experiences with cutting back on career

[basil]

For various reasons, I am considering looking for an early semi-retirement sometime in the next years. I'm burned out, and our financial situation is such that we won't need much income. I have worked hard for many years to accomplish this.

I'm looking to see if there are options where I could work 1-2 days/week. I am not certain I want to abandon my career, and want some flexibility to return at some point when my kids are older.

Has anyone done this, especially with older elementary/middle school age kids (not babies)? I think that I would love to devote more time to my hobbies (exercise, photography, hiking, cooking) and travel, as well as be more present and available for my kids. I am concerned, though, about my lack of experience with unstructured time, and my procrastination tendencies. I would hate to make a drastic change and figure out that I hate being home all day and waste the time scrolling facebook and twitter.

I've seen posts about re-entering the workforce after a long turn as a SAHM, but wonder if anyone has done the opposite, and what that experience was like.

TIA!

[SnuggleBuggles]

It takes some internal motivation to not fritter time away if you’re home solo but it’s really not hard to fill the time. Join activities, sign up for classes, volunteer. You also can get any errands and appointments done while the kids are at school so you aren’t running around on evenings and weekends. Your time with family can be used for the fun stuff.
I think your plan is good. Keep a foot in the door but explore what life is like when not at work full time.
Part time is my ideal for that balance.


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[KpbS]

Not sure if your career is one that could transfer into the academic side from practicing to teaching but that might be an option for you depending on your specialty and schools in your area.

One friend formed her own practice and job shares (internal medicine). She works 2 days a week and one Fri every other week but Fri is often from home.

[bisous]

I work part-time (20 hours a week though closer to 30 this week!) and I really like the balance. I don't have a ton of time to waste, but I also can visit with friends, run to the grocery store during the day, exercise or shower whenever! I don't know what it would be like to not have any work hours while the kids are at school. I'm not sure that I would like it? I think I'd probably waste time. Having a little bit of structure helps me to use my time wisely. Probably not super helpful. Just wanted to give you the perspective of someone working a little bit. That little bit of work helps make the home hours more precious and more wisely spent!

[basil]

I work part-time (20 hours a week though closer to 30 this week!) and I really like the balance. I don't have a ton of time to waste, but I also can visit with friends, run to the grocery store during the day, exercise or shower whenever! I don't know what it would be like to not have any work hours while the kids are at school. I'm not sure that I would like it? I think I'd probably waste time. Having a little bit of structure helps me to use my time wisely. Probably not super helpful. Just wanted to give you the perspective of someone working a little bit. That little bit of work helps make the home hours more precious and more wisely spent!

It would be great to be able to work only when the kids were in school and be available the rest of the time. I just can't see how that would be compatible with my job (i.e. I've never ever seen that schedule). Easier to do a few long ~10 hour days and then have off the rest of the time.

[hellokitty]

My brother plans to do this. So he will probably get to retire before his kids finish high school. I have no idea how he'd spend his time but he has never had trouble keeping himself busy. My bil kind of got forced into an early retirement situation when covid hit. No fault of his own except it happened all in time for him to send his youngest one to college. He's a former high kevel exec and has been VERY bored. I think the one thing he maintains is a daily exercise routine, but he has literally always been a workaholic, so I know this has been hard for him. He is still trying to get back into the workforce, but it has been 18 months and because he's in his mid 50s, idk how possible that will be for him. He wants to do some consultation work on the side but hasn't secured any solid contracts yet. He was not around for his kids when they were younger... I have joked before that u can give him our youngest one to raise because he really seems to miss his kids a lot and missed out on so much due to his career and it was one where he traveled over 50% of the time.

