We have teamed up with J1 Coaching to talk about some of the things we can all do to make small changes and improve our well-being. Jim Constable is a friend of FiveWays and we are delighted he has agreed to share his knowledge and expertise with our clients:

Our social relationships go through many transformations in our lives. Moving jobs and moving home both bring changes to our situation and circumstances.

At retirement two things happen at once.

Firstly our work relationships alter or in some cases disappear. Even if we didn’t socialise with our colleagues or customers, many of the day to day normalities no longer exist. “How was your weekend?” which for so long was part of the workplace conversation, is not there anymore in the same way.

Our work provides many of us with a daily healthy dose of social connection. We have friends at work whose daily presence makes the working day more enjoyable . We enjoy the daily chatter, debating politics, sport and talking about what we have been doing outside of work.

Secondly relationships at home change. We start to spend far more time with our partner or others and this can create challenges. For example, is your partner quite reasonably expecting that - with more spare time - you will contribute more to the running and upkeep of the home? Is one of you expecting more travel when the other is looking forward to more rest?

Some good questions for you and your partner to consider, and then talk through your answers with each other, are:

• What does a good day look like to you in this phase of life?

• What would your ideal week include?

• What do you need from me now that I'm home more?

• What's something you're excited about and something you're nervous about?
  

Being ready and adjusting well means different things to different people. But an awareness that relationships will change helps us to take positive action, when needed, in cultivating new social interactions or ensuring that our existing ones remain healthy.

It’s great when things evolve naturally, but it might be that some proactivity is necessary.