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MY LAST CLOSE relative—other than my kids—recently experienced major health issues. That prompted me to reflect on my own potential longevity. I’ve got 7,000 days to go, more or less, or at least that’s what the Social Security Administration’s life expectancy calculator tells me.
It seems like a big number, but it’s less than 20 years and just a quarter of a U.S. male’s average 29,000-day lifespan. Each day in retirement, we get to decide how to utilize one of those precious remaining days—whether to use it wisely or possibly fritter it away.
Of course, my actual number may differ greatly from 7,000. On the plus side, I have good health, a regular exercise routine, a decent diet and access to solid health insurance. But none of my family has lived a long life, so I may be DNA challenged. Some life expectancy calculators, with more individualized lifestyle inputs, give me a solid shot at notching an additional 4,000 days, for 11,000 total. But I’m not counting on it. Besides, the more relevant number is how many days we’re able to live an active lifestyle—walking, traveling, swimming and so on—and that’s likely considerably less than 7,000.
The upshot: Every retirement day effectively becomes its own critical, time-management challenge. Time and health are truly our most precious assets, rather than the financial assets on which we so often focus.
The implication? I regularly find myself debating whether to do something:
Everyday life—category No. 1 above—tends to consume a majority of our time. That means we aren’t constantly forced to decide between activities that are fulfilling and those that are wasteful. That’s probably a good thing. It would be tough to spend all day choosing between worthy and unworthy activities.
To be sure, some activities may be fulfilling for some folks, while seeming frivolous to others. My wife finds shopping engaging. I don’t. TV is the area that provides perhaps the greatest variations in time invested. I’m among the minority who have never seen a single episode of Game of Thrones, Seinfeld or Friends. I’d rather do almost anything than watch something.
In fact, I’m off to have a drink and eat a bon-bon, which might strike you as a bad use of time. But I’m also going to call my kids—because you never know what day 6,999 might bring.
John Yeigh is an engineer with an MBA in finance. He retired in 2017 after 40 years in the oil industry, where he helped negotiate financial details for multi-billion-dollar international projects. His previous articles include Window Dressing, Creeping Costs and Cashing In.
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Hi there John,
That was a nice write-up. One thing I remind myself about the part about spending time frivolously — time you enjoy wasting, is not wasted time. I believe much as we’d like to keep our whims and passions on a schedule or allotment, that may not always be the case.
I was especially guilty of this in university (and still am with a fair amount of things); back then instead of writing that paper, I’m doing something else less pressing but sounds more fun. And instead of enjoying and being present in the fun, I’m left thinking and worrying because I’m not writing that paper. It’s a no-win situation.
Nowadays, I slow down (stop if I have to) and catch the worrying thought and decide whether whatever is truly important and immediately pressing. If the answer is no to either , I’ll let future-me deal with it and let present-me actually have the fun.
You are either walking around with an open heart and feel connected to life most of the time or you are contracted and somewhat wary of the dangers and pitfalls that lie ahead. If you are the latter life tends to feel burdensome, the former you feel alive and even doing the dishes is Ok. So my take is stay in touch with where your heart is. Keeping it appreciative will mean much more I think than deciding what to do.