“Puttering Around” is Good for You

During my first years living in an active adult community, I have been focusing on enjoying the wonderful activities being offered, taking in as much as I can. I have found the answer to the question many people struggle with: “What is there to do in retirement?”

Besides enjoying the activities, I was recently reminded that puttering around is a part of retirement that people really like. During the virus lockdown, many more discovered this!

What’s “Puttering Around?”

Puttering around is to do little things of little consequence. To do small tasks in a random sequence in a casual manner at your will. Aimless behavior.

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I asked a new friend in our active adult community, what activities do you do? I am used to hearing at least two or three activities mentioned when I ask that question, but my new friend had a different reply.

He said, “I get up when I feel like it, maybe check the news, eat some breakfast, check on the stock market, that sort of thing. Pretty soon it is lunchtime. Then, in the afternoon, I putter around the house and like to do some things in the yard to get outside. At about 3:30 pm each afternoon I put 3 beers in the fridge and at about 4 pm I start on the first one. By 6 pm I am finished for the day.”

You know – I am always spotlighting the benefits and ways activities can help you, but I can’t fault a guy for doing what he wants in retirement!

Why Puttering Around is Good for You

We never got to putter around too much at work, did we? We had to remind ourselves to quit puttering around to get stuff done or the boss would notice or our jobs wouldn’t get completed!

Puttering around can be rewarding, pleasurable, and even Zen-like. You live in the moment and lose your thinking mind for a while; enjoying your observations and activities. Kind of nice for a change!

There is an article that actually says there are health benefits to puttering around. The study quoted found that independent of “formal” exercise, such as gym-based workouts, people who had an active daily life — including such non-exercise physical activities as gardening, car maintenance, blackberry picking, or DIY projects — had a 30 percent lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke than people who were sedentary.

When you get up and do something, anything, you are moving which is the key. Add in some walking around our beautiful community and there’s a plan!

Puttering around and some walking is much better than sitting in front of the TV or Internet all day.

No Rushing Our Morning Routine

After having to go to work at 8 am every day, rain or shine, whether you felt like it or not, we retirees like to take our time taking on the day. There is nothing like getting up without an alarm clock, having a cup of coffee, checking the TV news or the Internet, having some breakfast, going to the bathroom, checking your calendar, and then finally thinking about getting ready for the day.

The key to all the above is not being rushed. We retirees don’t particularly like to be anywhere before, say, 10:30 am. We want to take our time getting ready and the last thing we want to do is get stuck in traffic!

Other Ways to Putter Around

Puttering around the patio. In the mornings, I like to go out on my patio, sometimes with a cup of coffee, and admire the morning sky, seeing the clouds and what the weather is like. Then see how my flowers are doing and give them a drink of water.

Herb gardens are a great way to putter around too.

Taking a morning walk is a routine my wife and I have always enjoyed. We walk around our neighborhood and stop to talk with neighbors.

Car maintenance, DIY projects around the house, shopping trips, flea markets, and yard maintenance are more examples. Puttering around Main Street of nearby small towns, visiting some stores, and maybe having lunch is a fun thing to do.

Do YOU Putter Around?

So now in retirement, you may allow yourself the luxury of just puttering around once in a while. You are the captain of your ship now.

There are too many great things to do at our active 55+ community to spend all our time puttering around…but some puttering around is good for you!