[westwoodmom04]

I’m a lawyer and I worked 3 days a week for a bit as a government attorney in dc after working for more than a decade in a big law firm. It was a very nice schedule and I wish I could have kept it, but I had a 1.5 hour commute each way and little kids. I did go back full time thereafter to acloser position before deciding I didn’t want to practice law anymore. DH works very long and unpredictable hours for which he is well compensated, so I have the luxury of not working for a few years. Honestly, at my age, more likely to just do volunteering from here out because I like to control my schedule, and dh’s job requires that we entertain and also that I join him on some business trips.

Will add that it is easy to waste time, but that was also true for me at the office.

[gatorsmom]

Lots of experience with this. My best friend was a GI doctor. She cut down her hours to be more available for her 3 girls. She cut down to part time, then the minimum she could work at her hospital. She came to the same realization- she had saved enough money and could retire. She wanted to be there for her kids. So she retired completely. She said even at the least amount of hours she still had so much paperwork and reading to keep up with. She is happily very involved with her kids and her family. I’ve asked her several times if she regrets giving up medicine and she says absolutely not. She was burnt out anyway (and this was before COVID). She also says she never imagined how busy she would be NOT working.

I haven’t read the responses past your OP, so probably other sahms have chimed in. I haven’t worked outside the home in 18 years. But I’ve become very, very involved with local charities and with my kids’ extracurricular activities. I recently told the president of our local charity that I look forward to the date when a particularly qualified person who is scheduled to move to the area will take over my volunteer job. I’m excited to see how she runs it because she has the education and experience I lack for this job. The president said he doesn’t plan to let me go and has other jobs he’d like me to oversee. I love this charity so I will likely continue to help whether they need me. Nonprofits really benefit from qualified, intelligent volunteers, particularly retired people since the nonprofits can’t afford to hire exceptional employees. Maybe nonprofit volunteer work is a route you would be interested?

Wanted to add that Dh is semi-retired. When he sold his construction-related company to a Fortune 500 company 6 years ago, he started building another company but he is doing that for fun. With the rest of his time, he’s the head knight for his local Knights of Columbus, he is on the parish finance council, he runs our schools autoclub, he’s now coaching the school’s rowing club, and he’s very active with no other my sons’ BSA troop as well as my daughters’ troop. He just sort of fell into the activities he’s helping with as they became open and seems to love it.

[basil]

Westwoodmom, do you ever feel like you are "wasting" your degree/time put in earning it by not working? (I am not saying you are, just that I worry I would feel that way myself).

Part of the problem is that I think I am really very good at what I do and there is a great need for it. Not many people can do it, even fewer want to. It will be difficult to find something that allows me to do what I am best at while still working less hours. It's complicated. And every time I think about walking away, that's what stops me. What I do is probably close to what I was put on earth to do, in terms of natural ability, but I can't keep going at the same pace very much longer.

I have many friends who walked away too. I don't know if they are happier or not. But a younger close colleague just got handed a life-threatening diagnosis, and I feel like time is so limited in life.

[gatorsmom]

Part of the problem is that I think I am really very good at what I do and there is a great need for it. Not many people can do it, even fewer want to. It will be difficult to find something that allows me to do what I am best at while still working less hours. It's complicated. And every time I think about walking away, that's what stops me. What I do is probably close to what I was put on earth to do, in terms of natural ability, but I can't keep going at the same pace very much longer.

Have you talked to your supervisor about this? If you are that good of a fit for your job, they will not want you to leave and will work with you. If you are burnt out, others taking your job will likely burn out too. Clearly, your position description needs to be re-written. Would it help getting an assistant for your position? Are there any parts of the job that could be passed off to
someone else to follow up on? Do other companies handle your job differently (I didn’t finish reading your whole thread so can’t remember if you said what your job is). Can you do this job at another company? Would another company be willing to work with reducing your hours or getting you help so you can do the more essential parts of the job without burning out? Would you feel less burnt out if you had help at home? Someone to clean? Help with meals and laundry? Some good friends who own their accounting firm pay a college-ages babysitter to drive their 4 kids to activities. That’s all she does and they said they don’t have to worry about their kids after school. It’s a huge help for them.