Healthy Transitions: Plan to Thrive in Retirement

For Bill Wellmaker, a retired law enforcement officer and friend of Reclaim co-founder Jeff White, the first two years of retirement have been a period of transition. After nearly four decades at work, it makes sense that it would take some time to navigate such a huge life change. Suddenly the structure and social network you spent 40+ hours per week living in and around is gone and your time is entirely yours to direct.

We spoke with Bill about what it's been like to make the transition into retirement and what advice he would give to other recent or soon-to-be retirees.

In Transition

A lot changes for anyone when they retire, and Bill is no exception. However, in Bill's case, retirement was quickly followed by a couple additional life events: a knee surgery and his kids moving back in. Add in a few other confounding factors, like the fact that Bill's wife still works, as do many of his friends and former colleagues, and Bill has been redesigning his life gradually rather than all at once, learning a few lessons along the way.

The Importance of Staying Active

A rolling stone gathers no moss. Bill's first piece of advice for retirees is to maintain your lifestyle and stay active. Whether through work or hobbies, it's important to keep living at the top of your abilities as much as possible. Find ways to stay busy and stay social. The social aspect is a big one. Without the built-in socialization of workdays in an office, you have to find different ways to stay connected to people outside of your household.

One thing we know Bill is great at is being social. He's a friend of Jeff's after all! Whether brewery hopping or hanging out at the bowling alley, Bill quickly recognized the value of prioritizing social interaction after the drastic drop-off that retirement often brings.

For Bill Wellmaker, a retired law enforcement officer and friend of Reclaim co-founder Jeff White, the first two years of retirement have been a period of transition. After nearly four decades at work, it makes sense that it would take some time to navigate such a huge life change. Suddenly the structure and social network you spent 40+ hours per week living in and around is gone and your time is entirely yours to direct.

We spoke with Bill about what it's been like to make the transition into retirement and what advice he would give to other recent or soon-to-be retirees.

In Transition

A lot changes for anyone when they retire, and Bill is no exception. However, in Bill's case, retirement was quickly followed by a couple additional life events: a knee surgery and his kids moving back in. Add in a few other confounding factors, like the fact that Bill's wife still works, as do many of his friends and former colleagues, and Bill has been redesigning his life gradually rather than all at once, learning a few lessons along the way.

The Importance of Staying Active

A rolling stone gathers no moss. Bill's first piece of advice for retirees is to maintain your lifestyle and stay active. Whether through work or hobbies, it's important to keep living at the top of your abilities as much as possible. Find ways to stay busy and stay social. The social aspect is a big one. Without the built-in socialization of workdays in an office, you have to find different ways to stay connected to people outside of your household.

One thing we know Bill is great at is being social. He's a friend of Jeff's after all! Whether brewery hopping or hanging out at the bowling alley, Bill quickly recognized the value of prioritizing social interaction after the drastic drop-off that retirement often brings.

tools like Restart! to help him get back on track with improving and maintaining his fitness. So far, he loves how easy the app makes it to workout on his own time, and some planned app updates (see our post on what's coming in Phase II) will help him out even more with accountability down the road.

A New Chapter

We're so grateful to Bill for sharing some of his well-earned retirement time with us for this post. His experience shows us that retirement is not just the end of a career, but with a growth mindset like his, it can be the beginning of a new, vibrant stage of life that you get to design. We hope that Bill continues to enjoy doing all the things he loves for a very long time and we look forward to seeing how Restart! will help him thrive.

Are you looking for an easier way to workout to reach your retirement goals without the fuss of expensive equipment, gym memberships, or hours of your time? The Restart! app is here to make healthier habits for aging adults accessible, personalized, and effective. Get started now, download the app today!