The lockdown has changed the way we live our lives. This isn’t something any of us expected or imagined even in the wildest of our dreams. But it’s been a few months now and everyone is either in self-quarantine or under a lockdown. While this phase has not been great for anyone, did you know it has a silver lining?
The lockdown period could be your trial run for your retirement and life post that. Don’t believe us? Read on to find out how you could use this lockdown phase to prepare yourself for your retirement lifestyle. Retirement is just another phase where you’re away from regular life and work and do not have much to do on hand. While retirement can get stressful if you’ve had an active professional life, you could use these tips to ease into the phase while using the lockdown to your advantage.
Five Ways Lockdown Will Prepare You for Your Retirement
More Free Time on Hand!
The usual lifestyle that most of us have is waking up in the morning, having a quick breakfast, and rushing to work. With not even a few minutes to spare every day on interactions and pleasantries, we barely talk to those around us too. However, the past few months have been different. Most of us are now working from home and have ample time on hands. One of the reasons for this is not having to commute to work.
Spending a Lot of Time at Home
Before the lockdown, you spent most of your hours at home sleeping, cleaning, or laundry. And that’s because most of the waking hours are spent at the workplace. However, suddenly with the lockdown, working from home is the new normal. And that forces you to spend more time at home. This would be the same case even post-retirement.
However, the only difference would be you would not have much to do and your income will have a limitation to it. Make sure you use this time to figure out interesting ways to keep yourself entertained in the post-retirement phase.
Dull Social Life
When you’ve retired, you might not be able to catch up with your friends as often as you do now. One of the many reasons being relocation, not being part of the work circle, and this might leave you feeling socially isolated. However, that isolation might be slightly different from what you feel now. That’s because now you cannot go out even if you wish to. So, it would not be that worse when you retire compared to a lockdown situation. But isn’t it best if we could always prepare for the worst!
Besides that, there not much in terms of a social life too. It is non-existent. That’s because most hangout spots are not operational now and there’s no way to step out and meet friends. While that is horrible, the good news is that the retirement phase might not be this bad. You will still be able to catch up with your friends, but only less often than you did during your heydays.
Bonding With the Loved Ones
Most of us do not find the time to stay or bond with our family, as often as we would love to. With work taking us places and the long hours eating into our family time, it must be difficult to stay in touch. However, once you retire, you will have ample time on hand. You could meet your family more often, spend as much time as you can with them, and make up for all that you missed while you were off at work.
The lockdown period is a similar phase too. People are with their families and isolating themselves at homes to prevent the virus spread. You should use this time to bond with them and make memories. After all, there’s not going to be another time like this available on hand again until you retire.
More Time to Focus on Health
Retirement makes you focus on your health and well-being as you might be vulnerable to numerous age-related illnesses. This makes many pick up the routine of going for a walk, exercising, or meditation.
However, with all the time you now have available, you could start right away. It would help you have a fitness routine, boost immunity, and build both emotional and mental well-being. So, why not start embracing a healthy lifestyle right away!
These are just a few bright sides of the lockdown, which will help you prepare for retirement. So, make the most of it, and enjoy this downtime!