lots of time on my yard. As an example, we have lots of Daylilies in the planting beds. I've learned how to care for them so that they should flower all summer. But, there's much to be pruned, weeding to be done, trees to be trimmed, etc. I'm also spending time learning how to use new photo software. I hate sitting in front of the TV for long periods. Much rather be active. I went to the library and got three books, something I've not done in ages. I love to read, but over the last several years I never had time. Now I have the time.
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I see you make good use of your time Bob.
 

Retirment Love it

Shalimar said:
I love to garden, balcony for three of the four seasons, indoor plants, including trees. Writing poetry, volunteering with refugees, processing food with my dehydrator. Learning new things via the Internet.
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I love being retired an wish I hadn't had to work for so long. Not sure why you were forced to retired, health reasons ect. I love going to the gym an do so about 4 times a week. I've always worked out so it's ingrained in me. I have a huge yard an lots of flower beds to take care of. Living in North Fl it is so hot durning the day but around 5 ish I'm able to get out there an work. I have a granddaughter so I visit her every Wed ,seems like I'm always on the go. When I'm not I just relax an enjoy some free time. Hope that helps you out. Happytime
 

I took early retirement a few years ago and love it, I paint, do a little voluntary work for the local heritage, meet friends, walk, read and just enjoy the freedom retirement brings
 
I love retirement. I stopped working at age 55 (9 years ago) because my husband had retired and wanted to volunteer in Africa. So we went for 2 years while he trained teachers at a college.

My husband does the gardening, I got more serious about photography, we do outdoor activities like canoeing, walking, and riding bikes. We like to go on very long bike rides in our very hilly area since we got electric bikes over a year ago. And we travel on long trips. I like to read, binge watch series on Netflix, etc and of course spend time online.
 
I have walked dogs at the pound, I was a Friend of the library for years and I briefly volunteered at a local private school to help elementary aged students take tests on their new computer system. Mostly, these were during times when I wan't working.

Since I am employed full time, I'm too tired now for volunteering after work and keeping house, but if I can ever retire, I will go back to the library. I think you would like that atmosphere, too.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I forgot about this thread. Good thing I started taking the Ginkgo Biloba, the memory is going...:)
 
When we lived in Arizona we traveled quite a bit with our small travel trailer. We belonged to an community based RV club. Although we had tha smallest rig in the club we went on the same caravans as the folks with the huge rigs. On one trip we drove down the Baja and others up to Canada and other western destinations.
For our 50th anniversary we cruised to Alaska. As we got older we decided to return to Florida and have since retired from camping.

I gave away my lawn mower in 1987 and haven't missed it yet, condos are the way to go. We are 82 & 81.
 
since i retired we got back in to our photography very heavily . both of us love photography .

i also got back in to playing drums again after 37 years .. i spend 2 hours a day practicing if we are home . just been a few months since i picked up the sticks for the first time

here i am today just playing along with some average white band music . i put up two little video's. that way i evaluate whatever i do .

https://mm-photography.smugmug.com/FAMILY/Drumming-4/n-qnb7gj/
 
When we lived in England we never explored the area very much, so when we retired and moved back north, we decided that we should travel round in our camper and see as much as we could. Hasn't quite worked out like that - we bought an old house that needed a lot of TLC and we also made friends with two ladies who had quit the 'rat race' and started a market garden.

Our time is shared between travel, gardening, maintaining the house and raising rare breed pigs for pork - and as a treat, the occasional trip to the theatre.
 
Of primary importance is to remember that retiring is not simply not going to work. When a major portion of your social interaction is "on the job" a new source must be found. One way of doing that is by either moving to a community with a high percentage of fellow retirees or look into you city, county, etc. retirement services.

Besides the social interaction the question of "what do I do?" is important - again, replacing all the "doing" of on the job. I tried golf (almost a cliche). I never enjoyed the game itself that much but I very much enjoyed the social interaction. Eventually I replaced the social side and gave golf up as a "dumb idea". Well, think about it - you hit the ball, it goes off into the woods, you look and look and finally find it. And what do you do - you hit it again.

I accidently stumbled into stuff I had never done and they became major parts of my day-to-day life. One was pickin' and grinnin' and the other was theater. Check your community theater, local senior center, and library bulletin boards for things of that manner.

The main thing is - don't sit around the house waiting for good stuff to come to you, go out there and find it.
 
I'm not sure this helps, Ruthanne, since you're already fully retired, but I'm just a few months into semi-retirement (I freelance on whatever schedule I'd like with an online company). What I'm finding the most meaningful so far are small moments of wonder that having my own schedule (or no schedule) allows. Things like slow mornings to enjoy birds singing, lots of reading time with coffee, and the angle of the sun. On walks now I feel like I notice more of what's there along the way rather than it being simply exercise to fit into a crowded schedule.

I'm looking at volunteer opportunities in my community, and have called a few places to ask questions and talk to people to see what might fit. I haven't found the right thing yet, but I'm confident that it will be there. I think about how do I want to invest in my desire to learn new things and invest in my wellbeing? I know for certain it needs to involve other people.

In some areas I've read there are volunteer clearinghouses to help match skills, desired areas, and availability with opportunities. Perhaps this type of service is available near you and could help you sort out what might feel meaningful. I'd be interested to know over time what you try out and what you find meaningful in your search. Good luck, Ruthanne in your quest.
 
My #1 project in retirement is to have control of my own time.

Therefore, I have eliminated things that interfere with controlling my time - pets, people I don't really care to see anymore, volunteer jobs that require a commitment to precise days and duration, any part-time work (YUK!), projects around the house that must be completed or things don't work, etc.

It's amazing the interesting and good things one can accomplish when you eliminate the things that demand your time but give little, if any satisfaction.
 
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I enjoyed remodeling my house after I retired, when I first retired I thought I wanted to work at something part time, but that passed....its wonderful just to have the choice of doing whatever you want at your own pace.
 
Ruthanne, I once read a good way for finding out what you like to do. You make a list of a lot of things you have done in your life that you really enjoyed and were meaningful to you. You make another list of things you did that didn't fit you, or that you hated. Then you look over each list to find some communalities within that list. What do the majority of activities in that list have in common? Is it doing things with people, or doing things by yourself? Is it intellectual or physical? Is it oriented toward artistic things or maybe more scientific/technical? Etc. This gives you an idea of what you might enjoy, and what kinds of activities you should stay away from. Good luck!
 
Susie said:
I love retirement!
Doing absolutely "Nothing" suits me!
21 yrs. of "being free" has been a joy!
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Whenever I get a bit tired of being around the house I do two things:

1. Plan a trip somewhere - even if I'm not sure I can go . Usually I will go if it's planned. If I don't plan, I don't go, that's for sure.

2. Remember all those mornings in the car when I arrived at work and said to myself "Brook, baby, you can get through one more day. Buckle down and just ignore the goofy stuff."
 


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