Struggling with full time work

[Mellabella]

Hi,

I am relatively new to the whole FIRE thing and really like the idea but I really struggle with full time work sometimes. I'm a social worker which is pretty demanding but I love what I do. Its just so busy and I'm a sociable introvert who needs time alone to recharge. I get super tired and overwhelmed and feel like life is a bit of a treadmill at times. I am working on having better boundaries, saying no to overbooking my calendar (a real challenge for me), getting enough rest, eating well, exercising and having fun on the weekends. Another strategy I am trying is booking one annual leave day every month that there isn't public holiday so I have a long weekend every 4 weeks. I have worked 4 days a week in the past (before I found out about FIRE) and found it a much better balance but this would slow my progress a lot as I am only at the start of my journey and I'm aware I may feel like working even less as I get older (Im 34 now). I hope this doesn't sound super spoilt, I am grateful for my job and my boss is lovely and so supportive. I am wondering if anyone else has had similar struggles and what helped? Or is this just normal? Thanks in advance.

[Freedomin5]

Sure. I’m also an introvert in a position that requires interacting with people and managing crises. Sometimes it’s the job that’s the problem. I switched from a demanding position where I was being required to manage high risk situations to a position in the same field where I was managing situations and liaising with consultants who managed the high risk situations. My risk level went down and my stress level went down since I wasn’t the one responsible for averting crises.

If you’re a licensed clinical social worker, you could also consider private practice. There’s a LCSW here in the community who makes approx. $175/hour because there’s such a high demand for clinicians. If she worked 25 hours/week, 50 weeks/year, her income would be $218,750 per year. With a 30% tax rate, her take home pay is $153k/year, or $12,760/month.

[BookLoverL]

Progress definitely can be made with FIRE with part time work - it all depends on how much money you'd be getting for part time. But as long as your savings rate is still at least 50%, then you're on a track to eventually FIRE.

The thing about maintaining boundaries and not overcommitting yourself sounds like a great thing to work on, so it's worth seeing how that works out and if your life feels more balanced. But yeah, if you are really really struggling with full time and the idea of the minimum 5-10 year timescale for full time work fills you with dread, it's definitely possible to make progress on FIRE with the right part time job. Having had an employment history where you have worked full time puts you in a better position to be paid well for part time, too.

I'm disabled so I've only ever really worked part time except for right when I started work and hadn't realised I couldn't cope with full time yet. It's been much better for me mentally to be able to use the extra time gained from part time work to maintain my life in balance, than to try to cope with full time in order to be paid more. Though I have ended up stuck in work that's a bit low paid, but with a good work history before you go part time that shouldn't be such of a problem. But I've still had a reasonable savings rate every year.

If you're in the USA do remember to also consider whether the part time work provides healthcare.

If you *can* stick out the full time work for 5 or 10 years, you'll be able to go completely work free sooner, but part time is definitely feasible as long as your savings rate is still high enough, and allows you the benefit of getting your life a bit more back under control right now.

[Mellabella]

Sure. I’m also an introvert in a position that requires interacting with people and managing crises. Sometimes it’s the job that’s the problem. I switched from a demanding position where I was being required to manage high risk situations to a position in the same field where I was managing situations and liaising with consultants who managed the high risk situations. My risk level went down and my stress level went down since I wasn’t the one responsible for averting crises.

If you’re a licensed clinical social worker, you could also consider private practice. There’s a LCSW here in the community who makes approx. $175/hour because there’s such a high demand for clinicians. If she worked 25 hours/week, 50 weeks/year, her income would be $218,750 per year. With a 30% tax rate, her take home pay is $153k/year, or $12,760/month.

This is actually a great idea and something I have thought about before as I am a LCSW (or at least eligible to become the equivalent here in Australia) and work as a therapist currently. This could also be a great option in terms of flexibility for if/when we have kids as I could ramp back up slowly from part time. Thanks for putting the idea back in my head. It would certainly help avoid all the meetings and bureaucracy which takes up so much of my time.

[Mellabella]

Progress definitely can be made with FIRE with part time work - it all depends on how much money you'd be getting for part time. But as long as your savings rate is still at least 50%, then you're on a track to eventually FIRE.

The thing about maintaining boundaries and not overcommitting yourself sounds like a great thing to work on, so it's worth seeing how that works out and if your life feels more balanced. But yeah, if you are really really struggling with full time and the idea of the minimum 5-10 year timescale for full time work fills you with dread, it's definitely possible to make progress on FIRE with the right part time job. Having had an employment history where you have worked full time puts you in a better position to be paid well for part time, too.

I'm disabled so I've only ever really worked part time except for right when I started work and hadn't realised I couldn't cope with full time yet. It's been much better for me mentally to be able to use the extra time gained from part time work to maintain my life in balance, than to try to cope with full time in order to be paid more. Though I have ended up stuck in work that's a bit low paid, but with a good work history before you go part time that shouldn't be such of a problem. But I've still had a reasonable savings rate every year.

If you're in the USA do remember to also consider whether the part time work provides healthcare.

If you *can* stick out the full time work for 5 or 10 years, you'll be able to go completely work free sooner, but part time is definitely feasible as long as your savings rate is still high enough, and allows you the benefit of getting your life a bit more back under control right now.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I definitely agree you can still make a lot of progress working part time and is something I will consider if I can't make this work. Life's too short to hate the next 10 years! Would just have to convince the husband. ;)

[Loren Ver]

Since you are kinda new, welcome! 

FIRE takes as long as it takes, and if you really burn yourself out in the process you didn't do yourself any favors, only long term damage.  Take care of yourself, you are the only one that can.

That said, no one said all your money has to come from the highest demanding job you can do.  You can always drop your hours at the job you love to reasonable, then pick up something else that is part time but less demanding but also brings in some money.  My DH is very introverted and when he was transitioning away from public school teacher (bad fit) he graded standardized tests and then did data entry for a while until he landed something better.  Both were low key and fit his personality better so he wasn't burning his limited headspace.

The total many never be full time (some number some one decided on back in the day) but that's fine, or it could be more.  It just needs to fit your needs.   

[Mellabella]

Since you are kinda new, welcome! 

FIRE takes as long as it takes, and if you really burn yourself out in the process you didn't do yourself any favors, only long term damage.  Take care of yourself, you are the only one that can.

That said, no one said all your money has to come from the highest demanding job you can do.  You can always drop your hours at the job you love to reasonable, then pick up something else that is part time but less demanding but also brings in some money.  My DH is very introverted and when he was transitioning away from public school teacher (bad fit) he graded standardized tests and then did data entry for a while until he landed something better.  Both were low key and fit his personality better so he wasn't burning his limited headspace.

The total many never be full time (some number some one decided on back in the day) but that's fine, or it could be more.  It just needs to fit your needs.

Thanks for this reminder. A great point re the arbitrary full time hours. :)

[Siebrie]

Maybe it's worth working less hours. Are you currently paying for housekeeping or spending more on food (less time and energy to buy and prepare ingredients)? Maybe it's worthwhile to calculate what you are currently making per hour (using the 'your money or your life'method, and including the conveniences you have added to your life to keep up the fulltime work), and how much you would make if you worked less. Would there be a major difference? Keep in mind that you are living now, and money isn't everything.

[boarder42]

try calculating the total number of hours worked vs the years to get to FIRE.  Taking a reduced schedule should actually lower the total number of working days in your life while lengthening the years due to compounding becoming more powerful the more you have invested.  As long as you still cash flow enough to invest on the reduced schedule.