What does a good day look like?

Forget bucket lists for a moment. I’m not talking about the dream trip to Tuscany or walking the Camino. I’m talking about a regular Tuesday.

What does a good day look like?

Have you ever stopped to think about what a good day in retirement will look like for you?

Forget bucket lists for a moment. I’m not talking about the dream trip to Tuscany or walking the Camino. I’m talking about a regular Tuesday. One of the 10,000 ordinary days you’ll live in retirement.

What does a good one look like?

Not extraordinary. Not packed with big plans. Just a solid, satisfying day in this new season of life.

Do you walk along the beach at sunrise? What makes a day good in retirement?

It’s a question we don’t ask often enough. Retirement planning usually circles around the big stuff - super balances, travel goals, downsizing, whether to keep private health insurance. But I think the real power is in the day-to-day. Because that’s what your life is now. Days. One after the other.

So try this:

Close your eyes and picture a really good Tuesday, ten years from now. You’re healthy. You’re not working full-time. The urgent pace of midlife has eased. What does your morning look like? What gets you out of bed? Who do you talk to? What pulls your attention? How does the day move? When do you feel most you?

Because here’s the secret: most people overestimate how much they want freedom - and underestimate how much they still need structure, connection and purpose. We’re wired for momentum, in our Prime Time and even in retirement. We just want to be the ones choosing where we direct it.

For some people, a good day might include a coffee with a mate, a bushwalk, a bit of volunteering, an hour in the garden, and a late afternoon lie-down with a book. For others, it might be walking the dog in the morning then building something, mentoring someone, or helping care for grandkids. You don’t have to be productive - but it helps to feel useful.

Retirement isn’t a holiday. It’s a new kind of Tuesday. And the better we get at designing those, the better this whole phase of life turns out to be.

So, what does your good Tuesday look like?

Your turn: design your good Tuesday

Grab a pen, or open a blank note on your phone. Picture yourself ten years from now, on a regular Tuesday. You’re not working full-time. You’re in decent health. Life is yours to shape.

Now answer these:

1. What time do you wake up?
   Is it early and peaceful, or a slow, luxurious sleep-in?

2. What’s your morning rhythm?
   Coffee? Exercise? Reading? Walking the dog? What sets the tone?

3. Who do you spend time with today?
   Friends, family, partner, or no one at all?

4. What gives your day purpose?
   Is there something useful or meaningful you do today - paid, unpaid, creative, caregiving, community-based?

5. When do you feel most energised?
   What moment in the day gives you that sense of "this is what I love"?

6. What does rest look like?
   Is there a moment where you pause and take it all in? What gives you that grounded, content feeling?

7. What’s one small joy that would make the day feel complete?
   A good meal? A perfect playlist? That feeling after a swim? A text from your grandkid?

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A wild week (and a quick update)

It’s been a big one.

I kicked off Monday morning as a special guest on Australian Radio National show, Life Matters for their Good Retirement series, chatting about “Living the high life on a low budget.” You can listen in [here]. Then it was onto ABC Melbourne radio that afternoon with Brigitte Duclos, unpacking Denmark’s decision to lift the retirement age and what that might mean for us.

Each night this week I’ve been in the recording studio, reading the Australian Edition of Prime Time aloud for the audiobook — five hours a night. My voice nearly gave up on me on the very last night … but it’s done. Tick!

And in the daytimes I’ve bee working hard on the UK version of How to Have an Epic Retirement. It’s coming together so beautifully and I’ve been chatting with so many wonderful people in the UK to research it! Thanks to everyone who’s been part of this one! It won’t be long now til we have news from a publisher on bringing it to life. 🤞🏻

On Wednesday: we went to print on Prime Time: 27 Lessons for the New Midlife is now officially on its way. It’ll be in Aussie stores on 30 July too.
Aussies — ou can pre-order a copy on [Amazon] or [Booktopia]—and if you go through Booktopia, I’ll be signing all their pre-orders in person before launch.

On Thursday, Amazon Australia released a feature on Prime Time, Epic Retirement (and me!) that sent both books flying up the bestseller lists—and into the Movers and Shakers list too. That was a lovely surprise.

And I interviewed the incredible and entertaining Jean Kittson for the Prime Time podcast, talking about how to have the hard conversations with your ageing parents. She’s been doing it for years… so a wise and experienced guide. (Primetimers.net for those who want to listen!)

Have you recently joined our Epic Retirement club? It’s so much fun in there. More than 420,000 people are chatting, from all over the world, about how they are trying to have an epic retirement. It makes me super happy each day to play with everyone in there. And our moderation team are amazing — really amazing!

Next week, my big focus is our Epic Retirement Flagship Course (It’s for Aussies at this stage — heavily educating on the Australian financial system) It kicks off on 28 August, and we already have over 100 people booked in. I’d love to get that to 200 before the week’s out — but when we reach 200, the Earlybird offer will end and the price will rise from $374 to $499. So get in and book your place if you want the discount.

It’s been a busy week or two — but I can see the light in the future, and it’s worth it.

Until next time, make it epic!
Bec

Got thoughts this week — send an email to bec@epciretirement.net. I read every one.

Cheers, Bec Wilson

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speakerAs

Don’t forget, Prime Time is available for pre-order now on Amazon Australia here. International editions will be released — we just don’t have dates yet.

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Last of all, if you haven’t read the book, How to Have an Epic Retirement, you can order your copy from Amazon online.

Interested in taking our Aussie course?

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Before you quit your job and sell the house... read this!

Everything I share here is general information, not personal financial, legal or tax advice. It hasn’t been tailored to your specific life, goals, money situation, or brilliant retirement plans—so before making any big decisions, please chat to a licensed financial adviser or relevant professional who can look at your individual circumstances.

I do my best to keep things accurate and current, but I can’t guarantee it (rules change, governments shuffle things around, and I’m only human). Any figures or examples are just that—examples—to help explain things, and they might not reflect the latest laws or your actual numbers.

Use this as a helpful guide, not gospel.