The Retirement You Want vs. The Life You’re Living Now

Part 1 of a 3-part series highlighting some of the key insights from the 2025 Year-End RTA report. Download your copy today for free.

Ahhh…Retirement life. The time in one’s life where the cares and worries of career are replaced with carefree post-career living. You see it all the time in advertising.

Ask someone in their 50s or early 60s what they want post-career, and you’ll hear a familiar list:

• “I want to Travel more.”
• “I’ll finally focus on my Health.”
• “More time with grandkids.”
• “Volunteer work. Maybe even start a small business.”

But here’s the problem – most people’s current Lifestyle doesn’t even remotely reflect the one they say they want.

According to data collected from the 2025 Retirement Time Analysis (RTA), there’s a consistent pattern: high expectations for retirement… but little in the way of structured preparation or behavior to support it.

Let’s break it down.

Aspiration Goals but No Process

One of the most striking findings in the RTA data was the gap between anticipated lifestyle activity and current time use. Over 70% of respondents indicated a desire for an active and engaged retirement. That includes travel, fitness, learning, mentoring, and relationship-building.

But when we looked at how people are spending their time today?

• Few had set time routines for physical activity or learning.
• Most reported minimal involvement in social or community-based roles outside of work.
• Daily rhythms were dominated by reactive tasks, not proactive habits.

The truth? Most people aren’t building the muscles—mentally or physically—for the life they say they want.

Download the Year-End Report

The 2025 RTA Year-End Report combines data from all Retirement Time Analysis assessments in 2025 to highlight areas of time vulnerability when career ends and retirement life begins and what can be done.

Download Free today

I’ve Got the Time to Figure it Out

There’s a dangerous assumption built into how most people approach retirement lifestyle planning: “Once I retire, I’ll have time. Then I’ll get serious.”

Yet, behavior doesn’t work that way.

Retirement doesn’t magically deliver motivation, focus, or structure. If anything, it removes the external anchors (like meetings, deadlines, and performance reviews) that kept you moving.

Without intentional effort now, many retirees find themselves:

• Feeling aimless just months after leaving work
• Struggling to stay physically and mentally engaged
• Drifting into isolation or low-value routines

They don’t need more time. They need a plan for how to use time with purpose.

Your Calendar is a Prophet

Want to know what your retirement will look like?

Look at your Tuesday.

Not a vacation. Not a holiday. Just a regular weekday.

How much of it is driven by your values vs. your obligations? How much space is blocked off for personal Growth, health, fun, or contribution?

If your schedule today is reactive and fragmented, retirement won’t fix that. In fact, it might expose it.

Developing Gap Fillers Today

Here’s how you start shifting from the life you talk about to the one you’ll actually live:

1. Audit Your Time Weekly: Are you making space for the activities you say matter? Track it honestly.
2. Test Your Retirement Lifestyle: Want to spend more time outdoors, mentoring, or creating? Try it now—even if just in small doses.
3. Build Structure That Isn’t Tied to Work: Replace meetings and deadlines with routines, self-assignments, and meaningful goals.
4. Take the Retirement Time Analysis (RTA): It’s a 10-minute self-assessment that shows you exactly where you’re aligned—and where you’re not.

Why Wait?

The retirement you want doesn’t start at 62, 65, 67, or 70. It starts with how you use your time now.

If you’re not practicing today, you won’t perform tomorrow. If you don’t define your purpose post-career, someone—or something—else will.

Take the first step. Asses yourself with a free RTA summary report or take the full assessment to get your personalized insights.

Want additional insights into participants who took the RTA?  download the 2025 Year-End TMA report and then take your own Time Management Analysis assessment. Compare the two and then get on a program that adapts to your unique circumstances.

David Buck is the author of the book The Time-Optimized Life, coauthor of The Retirement Collective, and owner of Kairos (Time) Management Solutions, LLC. Learn how to apply the concepts of proactively planning and using your time. Take the Time Management Analysis (TMA), and the to help bring more quality time into your life.

Content development for this article involved human expertise supported by AI-generated analysis and formatting.

The post The Retirement You Want vs. The Life You’re Living Now first appeared on Infinity Lifestyle Design.

David Buck Time Strategist

In 35+ years of business development, David developed a strong awareness of what it took for people to be productive and efficient, not just busy. He also personally sought to gain a balance of having a successful career along with the ability to pursue a meaningful personal life.

That led David to start Kairos Management Solutions, focusing all his attention to guide business professionals who struggle with a lack of flexibility in their life to gain more quality personal time. David helps others craft a strategy around their current management of time, and then define a lifestyle of intention, ease, and joy.

In 2024, David released two books, the first being The Time Optimized Life. The book reframes the reactive nature of time management and replaces it with a proactive method of time optimization. In addition, he co-authored The Retirement Collective, where he highlights and provides solutions for how to maximize the use of time for people in post-career life.