Taipei, Aug 23 (IANS): Scientists suggest that retirees plan their free time effectively to lead a happy and fulfilling life post-retirement.

This is the advice of Wei-Ching Wang of the I-Shou University in Taiwan, leader of a study published in Springer's journal Applied Research in Quality of Life.

The study found that the effective management of free time has a far greater impact on a retiree's quality of life than the amount of time the person actually has available for leisure activities.

Wang and his team studied the responses of 454 Taiwanese retirees to understand if there is a link between their management of free time and their overall quality of life.

With regard to their free time, the retirees were asked about the goals they set, their general attitude towards it and how they schedule and manage it.

The Quality of Life scale of the World Health Organisation was also adapted and used for the purposes of the study.

"Quality of life is not affected as much by the amount of free time that a retiree has, but on how effectively the person manages this time on hand," says Wang.

"Therefore it is important to educate people on how to use their free time more effectively to improve quality of life."