If you love interesting and beautiful places and are fascinated by the past, why not find out more about volunteering as a tour guide? There are historical and cultural gems all over the UK and organisations such as the National Trust are always on the look-out for enthusiastic room guides, conservation assistants and storytellers. #4 Work for wildlife They tested their goal by renting an RV and taking longer vacations while they were still working,” she says. After all, you’ve worked hard your whole life to secure a great retirement, and now you can finally enjoy the fruits of your labor. Your passions will lead you to clarity, which will lead you to your purpose, which will lead you to fulfillment, which will lead you to better life quality overall…

We invite you to comb through our 27 retirement activities to discover what truly ignites inspiration and excitement from inside you. During a person's working years, leisure often means relaxing and getting away from structure. But in retirement, it's more about engaging in activity and connecting with people. So we've identified a wide range of activities that can help keep you physically active, mentally stimulated, and engaged in opportunities for socialization and fulfillment. For people below a certain age, photography seems to be just about snapping stuff to put on social media. However, there’s a lot more to the true art of photography. Looking at life from behind a camera can help you see the world in a whole new light – and keeping an eye out for a great picture makes every trip out a bit of an adventure. Photography also gives you a way to use and develop the artistic side of your brain, which has to be a good thing. #22 Get on your bike Having a routine is crucial to enjoying your retirement. It’s something you can hold onto, and it creates structure in your daily life. Studies have shown that a structured life is one of the keys to happiness. Also, it limits wasting your days and creates momentum that will help you achieve goals. So take the time to personalize a routine that works for you. 3) Plan a retirement party If you’re looking for something exciting that’ll get both your brain and heart pumping, then starting up a terrific book club may be just what you need.And don’t worry if this sounds too daunting right now. Just start with one or two and slowly build momentum. Without the restrictions of full-time work, how do you envision spending your hours? In the Merrill Lynch survey of adults over age 50, 95 percent of respondents said they would rather focus on having more enjoyable experiences than on buying more stuff. And financial constraints had little impact on most retirees' ability to enjoy life. In fact, more than 88 percent of retirees across all income levels said they had increased flexibility and freedom to do the things they wanted to do.

Magic can be a way to inspire creativity in your own life. Even if you’ll never become a professional magician, the art of magic helps build self-confidence, and improves presentation abilities, and enhances motor performance . Summer camps are a novel way for older adults to enjoy their golden years. Campers get the chance to explore physical fitness, challenge themselves with new activities for retirees and make friends among like-minded people who share an active lifestyle. As a retiree, you no longer have to deal with work-related deadlines; you are free to have fun and do what you want, on your own terms. Plus, even though your income might be lower than it was when you were working full-time, you can take advantage of a huge array of senior discounts, and you may be free of certain financial burdens like a mortgage, student loans, and credit card debt. In fact, a Merrill Lynch survey revealed that people feel happier, more relaxed, and less anxious in retirement than at any other time in their adult lives. It’s never too late to try something new, especially if you have a deep appreciation and love for it. Why not learn an instrument?

But as we’ve seen in this article, there are plenty of ways you can achieve happiness in retirement. All it takes is some clarity, creativity, and the courage to act on your dreams (including stepping out of your comfort zone to find them). Read DO YOU CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESSES AFTER 60? IF NOT, IT’S TIME TO RECONSIDER! #11 Mentor or Teach Tip number one is to take a proactive approach to retirement. Act the age you feel, not the age the world might expect you to be. Make new experiences part of your retirement planning, and you’ll stay younger for longer.

So much of our lives is spent doing the things we have to do – going to school, learning a trade or skill, earning a living, raising children and caring for the elderly or infirm. We should be shouting from the rooftops when and if we reach retirement with a little money in the bank, healthy and free to choose the rest of our life. But, you may start planning for trips and hobbies in retirement, and then life happens – and you barely have any time left over for yourself. Which leads to feeling unaccomplished and spread thin. Navigate through retirement with ease, purpose, and meaning by balancing your life across five core categories: Though adjusting to retirement can be a bit of a challenge, post-career years offer unbounded opportunities for anyone creative enough to seize them. As you look ahead to retirement, your imagination should be your only limit. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of 27 activities for retirees that will boost your happiness in retirement.Schlossberg, N.K. (2017, April 17). Too Young to Be Old: Love, Learn, Work, and Play as You Age. Retrieved from https://www.nextavenue.org/retirement-paths-will-follow/ The Age UK Index of Wellbeing in Later Life concluded that engaging with the world around us through social, creative, physical or community activities can contribute more than 20% to our wellbeing in later life. What’s more, choosing the right goals and activities helps people of all ages to make more friends, provide structure and routine, and bring a sense of achievement. Here are 25 ideas to get you started as you begin the next fulfilling chapter of your life. #1 Declutter your home and free your mind

Speaking from personal experience, I can say that starting a business is one of the best ways to get the most from retirement. This probably sounds a bit counterintuitive. After all, isn’t the whole point of “retiring” to stop working? Not necessarily! Get a new hobby 15) Start your childhood hobby again 16) Go on a quest to find a new passion in life 17) Participate in your friends’ hobby 18) Do a new hobby every month or week 19) Start writing (journal, family history book, novel) 20) Start getting creative with arts & crafts: making jewelry, clothes, or painting. 21) Start collecting like stones, coins, post stamps, beach treasures, or other things. You’re retired or about to retire, so I assume your financial retirement plan is already arranged. After that, you need to organize a (monthly) budget for your retirement, because you need to know what your fixed spendings are so you know what you have left to spend on fun things in retirement. So make sure you make a budget plan before you start your fun plan. And you can make a budget plan with the free tool Mint that will make budgeting very easy. For all sorts of people, travel is one of the most commonly cited dreams for retirement. Major adventures that would have required too much time, money or risk during your career can be excellent goals for your retirement years. There’s no time to learn a new craft like retBut reading and writing poetry is also a form of therapy with many benefits, such as improved emotional well-being, cognitive function, and creative thinking. We all have a story to tell. So take a piece of paper and let the words flow out without any judgment or overthinking. Create a memory-lane scavenger hunt for each other to reexperience your favorite memories together.