Thinking ahead will help you lead an interesting and rewarding life after retirement.

For most people, the key to a happy and fulfilling retirement is simple: staying busy. Unfortunately, when planning for retirement, a lot of folks focus only on finances, and fail to think about, or plan for, how they will spend their time.

Why worry about retirement activities now, when retirement is years, or even decades, away? Because, put bluntly, people who count on developing new interests and involvements after 65 often don't. And that makes for a bored, depressed old age.

Start Planning Now

It's never too early to plan for what you will do in your golden years. To start, take a few minutes to write down the things you expect to be actively involved in. Don't count solo activities such as reading, watching TV, or jogging. While fine in themselves, they are not likely to keep you energized and interesting for long. Be as specific as you can. For example, if you plan to participate in charitable activities aimed at helping educate Third World children, who will you work with and what will you do?

Keep in mind that participating in just a few activities won't keep you interested in life and interesting to others. So if your list consists of travel, adult education courses and golf, you'll need to do more planning. Here are some other activities to consider -- and how to plan for them:

Working Part-Time

Many people who enjoy the bustle and creativity of the workplace find that working at least part-time after retirement age offers the best opportunity to stay busily involved in life. And, of course, working a few extra years can go a long way toward helping solve money problems.

If you hope to establish a new career, turn a hobby into a business or find a part-time job more challenging that flipping burgers, it's important to plan ahead. Investigate whether you'll need more education, experience or skills in order to execute your plans. Then, take the time before you retire to develop the tools you'll need. For example, if you'd like to convert your passion for gardening into a landscaping business, you may need to take courses in marketing and accounting, learn how and where to buy wholesale plants and begin developing a customer base. This may mean cutting back on current work and making some short-term financial sacrifices.