Death Clock

02 Sep, 2026

**Potentially morbid post, you have been warned

I remember going to work one day, and hearing on the news that someone had died from a flying tire from the opposite traffic. This person was the same age as me, and he took the same highway I usually did for work. It shocked me to my core, because I had realized no amount of healthy living, could have averted this person's fate. He was simply unlucky, and he could have been me.

While reading Paul Kalanithi's When Breath Becomes Air, I can't help but be reminded that I will also die one day. Paraphrasing from the popular saying, "in life nothing is certain, except death and taxes". Since I had some time to decompress on my west coast trip, I thought I'd share my "Death Clock".

One restless evening, I created a Google Sheet that looks like this: Dates are fictitious in screenshot, but it looks like this

The date is based on a web quiz that I took, and based on some health factors like exercise, age, gender and habits. I will share the link at the end of this blog post. When I saw this crude estimated date, I felt it wasn't that big of a deal because 2088 seems like it's such a long time from now. But being also a good developer/analyst, I also wanted visualize it. I was shocked to see that I've lived more than 1/3 of my life.

As some of you may know, I can be a bit of a procrastinator (if you know me from work, no I do not procrastinate whatsoever :-) ). I at times push things off or delay starts until it's absolutely necessary. I generally feel like I have an endless todo list, and that many things require my attention. This clock was created¹ to remind me that, I don't have forever to start. What if I only have several weeks or several years left?

I am not quite sure yet, but I have formed some opinions and decisions about my life. I have come to the realization that people change as we live and breathe. Who I was 5-10 years ago, is not the same person as I am today. 10 years ago, I never thought I'd get married, work in tech, nor get a place. Who knows what the next 10 years will look like? However, I noticed certain things have been true for me:

1. I enjoy mornings and love being an early bird (I value my time)
2. I love to explore new places, new cultures and have new experiences
3. I am a curious person and like to ask questions like what-if?
4. I am family oriented
5. I like to share what I've discovered and connect with people (hence blogging)

While I can't say how I want my life to look like for the next 50ish years (fingers crossed I live for some time). I can now form thoughts about what I don't want my life to look like. A mentor and now a friend, has taught me to start thinking and building your life with a framework. This is good enough for me as a start.

As for you, my dear reader, I encourage you to try the quiz on death clock. If you have been putting off things like I did, this is your sign to:

1. Reconnect with the people you've been meaning to
2. Take the trip you wanted to
3. Do that personal project you've been putting off
4. Plans for the afterlife - what to leave behind
5. and think about what you want your life to look like/not look like

Please RSVP if you can make it

#random