Creating a Life Plan

Schedule the Life You Want

Without focus and direction, it’s easy to get lost. Imagine we are sailors looking for a remote island to retire on. We could sail aimlessly in the open waters for 40 days before finally finding something we like. But if we plan and pick a destination beforehand, then we can arrive there much sooner. Most people work 40 years before retiring. But what if they planned ahead? The famous psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson argues that “planning is unbelievably useful. You need to figure what it is you’re aiming towards, and why.” His calendar is fully booked, often weeks in advance. I’m a planner as well. I find it boosts my productivity by at least 2x and really puts my goals into perspective. 🙂

Millennials are the first generation in history who can anticipate reaching the age of 90 in large numbers. This means we will spend about one-third of our lives as what we now refer to as “old people” lol. Planning for how we want to spend those last decades is pretty important. It doesn’t have to be detailed, but having a rough schedule for the next 60 years of our lives would provide us with some direction that matches our goals and values. Most millennials don’t do this. And as a result, they will likely have the following life broken down into 3 stages.

But our bodies and minds won’t be the same when we’re older. So by the time most people retire in their 60s they are no longer able to fully take advantage of their leisure time. Jordan Peterson said he enjoys giving himself a limited time to finish complicated tasks. It’s fun to see if you can achieve something far more than you thought, in far less time. This is why I plan to retire by age 40 at the latest. Here is what my life will look like.

Most people go through life without much life planning. As a result they end up becoming a part of someone else’s plan before addressing their own future happiness. But by having a basic life plan in place, we can attain much more success, and save us a lot of time.

Science fiction writers believe that travelling to the past and changing something small can alter the present in a big way. If that’s true then maybe by changing something small right now, like setting a retirement age, we can dramatically change our future. Everyone’s life is different. Some young successful entrepreneur may retire at age 30. Others may work until they’re 70. What’s important is we choose the retirement path we really want and take steps to make it happen.

 

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Random Useless Fact:

The country Qatar has the lowest unemployment rate in the world at just 0.4%.

 

Author: Liquid Independence

Editor in Chief at Freedom 35 Blog.

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Steveark
Steveark
05/21/2018 12:30 pm

There are lots of good reasons to retire in your thirties and forties but being too old to have fun at 60 is definitely not one of them. My wife and I,both over 60, routinely blow past twenty and thirty somethings on extreme terrain hikes and my wife and I generally outrun them on distance runs as well. The local high school tennis team members rarely can get a game off of either of us. I truly think that most millennial bloggers have a mental image of 60 year old people that is much more accurately correlated to 80 year olds. Admittedly my wife and I get a lot of exercise and practice more adventurous hobbies than many but most of my friends in their sixties have not seen a severe drop off from their thirties and forties in terms of endurance, speed or strength.

Tim
Tim
05/22/2018 7:13 am
Reply to  Steveark

I’ve meet some pretty badass 60-something runners!!!! Keep on keeping on !! I just try to keep up. 🙂

Purrfect
Purrfect
05/27/2018 7:10 am
Reply to  Steveark

Hard to run or walk fast with your face buried in your phone

Property Investment
Property Investment
06/01/2018 2:17 am

Honestly, when I was so young at my 20’s planning is not my thing. Or even starting investing, for I wasn’t matured enough to risk my hard earned money. But when I reached mid 30’s I have experienced lots of struggles, finding job again and again. Until such time, I realize that I’ve wasted years where I could instead I should start saving and planning my future. Well, honestly I have lots of regrets and for me my savings still not enough!

Hopefully, younger ones could drop by also and read your relatable post. I really appreciate it!

Ben
Ben
06/05/2018 5:19 pm

Great article! I’m in my late 20’s and have been pretty aggressive with getting out of debt, saving for retirement, and saving in general since I got my first job, right out of college. I’m not sure I’ll retire by 40, but I like having knowing that I’m working aggressively towards that goal. I always say that when we’re young professionals, it’ll never be easier to save/invest…so you might as do so!

Enjoyed the focus and direction piece – if you don’t no where you’re going…you’ll certainly never arrive! It’s good to set goals and make a plan to get there.