How To Make A Smooth Transition From Working To Retirement

retirement (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

The climb towards the top of the corporate ladder was long and winding. You have spent many years of your life working and gaining the respect of the people you work with. You have enjoyed the challenges and the rigors of your work and you have come to define your life in terms of the work that you do. Before you know it, time has flown too quickly and you are now on the cusp of starting your retirement years.

While there are many who welcome and embrace a more relaxed way of living, there are some who might feel apprehensive about starting retirement. If you are one of those who are anxious about leaving their finance jobs and other careers behind to begin another chapter in your life, there are several ways in which you can make a smooth transition from being a busy workhorse to a becoming a relaxed yet productive retired person.

Why do you need to make a smooth transition?

The question that many men and women have in their heads when they begin retirement is "Who am I now?" For the past years they have built their lives around their work, they have done the same routine, and they have built their sense of accomplishment around the feats that they have achieved in their jobs. Men and women who enter the stage of retirement should be careful about the possibility of going into depression.

Retired persons who suddenly find themselves with so much free time in their hands sometimes begin to question their purpose in life. While there are those who strive in a slower, more relaxed pace of living, you may find it quite challenging to deal with this change. You may find that you and your wife or your husband now have too much time together and you begin to irritate each other. You may begin to feel empty and powerless because of your new situation.

How do you deal with the negative aspects of entering retirement?

Slowing down from work does not mean that you have to become idle. The key is to keep on moving and to keep yourself busy with new hobbies. Have you always enjoyed cooking and baking but you never had the time to do it before because of your job? Now is the time to pick up that spatula and start whipping out a delicious dessert for the family. Have you always wanted to get into sports like running or cycling? It is never too late to pick up a new hobby or sport. There are many adult men and women out there who start living a healthier lifestyle when they reached retirement and it has done wonders for their health.

You may now realize that you have way too much time in your hands. You are not used to living without a certain structure and the change can be quite overwhelming. Now is the time for you to reach out to old friends and colleagues who you have probably ignored for the past few years because of your busy work schedule. Plan a trip with your old high school buddies. It could be a weekend of fishing down in the lake or it could be a cross-country adventure. Reconnecting with old friends is a great way for you to feel rejuvenated and to give you a renewed zest for life.

You may also want to start volunteering and becoming more active in your church or local communities. Many people who enter retirement start to have that urge to want to give something back. The best way for you to find a new sense of purpose in your life is to engage in community building activities. This is a great way for you to feel productive again, to meet new people and to be in the company of the young ones.

Yes, it is true that retiring from work can come with a lot of challenges. Embrace the journey and revel in everything positive that this new chapter in your life brings you.

Author Bio
Joshua Turner is a writer who creates informative articles in relation to business. In this article, he describes the transition from employment to retirement and aims to encourage further study with a business administration bachelor degree.