People love to imagine retirement as this magical stage of life when they’ll finally do all the things they’ve been putting off. But here’s a reality check. The truth is, most of those plans work out better when you don’t wait & we spoke to some retirees about this. Here are thirteen things they recommend doing before retirement. Which one’s been sitting on your list way too long?
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Learn a musical instrument
Don’t save the guitar for your golden years, as your fingers are more flexible now & your patience for clumsy scales might be higher. Learning an instrument has a steep curve that you may want to tackle before you retire. Sure, it’s good for your brain in retirement, yet that’s not a good enough reason to wait.
Start learning a new language
That’s not all for learning. Languages take forever to learn, whether it’s Spanish or Mandarin, and you’ll need hundreds of hours to reach decent fluency. As such, you shouldn’t wait until 65 to start learning. Beginning your language journey earlier will set you up for greater success when you retire.
Train for a half-marathon or long-distance hike
Our joints don’t exactly thank us later in life. That’s why you should try doing races or multi-day hikes now, as the sooner you build up mileage, the easier it is to keep that endurance later. Waiting around will force you to deal with sore knees & sore lungs at the same time.
Downsize your belongings gradually
So many people underestimate just how much stuff they have piled up, meaning that a home garage clean-out turns into a six-month marathon. However, doing it early allows you to donate or sell things at a slower pace. You don’t have to feel like you’re on a time crunch.
Write down your family history
Unsurprisingly, every family has a few stories. But some of these live only in one person’s head. Wait too long & those stories are gone, so grab a recorder and start recording everything you can remember. It doesn’t matter if you can only write down a few bullet points now because you’ll thank yourself when retirement rolls around. The stories are already saved.
Get routine eye surgeries if needed
Cataracts don’t exactly care about your retirement date & surgeries take a long time to recover from. Do you really want to start your first year of retirement with blurry vision? Didn’t think so. Instead, you should try handling it sooner, especially if you know it’s coming, so your view is clearer later. Literally.
Reconnect with old friends
Friendships take effort & you can’t call someone after 20 years, expecting it to feel the same. Retirement is a lot more fun with friends you’ve already reconnected with. So why wait to track them down? Try having a coffee catch-up today so that you’ll have a standing dinner group by the time you have…well, all of that free time.
Start a balance & fall-prevention class
Most people think lifting weights is enough. But balance is its own thing, and it’s something you can improve through Tai Chi classes & Otago routines. Even doing basic drills will make a difference, the only catch being that the earlier you start, the more natural the moves feel later. You don’t want to play catch-up when you’re already nervous about falling.
Get your routine adult vaccines on the books
Shots are hardly something you get once and forget about. Nope, shingles protection comes in two rounds spaced months apart, while pneumonia guidelines now have different tracks depending on what you’ve had before. That’s why you should start now. This way, you won’t be stuck squeezing in appointments right when you’d rather be planning trips or projects.
Strengthen your marriage or partnership outside of work
As soon as your nine-to-five disappears, you’ll be around your partner nonstop. Some couples thrive in this environment…others realize they’re not as similar as they thought. To avoid this, try doing small things now, like taking weekend trips or going to classes together. This will show you what clicks & it’s better to find out before you’re with each other all the time.
Line up your “second act” work sooner
A consulting gig or part-time teaching role won’t magically appear the day you retire, mostly because your network will disappear when you get older. Industries also move on. Instead, try laying the groundwork while you’re still in the mix by calling contacts & refreshing skills. This gives you momentum and helps you avoid the pain of waiting too long.
Practice living on a retirement budget
Honestly, looking at numbers on a spreadsheet isn’t the same as living it, so you should try reducing your monthly spending now. This will help you match what you expect later. Soon enough, you’ll recognize which habits are easy to cut & which feel impossible, giving you more room to adjust.
Learn how to manage boredom
Work hides boredom because it eats up most of your week, meaning that once it’s gone, the hours stretch. Not everyone enjoys that blank space. As such, it helps to test it out by taking a long weekend & turning off the usual distractions to see how you fill the time. Just think of it as practice for the real thing.
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