What retirees can teach young people about time management

Many young people don't think much about retirement if they think about it at all. This is especially true now when the cost of living is so high that investing and putting more money into your pension might not be as important as paying rent.

Even so, more and more young people are starting to think about retirement at younger and younger ages. Many of them are worried about their future quality of life and being financially independent after they stop working.

This can sometimes hurt their health if they are still working, spending very little money, and focusing on the "hustle" instead of enjoying the freedom and good times that can also come with being a young adult.

For my new study, I talked to more than 200 people and asked hundreds of other questions to find out how they balance their time and money. I focused on people who had recently retired or had just become parents, as well as people who were getting ready for these big changes. We often think that retirees have all the time in the world, but I found that this isn't always the case.

Over a quarter of them feel like they don't have enough time to do everything they need to. This is true, no matter how much money they have. Even though wealthy retirees tend to have more control over their schedules, time poverty affects both rich and poor retirees.

You can start making the most of your time and living a better life at any time. Here are some important things I've learned from the journeys of my retired friends.

One of the things my less fortunate research participants regretted most was not being able to get as much education as they wanted when they were younger. Some people dropped out of college or university early to help support their families or because they couldn't afford to stay. But they all regretted not going to school as much as they should have to be competitive in the job market.

Choose something and stick with it if you want to make enough money: go to college or learn a skilled trade. The money will come after that.

When you're not young anymore, all you have left is how you feel. Will you be in pain when you retire because you worked hard and didn't take a break? People I talked to made it clear that putting making money ahead of health, whether out of necessity or choice, costs you valuable time in retirement.

Some of the things my new retirees did to improve their health were to spend more time with their doctors and spend money and time getting to their appointments. In this situation, women were twice as bad off as men because, unlike men, society still put pressure on women to look younger than they were.

Focus on keeping your health in good shape early on, so you don't have to spend more time and money on health care later on. Sometimes, you may need to put your own health and happiness ahead of what your boss wants, such as by taking time off for your physical or mental health.

Even though not everyone can do this right now, movements like "quiet quitting" are getting people to talk about it in public.

We can "buy" more time by paying money to get out of doing things we don't want to do. Consuming things can also cost you time since it takes time to go shopping and learn how to use new things. Thanks to my retirees, I now know that sharing time with others can help us get more out of it.

Social scientists use the term "network goods" to describe time. In other words, how much time is worth to us depends on how many people we can share it with.

All of my retired participants talked about how important it is to form strong, healthy friendships when we are younger so that we have friends with whom we can share life when we are older. When people spend time together, it makes them feel better and makes them happier.

Almost all of my retirees spent a lot of time planning their finances for retirement, but almost as many regretted not planning their hobbies and interests ahead of time. This was especially important for my wealthy retirees, who would lose their social standing and work friends when they stopped working.

Having to start new hobbies and pursue new interests when you're retired can feel like extra work. Passions are important for happiness, but they should be pursued before retirement when they are just for fun.

People I talked to in my interviews kept gently reminding me that giving someone your time is the kindest thing we can do. This is because you can never get your time back once you give it away.

Keep this in mind when you give your time to friends, coworkers, acquaintances, or social media companies. I now often ask myself, because of my participants, "Does this company or organisation love me?" Most of the time, the answer is no, which tells me they don't deserve much of my time.

At the same time, when a friend, a trusted mentor, a teacher, or even a stranger gives me their time, I know that I can only partially repay them with my gratitude and kindness.

My retired friends show me how important it is to be thankful for the time we have with each other on Earth. When the daily grind gets you down, tell yourself that time is love.