How Much Should I Work While Traveling?

[ShortInSeattle]

Hey Mustachians,

I have a question about working after FIRE. I know it's a subjective one, but I'd appreciate some other perspectives because I'm stuck.

Background:
DH retired in the spring, and I had initially planned to be self-employed indefinitely. I've been a consultant for over a decade, the job is flexible and fun and pays well. But six months after DH retired, I surprised myself by changing my mind. We wanted to travel (long slow travel) and my clients needed me in Seattle most of the time. I got frustrated with being stuck in one geographic location, and DH was showimg me how much fun ER could be. That's why I made the difficult decision to transition my clients to another consultant. Our plan is to spend most of 2017 traveling, and I figured I could spin my business back up if and when I'm ready to work again. Letting go of my business-identity has been tough but I'm over the hump and ready to play. :)

Opportunity:
I have one client that I work with remotely, via Skype, and they're very easy going. They wanted to continue our work (it's like 6 hours per month) and I like them, so I agreed. We agreed to try out the arrangement and see how it goes with the time-zone craziness of me being all over the world. It's low pressure, in that if either party thinks it's not working out, we can end it without hard feelings.

Now I've got another client asking me to help with a project that's remote-friendly. My hunch is that it would be 10+ hours per week for a couple months. And I'm feeling very conflicted.

The Decision:
On the one hand I think it would be smart of me to take this project, because it could lead to more remote-work. The project would be fun (I think) and would pay well. And certainly I find the income to be a comfort, even if it's technically unnecessary.

On the other hand, I worked really hard to extricate myself from my business, and we've got this awesome 3-4 month trip planned, and I don't think I want to be stressed about clients and deadlines. I feel like I'm 75% of the way out the door, I smell the forest outside, and I'm being yanked, hard, right back in.

I *really want* to say yes to this project, and I also *really want* to say no. I wish this opportunity had come up six months from now, because we haven't even left the US and I won't know how I feel until we're actually on the road. (The project won't wait.)

Any advice, either on what to do, or how to think about this situation?

Much appreciated,

SIS

[CowboyAndIndian]

I would say, pick up the first consulting projects, but drop the second. It is only 6 hours a month, or an hour and a half a week and this will not take away from your enjoyment of slow travel. This way, you have a  gradual transition to the slow travel, without having to feel that you are giving up your consulting for. It seems you love what you do. The second project takes too much time away from your slow travel and both you and DH would regret it.

Reading several times thru your post, you have the consultants disease about worrying about projects which are brewing in the pipeline. You never want the pipeline to be empty. If you really want to FIRE and slow travel, why worry about the pipeline?

[soccerluvof4]

I will take the contrarian view here. One clients is 6 hours a month and the other 10 hours a week so for simple math lets just call it 12 hrs a week. Now considering that it pays well the 12 hours a week is so minimal give it a shot. If it doesn't work out if you can negotiate ahead of time with someone this situation I am sure you can negotiate professionally out of it. You did say you might consider circling back and doing more so leave a little bigger door open.

[Fishingmn]

You could just be blunt with either or both and tell them about your 3-4 month travel plan and see if they can make accommodation. They might very well surprise you and say they will wait on you or work around your availability in some way.

My DW is still doing consulting 2 days/week for her former employer. It's all home based and it's at a very high billing rate or she would have stopped months ago. We have 3 two week trips scheduled in 2017 and they just know they have to work around her being gone since they still highly desire that she stays as a contributor.

[ShortInSeattle]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I don't think there is a "right" answer here but you definitely helped me think it through. I've decided to pass on the second opportunity and focus on enjoying my newfound freedom. I figure there will be more opportunities down the road, so I'll do my best to keep the door open with that client for work in the future.

How can I know what it's like to enjoy my FIRE if I never really stop working? I think I want to explore "the other side" of life for a while.

Thanks again!

[malacca]

Keep what you can. Traveling is great but you end up with too much free time and start to find silly things to fill the void.

I travel worldwide and manage several companies / clients. Initially I got rid of most of my duties but ended up starting new entities as I was bored. I work in the morning over coffee and breakfast for an hour. Then at night over wine for an hour. Keeps my mind occupied and amazingly I am earning the same as I was working more.

The loss of intellectual satisfaction is a problem with retiring early or traveling. I can't imagine doing nothing all day. It sounds great when you are 80+ hours a week, but once you slow down you realize something is better than nothing.

[Metric Mouse]

I'd keep the freedom. Avoid work for awhile, and see if you really miss it as much as you think. Taking a job that will lead to more work seems like a terrible idea for FIRE!

[FrugalZony]

I totally get that you want to keep your Freedom!
It's not easy to keep the balance between keeping a foot in the door and making sure that you are not limiting your fire too much.
I'd go with my gut feeling if I were you. And it sounds like your gut feeling said to turn it down this time.
Congratulations on having reached THAT point where you can do it and feel good about it!

I am in "Trial Fire" and a consulting gig here and there would be EXACTLY what I'd like.
I haven't taken any steps to secure one yet (other than hinting at former coworkers at the time I left)
But I really wish I was in a situation where people approached me with a 10 hour/week kind of gig.
(Send them my way, LOL!).

Do you mind sharing a bit more about the kind of consulting you do?
I remember reading some of your previous posts about dealing with CEOs and such, but don't recall any details.
If you don't want to say more, I totally understand.

[ShortInSeattle]

Hi FrugalZony.

I'd rather not get into that detail in a public forum but I'll PM you. :)

SIS

[FrugalZony]

Thanks for the PM!

I hope you enjoy your trip!!

Keep us posted on the travels ;)

[Financial.Velociraptor]

120 hours a week. pfft.  slacker!

[StetsTerhune]

wanted to chime in, since this is pretty close to my life. I have worked a wide variety of hours under a wide variety of circumstances while traveling full-time the last few years. To me, up to a point anyway, the total hours is not important at all compared to the circumstances and freedom. I'm much happier working 20 hours a week whenever I feel like it than I am working 10 hours a week at fixed hours. Or, even worse, working 5 hours a week but needing to be "available" for 40.

Sounds like you're in a good spot to be able to state the terms of the contract to what will work best for you. Think about what is important and why. There's a lot of downtime in travel. I don't mind working if I can just use the downtime. The moment it's restrictive it's a lot worse.

[NoNonsenseLandlord]

It would be good to work enough to make the traveling tax deductible...