What To Do With Your Retirement

After a long career, you’re ready to leave behind the grind of working from nine to five every day. However, you’re social and active, so you don’t want to just watch Netflix all day. Use these tips to pursue meaningful activities during your new free time.

Share Your Knowledge

You’ve accumulated a lot of knowledge during your career, and younger people want to learn from you. John Branca, a successful entertainment lawyer who usually represents clients in legal battles over music, recommends teaching young people about possible career paths based on their interests.

There are a wide variety of ways you can share your expertise with college and high school students, including the following:

  • Giving motivational speeches during school assemblies
  • Representing your field at a career fair
  • Blogging or vlogging about your experience
  • Writing a how-to book for your career

Regardless of how you choose to take Branca’s advice, by educating young people, you find fulfilling work for yourself and give them much-needed support.

Mentor Students in Your Community

Perhaps you don’t have Branca’s charisma or public speaking skills, but you still want to support younger people. If so, focus on guiding one student at a time by participating in a mentorship program at your local community center or high school. With these programs, you generally meet with a student weekly or monthly to talk about his or her plans, struggles, and strengths. You provide a stable and nurturing presence, and you get the privilege of watching a young person thrive based on your advice.

Offer Your Services for Free

If you have skills that people normally pay for and you are financially secure enough to retire, consider volunteering by offering your services for free. For example, if you are an immigration lawyer, you could represent one client a month pro bono. If you’re a doctor, help at local homeless shelters once a week. The following places are good contact points for finding volunteer opportunities like these:

  • Schools
  • Community centers
  • Homeless shelters
  • Churches

Reach out to a few of these organizations until you find a position that suits your budget, schedule, and personality.

Learn a New Skill

Maybe you’re tired of whatever skills you learned during your career, and you’re ready for a change. If so, consider learning a new skill or hobby. Attend classes at your local community college to get a certification or just to learn about something that interests you. Most schools offer free or reduced-price classes for senior citizens, so you don’t need to worry about student loans. Reach out to a friend who knows how to knit or sew and ask him or her to teach you. If you’ve led a sedentary life until now, join a gym and start taking exercise classes. Whatever you do, make sure to set goals for yourself and enjoy your progress.

Whether you’re a lawyer like John Branca or someone with a lower-profile career, retiring doesn’t mean that you stop participating in life. Instead, use this time to motivate younger people, serve your community, and better yourself.

Comments

What To Do With Your Retirement — 1 Comment

  1. I have found retirement to be the best time of my life! It’s not about doing nothing, but filling the calendar and days with things I enjoy and things I volunteer for. I have no intention of becoming like my aging mother, who spends her days in front of the tv. I’ve lost weight and gotten healthier, now that I’m not sitting at a desk all day.