Last week, we took up some of the activities that can feature in a retirement routine. Now, even though we have mentioned that periodicity on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual basis is what shapes a routine, most of the activities that we discussed so far were, generally speaking, of daily nature. The curious thing about daily activities is that we tend to like and enjoy them, or we don’t like or enjoy them or may be indifferent to them. Whatever our opinion about them, however, daily activities tend to be important and/or outrightly necessary. This means we need to ensure that our daily activities are focused and ultimately aimed at making it possible for us to achieve our long-term mission and purpose.
But certain important retirement activities would likely be less frequent than daily. These include activities that we may need or want to engage in on a weekly, monthly or annual basis. For the retiree, it is important to bring out what some of these might be and include them as may be required or appropriate. Depending on each of us and what we want or need to do, some of such activities could be:
Volunteer: I argue that most retirees, who have done reasonably well in life, have seen what works in life and what doesn’t. Such retirees are in themselves a compendium of knowledge and wisdom, and can authoritatively talk about certain issues in life well and right. Based on this, I suggest that retirees should continue to add value to society not just by continuing to work as some may choose, but by seeking out ways they could share their knowledge and experiences with others. Volunteering to be a school teacher, a community leader, a mentor to some youth, etc. could be veritable ways to continue to add value to the lives of others and engendering goodwill amongst individuals and communities that we particularly need in this time of our national life. In return, the retiree benefits from the mental and physical benefits that come with the self-application required in providing these services.
Teach! Personal development, which we mentioned last week, revolves around all spheres of our lives such as our intellectual capacities, emotional dispositions and physical fitness. Specifically, we mentioned the need to take reading seriously and, for those interested, to take up formal educational programs at some certificate and graduate and postgraduate levels.
Another way we always can develop ourselves is by teaching others something we are knowledgeable about, interested in or skilled at that may be required by some individuals or in our community. The scope of what we can teach is vast. We can teach ordinary-level mathematics to the teenagers in our neighbourhood, or coding to the undergraduate students in a nearby university or plumbing to young artisans in our town. Quite honestly, regardless of how well we have done pre-retirement, we can continue to add value to the lives of others after we retire from our vast knowledge and experiences.
‘Club meetings’: For some, a periodic meeting with extended family members, life-long friends, former colleagues at work, or new friends at a social club could be an activity that socially engages them, gets them updated about some news that they have missed, etc. As mentioned earlier, these socialisations are important for our mental health and we should enjoy and take them seriously. While daily activities have to be daily, non-daily activities should only be as frequent as makes them valuable and interesting. This means if a weekly meeting at the club will not be valuable or interesting, then it is better to make it monthly if that will make it interesting and of value. Similarly, in socialising with family or friends, we should avoid unhealthy actions and behaviours such as binge drinking, disrespecting others, etc.
Travels out of town: Many people have travelled widely in the course of their careers while some have not. Regardless of the extent of your travels pre-retirement, you may or may not be interested in travelling some more. If you are not interested, keep it aside. If you are, make plans to engage in the travels that may interest and be beneficial to you. These could be local travels within the country or international travels out of it. Whatever, the type and extent of the travels you want to engage in, make sure you plan for it taking into consideration the time and costs that travels can and do take. It is important that your finances cover the costs of your travels without jeopardising other aspects of your life. Similarly, you should not be a burden on others. Another thing is to ensure that as we plan any travels, locally or internationally, we should be alert to our personal security and avoid what may expose us to unnecessary travel risks.
There should be limits: Whilst our routine should have activities we need to do to remain healthy, productive, socially engaged, and on top of our finances, there are activities that we should consciously limit our indulgence in. These may include how much time we spend watching television. Whilst there are enlightening and educative programmes that we can watch, there are many more that might be sheer waste of time and not good for our emotions. Similarly, we should limit the time we spend browsing the internet except for what might be educating and sensibly entertaining.
Having a routine is important in keeping us healthy, productive, rested, socially engaged and disciplined. Routine keeps us focused on our mission and purpose and makes us efficient and effective. These are all particularly required when we retire and age further. This brings us to the end of this discussion. Next week, we will take up some of the activities we can take up when we retire.
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