Before retirement social interaction is a given. Interacting with colleagues and clients, travelling to different locations, and all of the associated activities, keeps you connected (and generates stories to discuss with friends and family).

So what happens now that you’ve lost all of that work-related social interaction?

If you do nothing your world becomes smaller, you have less to talk about and, in turn, this can affect your mental health. You may even start to feel more isolated and lonely. So, assuming that you aren’t happy to allow your social network to grow smaller, what can we do about this?

1. RENEW OLD CONTACTS
2. COMMUNICATE REGULARLY
3. TAKE UP HOBBIES & JOIN NEW CLUBS
4. OPT FOR VOLUNTARY or PAID WORK
5. BE OPEN TO NEW OPPORTUNTIES
6. SAY ‘HELLO’ & SMILE MORE

1. RENEW OLD CONTACTS

Do you remember when you were close to someone from school, a previous job or maybe the best man from your wedding? All of those people that you intended to get back in touch with for years (but somehow failed to). Guess what? Now is the time to do just that.

In my experience the contact goes one of two ways, either it’s a/ Hello, how are you?, What have you been up to since we last met?, We must do this again some time (your previous connection has evaporated) or b/ it’s almost like you’ve never lost touch.

P.S. Don’t forget about your existing contacts too!

2. COMMUNICATE REGULARLY

Keep in touch with family, friends, old colleagues etc via whatever means possible. Face-to-face is best but social media offers you the chance to stay more closely connected to one and all, you’ll find out lots more about what is going on and you’ll have more to share with other people.

3. TAKE UP HOBBIES & JOIN NEW CLUBS

Now you don’t have to do everything at once BUT joining a new club or starting a new hobby will inevitably introduce you to new people, ideas, and things to talk about to the rest of your social circle.

There are lots of clubs and societies that you can look to join. Just have a look in local publications, notices and search online.

U3A (University of the Third Age) is a popular organisation to join, offers a wide range of social and learning activities and caters for those people no longer working full time. It operates in countries all over the globe (although it doesn’t seem to have reached South America or Africa yet).

As for hobbies, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the rekindling of interest in an old hobby, trying something that you’ve always wanted to do or even a friend’s hobby. Just give it a go. If you find that you don’t like it you can always stop but you will still have made some new friends and have a story or two to tell.

Don’t forget that you can always join online communities too e.g. there are lots of Retirement Facebook groups out there.

4. OPT FOR VOLUNTARY or PAID WORK

Why on earth would you want to consider going back to work when you’ve only just finished? Well there are many reasons:

PENSION TOP UP – You may need to earn some extra cash to top up your budget

RETAINING YOUR EXPERTISE – Doing some work in your area of specialist knowledge will help you to stay ‘current’ if you are thinking about going back on a full time basis.

OPENING UP NEW SOCIAL CONTACTS & INTEREST AREAS – Just like signing up for a new hobby, opting to do some work just plugs you back into the social network.

5. BE OPEN TO NEW OPPORTUNTIES

During your work life you will have been offered social opportunities to go to different places and do different things. If the opportunity didn’t really resonate with you and/or you had something else in the diary, you would say probably say no. Now that you have the time, be more open to these offers and always start from the position of ‘Yes’. You never know where it may take you.

6. SAY ‘HELLO’ & SMILE MORE

You may sometimes think that you’re on your own but you’re not. There are plenty of people who would be happy to chat with you. All you have to do is show that you’re open for a conversation. Just remember to smile, greet them and see what happens from there.

‘A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.’ – Denis Waitley.

SUMMARY

It’s so easy to lose social connectivity and to allow your world to grow smaller. In turn this can increase the feeling of isolation and have a mental impact on your life. If you want a quieter life then the loss of social connectivity may not be an issue for you but, if you want to stay connected to the wider world, open yourself up to new opportunities and watch the new you blossom.

Yes, retirement is the end to one stage of your life but it’s also a new beginning and an opportunity to explore lots of new things, friends and activities. The world is a big place!

