"Time" Planning for Retirement? 4 Dynamic Ways to Spend Your Retirement Time

I touch on your planning for retirement, not on your financial planning but on your "time" planning, in other words, how do you want to spend all those free time you've when you retire.

How well you structure to spend your free time needs careful planning so you can meaningfully occupy yourself. It isn't hard to do at all.

Just devote some time to really sit down to do some careful planning.

After all, it's your time and it's up to you how you want to spend it.

How hard can it be?

Many retirees, after the initial euphoric high of all those free time avail to them, would after a while, suddenly realize that they feel bored and listless because they don't have enough to do to occupy themselves.

Don't fall into this trap, start to think about how you want to spend your time.

1. Decide What Activities You Want To Build Your Retirement Around

Is it going back to study to acquire new knowledge? Or for the sheer joy of learning?

You could pursue a degree in an area you're passionate about or have interest, or take classes at the local community college on a topic you want to know about.

Or you could venture into the library and make a list of books you’ve always wanted to read.

or you want to volunteer yourself by offering your life experience and skills/talents to help others.

Perhaps you want to fulfill your heart's (burning) desire - to start a business (online/offline); to adopt a pet (dog, cat, bird...); to grow a few worthwhile and interesting hobbies (singing, dancing, drawing, gardening, cooking...)

When you've figured out how and what to replace your usual work schedule, it's already a winning step to get the most out of your precious time in retirement.

2. Time For Travel

Travel is a very invigorating way of spending your time. You could plan to travel, say for 3 months out of the year.

Make it a point to travel overseas, so you can experience the different cultures, lifestyle and living standards of people there. You can then compare and contrast home and foreign lands and appreciate the good things in both.

3. Work Or Not Work?

An AARP (American Association of Retired People) survey reveals that retirees are changing the meaning of retirement by not leaving their jobs at the typical age. 69% of those surveyed said they wanted to work into their retirement years.

You don't have to work full time and work as hard and aggressive as you were in your full-time career.

Go for flexi-hour type of work - one-off assignment consulting job; temp work; or you could still work at your current job but just on more relaxed terms like partial week (Monday - Wednesday), shorter work hour (9am - 2pm) and more time offs...

A job will liberate your mind and soul to the task at hand; at the same time, you're also earning a respectable income, which could mean a lot to you as it adds more spending power, so you could enjoy things you might otherwise have to forgo. It also augment your retirement savings. More savings means you could perhaps invest more in bonds and stocks.

4. Health and Fitness Program

When you're busy working a full-time day job, you've the excuse you haven't got time to live a healthy lifestyle - exercise and eat a healthy diet. In retirement, you've time to properly design an exercise and fitness program, to keep your body in good health. No more excuse(s).

Exercise and a healthy diet is the tried and true combo to go. So go for it.

To get the ball rolling, you can join a gym; hire a personal trainer or do a home program on your own.

Keep to a regular and consistent exercise routine of 3-4 times per week, for at least 60 mins per session, with sessions on:

-Cardio exercise - at least 30 mins per session, working on your heart and lungs, to keep them in strong and fit condition. It's also good for you if you want to lose weight because it kickstarts your metabolism higher, so you burn off the excess body fat

-Weight training on all major muscle groups - at least 20 mins per session, to boost muscle growth, to strengthen and firm up your muscle. Muscle burns off fat 3 times faster and raises your basal metabolic rate (i.e. the number of calories you burn while resting), to help you burn off more calories, to lose weight

-Stretching - for women, if you're already in peri-menopausal or menopausal stage, this exercise is particularly important because it promotes flexibility in your joints.

As you become more flexible, you reduce the chance of falls and injuries that might fracture your bones (which could become increasingly brittle due to effects of osteoporosis).

Gently stretch muscles and tendons (that control joint movements) for 10 - 15 mins, 3-4 times per week, to increase and maintain flexibility

-Eat a well-balanced, healthy, nutritious diet that has all the essential nutrients like vitamins & minerals, protein, carbohydrates (complex), good fats and fiber.

If you want to lose weight, it's an all-out for you to clamp down hard on your fat intake. "Boycott" all saturated and trans fat and welcome unsaturated fat

As you get older, fat is your biggest enemy because it increases your risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Due to her strong yearning to retire early in life, Cecelia Yap has been researching on the subject of retirement. She has found the most "viral" way to grow her retirement nest egg and you too can do what she does, at My Passion.