--- title: How Can You Tell if Your Life Is On Track? description: “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life” canonical: https://time.com/3476106/can-you-tell-your-life-on-track/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-08T04:01:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T07:57:13.813Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How Can You Tell if Your Life Is On Track? og:description: “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life” og:url: https://time.com/3476106/can-you-tell-your-life-on-track/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21b0b305565c6b7d/6986a74055a8596852a8304c/thinking-about-life.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3636 og:image:height: 2045 og:image:alt: Woman thinking about life og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Can You Tell if Your Life Is On Track? twitter:description: “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21b0b305565c6b7d/6986a74055a8596852a8304c/thinking-about-life.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Can You Tell if Your Life Is On Track? > Sponsored content. 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There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Oct 8, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  Happy woman planning future writing wish list Happy woman planning future writing wish list Gustav Dejert—Getty Images/Ikon Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Oct 8, 2014 4:01 AM UTC Sir Ray Avery, entrepreneur and author of [Rebel With A Cause](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1459630386/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1459630386), says it’s as easy as counting your days. --- > “” --- He’s 65\. So he’s “_got about 5,625 days to live._” Then he just works backward to plan. Via [Techcrunch](http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/11/sir-ray-avery-nz-makes-you-dangerous/) (HT: [99U](https://twitter.com/99u/status/284053978428370944)): --- > “” --- Mind-blowingly simple yet it makes so much sense. 9 minutes in to his famous Stanford commencement speech Steve Jobs discussed the importance he placed on thinking about death during life: --- > “” --- And scientists agree he’s on to something. Thinking about death [really does help us prioritize and be better people](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/was-steve-jobs-right-can-thinking-about-death/). Candy Chang gave an inspirational TED talk about a project that asked people to finish the sentence: “Before I die I want to…” I’d love to write more but I’ve got less than 20,000 days left. So much to do… **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/12/easiest-effective-plans-life/)**_._** **Join 25K+ readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). Related posts: [What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp/) [What five things can make sure you never stop growing and learning?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/11/never-stop-growing-learning/) [What do people regret the most before they die?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/12/what-do-people-regret-the-most-before-they-di/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3476106/can-you-tell-your-life-on-track/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3476106/can-you-tell-your-life-on-track/"},"headline":"How Can You Tell if Your Life Is On Track?","datePublished":"2014-10-08T04:01:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T07:57:13.813Z","description":"“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life”","url":"https://time.com/3476106/can-you-tell-your-life-on-track/","keywords":["Psychology","Life","Steve Jobs"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21b0b305565c6b7d/6986a74055a8596852a8304c/thinking-about-life.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21b0b305565c6b7d/6986a74055a8596852a8304c/thinking-about-life.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Woman thinking about life","caption":"Woman thinking about life","creditText":"Gustav Dejert—Getty Images/Ikon Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3476106/can-you-tell-your-life-on-track/","name":"How Can You Tell if Your Life Is On Track?"}}]}] ```