You are there, retired, and the clockwork of your days, weeks, and years is suddenly changed.  Time has taken on new meaning; new dimensions.  You visualize doing things that you did not have the time to do while working but something else has changed.  You.  The challenge in retirement is to overcome boredom but not to busy yourself just for the sake of keeping busy.  Unfortunately, a single recipe does not exist for every retiree.  Instead, a unique retirement plan can only be implemented by the one staring at the golden watch.

Nevertheless, realistic guidelines apply to all retirees.  First, you must consider what your profession has meant to you.  If your personality is amalgamated with what you did for the last thirty to fifty years, it may not be a good idea to sever the id from the “I did.”  Professionals will especially benefit from keeping ties with professional organizations, attending conventions, and maybe consulting.  Second, your mind must be stimulated.  Reading on a daily basis is a far better means of achieving mental acuteness over watching television several hours a day.  Finally, talk to your spouse about his or her interests and see if there may be common ground that could help both of you to bond and exercise healthy interdependence.

Finally, goals must be realistic without being fatalistic.  After all, you retired so that you could do something different or so that a new twist to your personality could be challenged.  For most of us, that means letting the creative side escape mundane routine.  But, we must consider our health, finances, relationships, and education in order to accomplish this mission.  It is truly a time to blend what we are with what we would like to be.