Ten tips for Enjoying Retirement with Good Health

Planning for a healthy retirement isn’t a one time activity, but more of a continuous work in progress.

It makes sense to take a bit of time to consider some steps for a healthy retirement. We can use the World Health Organisation definition of good health as a starting point for our plan. Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Do your plans depend on a minimum combination of physical, mental and social wellbeing? Have you stopped to consider what that might be? Can you leverage your plans to provide purpose to your efforts to maintain good complete health? What steps can you take in the short, medium and long term to give yourself the best chance of realising this? Do what you enjoy today, with a view to retirement ahead.

For example – let’s consider WHO we are eating our meals with as well as WHAT we are eating. In our busy lives, rushing around, we can forget the really important things. Has work taken over? Have we committed to do too many things for too many people? Now is a great time to reflect on what we are doing and where we are doing it? What is good – let’s continue or increase this. What is not so good – now let’s try and push these activities into the background and focus on the important and good things

Top Ten Tips

1. The obvious – get plenty of physical activity. If you have a sedentary job, make time to get some exercise. Go for a walk at lunchtime. Get up and walk up and down the stairs to take a break. Join a club to allocate time each week for exercise – archery, yoga, running, cycling. Make this something you enjoy and you will stick with it.
2. Make an extra effort to spend time with family and friends. In the winter, switch the TV off – break the habit. Listen to some music. Read a book. It’s really odd, but if I switch the TV off and sit with a book, the lounge fills up with family who want to chat about something! Make good use of this time and sit with the family, in front of the fire, and play some board games or card games or do some craft activities, repair some clothes or just take some time to think.
3. Learn new skills. Do you plan to travel abroad during your retirement and will it be useful to learn another language? Will it be important to have a good understanding of first aid? An up to date knowledge of rules, regulations, visa requirements associated with long term travel plans? Take part in activities which will help you develop these new skills – it may be possible to acquire them through volunteering.
4. Enrol on a course. Sign up for yacht navigation, first aid, beginners French, Landscape painting. Use this opportunity to make friends with people that have similar interests to yourself.
5. Visit your local library. Use this to research about your local area. What are the local development plans? How will they impact on you? Take some time to voice your opinion on how you local government/parish council etc is spending money? Do you want another play park or improvements to the village hall.
6. Get involved in volunteering. Help out with a local organisation that is important to you. A food back, driving elderly people to hospital appointments, a youth organisation or club. This will build your social wellbeing and provide a sense of purpose. It may help to reprioritise what you are spending your time doing.
7. Take time to connect with family. How can you help an elderly relative? Drop by with a cake or a newspaper. How can you help a younger relative? Help with preparing for a driving theory test.
8. Plan a vacation or a day out. Where do you want to go and who would you invite along?
9. Get organised. Clear out some clutter. Revisit the important things in your life. Create a photo album. Where have you been that you enjoyed? Do you want to go there again? Put a date in your calendar. Get into good healthy habits.
10. Switch off your device and get out of that chair – right now! Make the most of your life today and prepare for retirement. It will be time well spent!