After the Rat Race, What Next?

Tip #3 Plumb a Passion

Michael Burnham, chief executive of the Memphis-based retirement counseling firm My Next Phase ( http://www.mynextphase.com), notes that for many retirees, playing golf gets old fast. "You need to find some reason for moving forward, a reason to get up in the morning," he suggests. And once you decide what that passion is -- whether it's writing the Great American Novel, building a Lego replica of Graceland or mentoring a teenager -- "test-drive it." Burnham offers the cautionary tale of a man who set his sights on becoming a writer but who waited until he was retired to put pen to paper. Turns out he didn't much enjoy writing after all. Whoops.

Tip #4 Sit Down With Your Spouse

Before retirement, "most of your together time has been weekend time and vacation time," Burnham says. Now things will be different: "You're going to end up spending a lot more time together, so you need new rules and roles around the house." Establishing boundaries is key so you don't end up getting on each other's nerves. Burnham suggests sitting down together and writing new job descriptions -- including what's not your job -- and spelling out other details, such as whose music gets played when.

Tip #5 Only Connect

Lots of retirees find themselves suddenly lonely, says Cynthia Barnett, creator of a retirement-coaching program called "Re-fire, Don't Retire: Seven Secrets of Highly Successful Retirees" ( http://www.refiredontretire.com). "If you go back [to your former workplace] to visit, you find you're not talking the same language anymore." The best way to find new playmates, she says, is through exploring things you love to do, whether it's by joining a gardening club or starting an acting troupe.

Tip #6 Seek to Serve

Barnett notes that retirement "is time for service to others. The happiest people in the second half of life are those who have found fulfillment and meaning in their activities. It's not all about them; they give back to society." Think of these as your "legacy years" and ask, "What kind of legacy do I really want to leave?" Going on cruises sounds fun, Barnett notes, but "doing things just to keep busy is not meaningful."