It’s been said that people in their 20s don’t appreciate their youth until they lose it. Am I one of those 20-somethings? Very likely.

I recently heard some fantastic advice on this topic that I’d recommend to all people in their youth. Set up a countdown timer on your phone/computer/device of choice and start counting down the days until you turn 30. I installed an extension in my Chrome browser which is now a permanently pinned tab in my browser. It looks like this:

This isn’t advice exclusively for people in their 20s. If you’re in your 30s, count down the days until you turn 40. You get the idea.

The point is that every decade of our lives is, for most people, ideal for a particular set of activities. Take risks while you’re young; seek deeper meaning as you mature; leave an impact on the world as you progress through live.

Having a countdown timer quantify exactly how many days, hours, minutes, and seconds you have until you enter a new decade of your life has a powerful way of motivating you to make the most of your time.

I’m so glad I heard this advice through a co-worker, and I won’t soon forget it.