Tips for Retirement - Dress for the Day

No, I don't have all of the answers.  Your retirement will be different from mine.  This is largely based on what you did before retirement, what sort of pension you're getting, and your temperament.

If you really enjoyed your job then perhaps you'd be interested in teaching your skills to others.  Here in PEI, there is a thriving Seniors College and also Community School.  These teach all sorts of skills from using the computer to learning to play an instrument to learning how to knit or hook a rug.

If your pension is like mine, you probably won't be stirring from the house very far.  I'm okay - I'm not going starve or be unable to pay my bills (with the possible exception of those cretins at Maritime Electric.)  I won't be taking any overseas trips until Old Age Pension kicks in, in a few years.  Day trips are fine though, because I don't spend nearly the same amount of money on gasoline.  PEI isn't big, but after 30+ years there are still lots of places I haven't been.

Your temperament and personality will determine a lot.  If you're an introvert, mixing with the masses probably won't be for you - all the time.  The occasional hubbub of the crowd is good from time to time.  It'll give you your "fix" for people, possible remind you why you don't mix that often and gives a nice guilt free opportunity to putter around the house for a few days, perhaps reading or indulging in your favourite solitary hobby.  For me, especially this summer with the high temperatures, that means reading.

Here is my first tip for retirement:

Dress for the Day

In the morning, get dressed!

I have depression issues and often it's difficult to get out of bed and actually do anything.  At first I loved getting up and lounging all day in my pyjamas.  This, despite the daily cleaning, grocery wrangling, and the list of chores.  I soon discovered I was getting nothing done and the anxiety and guilt started to mount, the horrible loop I slip into when I'm feeling depressed.

I have discovered that dressing as though I had something to do, whether or not I thought I did, helped me feel set for whatever the day had in store for me.  Instead of watching garbage pile up I felt prepared to bundle it up and get it out.  Once I got started it was nothing to get on with the next chore or visit to the supermarket.  It's an easy way to get the day rolling and once the ball starts you'll find there are lots of little things you can do that give you a sense of accomplishment.

Another benefit is that once you are dressed, if something unplanned comes up, you can jump to it before deciding it would just be too much effort to even get dressed.

None of it has to be world shaking either.  If you spend half an hour a day cleaning, that's three and a half hours a week more than when you were watching the dust-woofies floating across the room.  Use the same approach for the garden and all the yard work which I love.  At the end of the day, an hour a day in the yard means seven hours a week!  Just a bit each day adds up quickly, gives you a great burst of gratification and you will learn that broken into smaller tolerable, almost any task can be accomplished.

I'll have a more observations in the days to come