Boredom: Is boredom a problem in retirement?
Those of you not yet retired may think that I’m crazy for mentioning boredom in retirement. You may look forward to sleeping late, doing what you want, and perhaps traveling. Those of you who are already retired are right here with me on the boredom issue. You’ve found out that there is more to retirement than sleeping late and being a free spirit.
When is boredom a problem in retirement? Often, in America, it is a result of spending most of your working life putting in long hours under a great deal of stress. It’s important to develop hobbies and leisure activities that you enjoy as you will rely on those pursuits when you’re no longer working. Unfortunately, twelve and sixteen hour days leave us tired and stressed and many of us don’t have the time or energy for much leisure or any hobbies. Once the novelty of retirement wears off, we have all those hours in the day to fill.
So what is a retired person to do? At 65 or 70 years old, we may not have the curiosity we once did and we probably don’t have the attention span we did when younger. If you don’t allow yourself to be curious about things you aren’t familiar with, it’s going to be a long retirement. That leads to attention span. You can lengthen your attention span through curiosity.
But now, let’s be realistic. If you have worked all your life, you may feel out of sorts and useless, at least when you first retire. You may be lonely for your co-workers and friends who were related to your job. Your social activities may plunge. You may literally not know what to do with yourself. These things are why you should make a plan before you retire. A plan will help you avoid boredom.
It seems that travel is at the top of everyone’s wish list when they retire. Stay tuned! Travel and associated topics are coming right up and you may be surprised!
The Write Scribe 