PERSONAL DISCLOSURE

My father spent the last 10 years of his life staying indoors after his doctor had warned him that he might suffer a stroke if he kept on gardening. As a result his life got smaller, he saw people less often, had less to talk about and he became more isolated.

I’m a fairly gregarious sort of person, used to having contact with lots of people in my work and feared that I might end up trying to live my life through my family and/or having very little conversation.

I’m happy to say though that my fears haven’t come to fruition. I haven’t joined any new societies or taken up new hobbies, although I am spending more time in the gym, but I have pretty much taken up all the rest of the options above –

I have renewed friendships, kept work friendships alive, spent more time on social media, am working part time, keep saying yes to new things (even if it isn’t something that I’d have done by myself), I do smile a lot and will talk to anyone (ask my friends and family!!). Oh, and I’ve also signed up for a bread making course. I therefore find that I have plenty of social interaction, new interests and plenty to say….

MY UPDATES & TIPS

UNEXPECTED RETIREMENT ITEMS

1. CURRICULUM VITAE (CV) – Since I’m looking at taking on part time roles I need an updated CV. I thought that I could just update the previous version. Hah, how wrong was I. The job market has moved on a long way since I was last involved, and so the CV needs to be able to deal with AI filters, align with LinkedIn and now needs to be tailor-made for each application. (I would say let’s return to the ‘good old days’ but that makes it sound as though I’m getting older.)
2. JOBS & PROJECTS – These take longer to land than I’d planned but that’s partially my own fault since I need to make decisions about exactly what I want to get out of any new role.
3. GARDEN MAINTENANCE – I thought that I’d have more time for gardening and therefore, when I ended up with a robotic lawnmower as a work anniversary present I thought that it was a waste of money. HOWEVER ‘Shaun’ (yes, we’ve named it after ‘Shaun the Sheep’ from the animated TV series) is really quite good, it entertains our cat and it takes away a lot of the drudgery in the back garden. I also don’t have as much free time as I’d thought!
4. USE OF THE IDEAS JAR (IDEAS FOR A SLACK DAY) – I really haven’t touched this yet.

TIPS & SUGGESTIONS

1. TAKE A FRIEND’S DOG FOR A WALK – If you don’t have a dog of your own, volunteer to take someone else’s for a walk. You’ll be surprised how many dog owners will stop and chat with you.
2. DECIDE ON A DESCRIPTION OF YOURSELF – When someone asks you what you do, don’t reply with ‘I’m retired’ (this is a closed answer). Try saying something like ‘I used to be in xxx sector/industry but now I’m doing x, y & z’ i.e. give them a sense of what you are up to now and it’ll make it easier for both of you to connect.
3. PHYSICAL HEALTH – If you are going to make the gym part of your health plan, decide on what you want to achieve and hire a personal trainer for a few sessions in order to create a routine.

What things have you found helpful to navigate your retirement journey?

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

I’ve received two questions following the last blog:

1. TRAVEL PREPARATION Question – Can I share my travel document on a future blog? Answer – I am happy to share the document but I’d rather do this on an individual basis since it needs some explanation. If you would like a copy then just reach out to me individually.
2. 365 DAYS OF PHOTOS Question – What do I plan to do with the 52 photos selected at the end of 2025? Answer – I’m not quite sure. Obviously theses images are available for anyone to see on a separate page on this website (see link below), I’ve been asked whether I can turn them into cards (I don’t know whether there would be sufficient demand) but I’m still thinking about it. PLEASE LET ME HAVE YOUR SUGGESTIONS.

https://rookieretiree.com/365-days-of-photos/

FUTURE BLOG CONTENTS

In the next blog we’re going to look at job hunting and setting yourself up to accept projects.

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Links to previous (Part 3) & next post (Part 5) are provided below.

Link to PRIOR POST

Link to NEXT POST

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💡 Want more stories and insights on the Rookie Retirement journey?

Every chapter explores a different side of life after full-time work — from personal stories to health, purpose, and travel.

👉 Browse the full series here: [Contents Page]

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Regards