Sarah Billington - The Ultimate Retirement Bucket List: 101 Fun Things to Do, Exciting Everyday Activities, and Once-in-a-Lifetime Experiences for a Healthier, Happier Third Act

Text copyright 2020 Sarah Billington. Design and concept copyright 2020 Ulysses Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Published in the United States by:

ULYSSES PRESS

P.O. Box 3440

Berkeley, CA 94703

www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN: 978-1-64604-050-6

Acquisitions editor: Casie Vogel

Managing editor: Claire Chun

Editor: Renee Rutledge

Proofreader: Kathy Kaiser

Cover design: Justin Shirley

Cover art from shutterstock.com: disco ball Vladvm; dogs Nadya_Art; bicycle Dark Ink; sailboat SofiaV; palette derter

Interior design: Jake Flaherty

Interior art from Tartila

To my favorite retirees, who demonstrate daily how to live this stage of life and live it well: my parents, Colin and Hazell Billington.

Congratulations, you did it! You made it through the trials and learning stages of childhood and early adulthood. You have worked hard and made a difference for your family, workplace, and community. Now it is time to enjoy the spoils of a long life and spend the coming years doing what you want to do. But what exactly do you want to do? It can be overwhelming to think about, so this book of 101 bucket list ideas is here to inspire you, help you narrow down what you want and dont want out of life, and get you excited about living the retirement that will bring you joy and help you thrive.

I have broken down the bucket lists into categories to accommodate a well-rounded lifestyle, combining specific suggestions with space to create your own, personal lists.

Working through a bucket list can make you stop for a moment and think about what you actually want to experience in this lifetime. What is important to you? What do you wish to accomplish? What are you curious about? These lists can remind you that life is short, and you should live it to the fullest.

By coming up with activities that align with your passions and interests, you are more likely to think outside the box and create a system that will help you break away from the routine that dominated your working life and old habits that no longer serve you. Writing down what you enjoy, what you dont enjoy, and your goals for the coming years will help you to commit to them as you gain clarity on what is important to you.

This book will encourage you to reflect on your life, your skills, what you love doing and hate doing, and create a bucket list personal to you and deeply focused on enriching your life, fulfilling your deepest wishes, and creating a rewarding lifestyle you love.

The themed categories in this book include expanding your social circle, investigating religion and spirituality, and daring to live dangerously. With each, youll be guided through a variety of bucket list ideas, from exercise ideas to family-time plans, pushing you a littleor a lotout of your comfort zone. People often call retirement the third act, so why not make your third act the best it can possibly be? As you move through the ideas in this book, take the time to consider what feels right for you. After all, you are a one-of-a-kind human being and your retirement plans should be too.

Whether you choose to spend a year on creativity, another on playfulness, and another on travel, whether you go it alone or check off your list with others, how you work your way through The Ultimate Retirement Bucket List is entirely up to you! The only rule is that you have fun doing it.

Retirement is an exciting time to pursue anything that interests you (and avoid things that dont), but in order to experience the best of this time you need to acknowledge one important thing: Youre getting older.

Dont let it hold you back. Age is just a number if you take care of your body and mind. Some of these bucket list ideas reflect new scientific findings on Alzheimers disease and dementia prevention. Though these conditions are scary and unpredictable, you can add several activities to your daily routine to hold the symptoms at bay and live a long, happy life. Most of these lifestyle changes are as simple as socializing, exercising, or doing a crossword puzzle!

Research has found that simply walking for 45 minutes three times a week can increase brain volume (specifically of the hippocampus, the part of the brain in charge of memory) in those who are 65 years and older, and moving in the course of simple, everyday activities such as housework and cooking may make a difference in brain health in your 70s and 80s. So, as convenient as it is to order food services, hire a cleaner, or let loved ones take care of your errands in your twilight years, its actually good for your brain health to hold onto these household chores.

A whopping 101 ideas of things to do and lots of room to come up with more of your own is huge! Maybe a little overwhelming?

In order to achieve your goal of living your best life in retirement, without sleeping the days away or lazing about on the couch for weeks on end (unless thats on your list!), heres an idea to keep you on track: Make conquering your exciting but sometimes nerve-racking bucket list items more achievable and even more fun by recruiting a bucket list buddy!

Chances are, other people in your life would love to do some of the activities on your bucket list. So why not do them together? It will be more fun to bond and share memories of achieving your goals and checking them off your list together. In addition, when you schedule an activity with someone else, it makes you accountable so youre more likely to go through with it. And if you put it off, then you wont be disappointing just yourself but your loved one who wants to experience it too.

Does your son want to go to the ball game? Would your partner enjoy a wine and paint date night with you? Would a best friend want to take a cupcake-decorating class or hike a mountain to marvel at the views?

Your bucket list buddy need not be only one person. One loved one may be interested in doing several of the items on your list, and another may be excited about several others.

If you are sharing The Ultimate Retirement Bucket List journey with someone else, maybe they have chosen activities for their list that you hadnt thought of. You could be their bucket list buddy and try some new experiences you hadnt thought of as well.

Use parts of your bucket list as a way to spend more time enjoying activities and adventures with the people you love.

Knowing what you want to do is one thing, but sometimes thats not enough. There is a practically foolproof method for setting goals and following through with them and its incredibly SMART.

First, organize your ideas into different groups, such as relationships, career, physical health, emotional health, living, finances, creativity, travel, religion/spirituality, education, fun and leisure, etc. Feel free to use the categories in this book as a guide.