How Retirement Planning and Longevity Affect Your Productivity
Wait! If you’re in your 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, or 50’s, please do not close this browser after reading the title! This information has the potential to shape the rest of your life. Truly!
When I was 23 years old, I witnessed co-workers walking out of a retirement meeting crying. I made a beeline to one of them I knew well and asked what happened. She said, “Some of us just found out that we can’t retire because we can’t afford to.” Those folks had planned to submit their retirement paperwork in a couple of months and were crushed that their big life goal wasn’t going to happen any time soon.
That was a big eye-opener for me. In speaking with a few of those co-workers later, I discovered that they’d paid into their pension fund, but didn’t create a vision for what they wanted retirement to look like and how they planned to make that happen. They thought that reaching their 30-year mark and paying into a pension would mean automatic retirement. Their situation and unawareness about retirement planning was a critical life lesson for me.
Because of them, I started my retirement planning in my 20’s. Because I witnessed my parents work so hard until retirement, only to not be able to start their bucket list because my mom fell ill, I began chipping away at my bucket list in my 30’s. I have an extremely strong work ethic, but I believe that my personal life builds the foundation of my professional success, so I practice work-life balance and have an identity outside of my career.
If you’ve read any of my blogs or attended any of my keynotes or seminars, you know that I preach my mantra: Time management is all about mind management. When your mind is clear and not consumed with worries and insecurities, you’re able to make better decisions about everything in life, including your time.
One of the biggest worries many people have is about their finances. You can read here about how financial worries can affect your productivity – and how having a financial plan can improve your time management and productivity levels.
I share all of this with you so you can understand why I recommend you listen to the interview I’ve linked to below. Steve Braun, a financial advisor, interviewed Steve Vernon, a longevity expert with the Stanford Center on Longevity. There’s no over-the-top entertainment or fancy graphics. But what they talk about will give you ideas for important conversations to have with your parents about their retirement plans – and with yourself (and your significant other) about yours.
Here’s what I received from Steve Braun when I requested permission to share the interview with you:
“Here is the webinar titled “Retirement Game Changers,” featuring the author and researcher Steve Vernon…. Mr. Vernon unveiled his latest research on longevity and shared strategies to enhance your retirement living quality. For those aiming for a longer, healthier, and independent life, I highly recommend watching the webinar replay by clicking here.
Furthermore, I’ve compiled a selection of must-read books focused on aging, health, and retirement planning, including two noteworthy titles by Steve Vernon available on Amazon:
These resources are invaluable for anyone looking to navigate the complexities of retirement with confidence.
If you’re interested in delving deeper into these topics and discussing how they apply to your retirement planning, let’s find a time to talk. Please feel free to use this link to select a time that works best for you.”
The interview is an hour long. I’ll confess that I initially tried to multi-task and listen to it while I was doing some low-brain level work, but I realized after the first questions, that I really should give it my full attention. If you don’t have a solid one-hour block, you can do what I did – I listened to it in chunks while I was on a walk or taking a 5-minute break.
Any time is a great time to make a plan for the life you want to live! And that, is being productive.
For recommendations on creating the time to make your life plans happen, check out The Inefficiency Assassin: Time Management Tactics for Working Smarter, Not Longer.
