HealthyLife Articles

Tag: hobbies

  • Four Ingredients For A Happy Retirement

    Mature Health: Over Age 50

    Image of retired man gardening.

    Retirement involves major changes in your income, lifestyle, social life, and self-image. Not surprisingly, retirement can be very stressful-or blissful. Advance planning is a key ingredient for a happy retirement. A survey conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan found that 75 percent of those who had planned for retirement enjoyed it. Here are some specific ways you can make retirement less stressful and more satisfying.

    Get a part-time job.

    For some people, gradual retirement is easier to handle than being employed one day and unemployed the next. To smooth the transition, you may want to either work part-time at your present job for a few months or get a part-time job at another firm when you leave.

    Practice living on a retirement budget before you retire.

    And start saving for retirement as far ahead of time as possible. Don’t expect Social Security to cover all your expenses.

    Take care of yourself while you’re young.

    You can help to preserve your health by eating a low-fat diet, not smoking, drinking moderately (if at all), learning to manage stress, getting regular checkups, and being physically active.

    Cultivate hobbies and other outside interests.

    Fitness activities, community work, or academic studies can fill the void left by not having to report to work every day. To prevent boredom, consider a variety of activities-indoor and outdoor, mental and physical, group and individually oriented. And start thinking about projects you’d like to work on well before retirement, so you don’t stall out when the time comes.

    A Year of Health Hints book by the American Institute for Preventive Medicine. www.HealthyLife.com. All rights reserved.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Address Boredom

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 6

    Man changing channels and feeling bored at home.

    Being bored means being tired of doing the same thing over and over again. It may also mean having nothing to do or nothing that seems interesting to do. Write these ideas on sticky notes. Post reminders in places you often get bored.

    *  Shake up your daily routines! If you normally make dinner immediately after work, go for a short walk instead.

    *  Listen to music or an audio book while commuting, cleaning, or doing another boring task.

    *  Do something that keeps your hands busy! (e.g., cleaning, yard work, polishing your nails)

    *  Take your work outside on a nice day or sit in a conference room instead of at your desk.

    *  Do 10 jumping jacks to get your blood flowing!

    *  Put up with non-exciting tasks but look forward to times when you will be doing something you want to do!

    *  Go to your boredom jar and pick a task!

    Create a Boredom Jar

    Write down the things you want to do and will feel proud of doing when you complete them. These activities can be big or small, but try to write down at least a dozen activities. Write down some activities that take a short amount of time and some activities that take longer. Write these down on individual slips of paper and put them in a jar. When you feel boredom could lead to an unhealthy food choice, pick an activity from your jar. Do the activity written on the slip. Write down things you like to do:

    *  Short Activities (10-30 minutes)

    *  Longer Activities (30+ minutes)

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Do Activities You Enjoy

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 5

    Older couple riding bikes.

    Answer these questions.

    *  What activities have I been good at before?

    *  What activities do I enjoy doing?

    *  What equipment do I have or can I use?

    *  What outcomes do I want to achieve?

    *  What activities am I physically able to do?

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine