Working from home can provide a sense for “what retirement might look like,” says Dr. Cohen at USC. “Some are saying ‘No thanks, I want to continue to work,’ ” he says. Others, including Dr. Cohen himself, are exploring hobbies. Many retirees are frustrated that the virus is interrupting plans to travel and see grandchildren. But the break from routine has also freed up time to assess plans, values and the kind of legacies we want to leave, says George Kinder, founder of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning. As a result, he says more of his clients—and the clients of financial advisers who train with him—are re-evaluating what’s important in their lives and changing their plans. To prompt clients to clarify their goals, Mr. Kinder asks three questions: What would you do if you had all the time and money in the world? How would you live if you knew you had only five to 10 years left? And what would you most regret if you died tomorrow? “Covid essentially poses the same questions,” says Mr. Kinder. The virus has enhanced the feeling “that life is short, which is ordinarily something we are aware of occasionally, but this is a collective moment” of reckoning that “the clock is ticking,” says Ellen Goodman, co-founder of the nonprofit Conversation Project, which is dedicated to encouraging conversations about end-of-life wishes. “What matters is finding meaning and doing what really matters to us,” she says, whether that is to be good to people or study classical music or make the world better through commitment to a cause. Unstructured time is over. 4. We will have a better handle on what we want to do with our time
