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Dave Buck

Is Your Part-Time Job Taking Over Retirement?

Published about 17 hours ago • 1 min read

The Time-Optimized Newsletter

Helping move time from finite to infinite (issue 244)

Retirement isn't necessarily about leaving work behind. It's about deciding how much of your life work gets to occupy.

When Part-Time Work Becomes Full-Time Retirement

Greg retired seven years ago. Well, sort of.

He's still consulting with our company, sometimes working as many as 36 hours a week. And I'm glad he's around because his experience continues to be valuable.

But I've watched him navigate something that I suspect will become part of my own retirement decisions.

At what point does working part-time begin to interfere with being retired?

Greg has found an interesting way to answer that question, although he doesn't always get it right.

What if Your Part-Time Work Disappeared Tomorrow?

If your part-time job disappeared tomorrow, would your retirement still feel meaningful?

If that question is difficult to answer, consider whether your identity, purpose, relationships, and daily routines have become independent of your career. The goal isn't to stop working. The goal is to ensure that your retirement remains fulfilling with or without work.

Is Your Retirement Lifestyle Ready for the Time You’ll Have?

Retirement can create opportunities to continue working, pursue interests, spend time with family, and develop new routines. But having more choices doesn’t necessarily mean those choices will fit together.

The Free Summary Report provides a starting point for considering whether the life you’re planning is the life you actually want to live.

When Does Part-Time Work Become Too Much?

Part-time work can provide purpose, relationships, intellectual challenge, and additional income. Those are all valuable. The risk comes when work quietly becomes the foundation of retirement instead of one meaningful part of it.

Retirement is ultimately about creating a life that remains satisfying regardless of whether a job is part of the equation.

Planning for that transition before you retire gives you greater flexibility, resilience, and confidence throughout your post-career years.

Continue Reading

​Retirement Is Becoming a Family Decision​

​My Post-Career Life Won’t Design Itself​

​Required Minimum Lifestyle Distributions​

​Who Is Your Chief Longevity Officer?​

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Dave Buck

Helping professionals design a more intentional life at work and beyond it.

Weekly insights on time, purpose, productivity, and intentional living.

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