By Dr. Jim Dahle, WCI FounderI'm writing this post in mid-October 2020. At this point, Katie and I have been financially independent for a couple of years, meaning we don't need any more money to maintain our lifestyle. Over the last couple of years, our financial focus has gradually turned to giving well, creating legacy, and not letting our money ruin our lives and those of our children. Yes, we still earn, save, invest, spend, pay taxes, and budget, but most of those processes have been on autopilot for years and now require little time or mental effort.
Over the last six weeks or so, I have had a pretty good opportunity to try out early retirement. I squeezed in my eight shifts in September, but have not yet worked a shift in October. I recorded a few podcasts, but haven't written a blog post in a couple of months. Most of my Fall speaking gigs were canceled, and those that were not were made virtual. So I worked, but it was really a fairly minimal amount of work compared to previous time periods. So what have I been doing the last six weeks? I've pretty much been retired. Check it out:
- Sep 4th-8th: Lake Powell camping trip with the family
- Sep 13th-19th: Canyoneering trip with friends
- Sep 26th-October 2nd: Floating the Middle Fork of the Salmon River with friends
- October 5th-9th: Couples trip to Lake Powell with Katie
- October 15th-18th: Fall Break canyoneering trip with the family
If you add one day before and after each of these trips to prepare, outfit, pack, plan, unpack, take care of equipment etc., you can readily see that over a 47 day period, I spent 38 days (81% of my time) going on trips.
Now, these trips were all thoroughly enjoyable, allowed easy social distancing, were relatively inexpensive, and allowed me to spend time with people I really enjoy spending time with in places that are absolutely stunning. By the end, however, it reminded me of a lesson I first learned as an MS2. In that summer between my first year of medical school and my second year of medical school, I had a month completely off. We didn't have much money and Katie was busy, so there were no big exciting trips we could take, so I mostly just played. I played quite a bit of golf ($32 provided an all summer, all you could play pass at the University course), went rock climbing, played some video games, etc. By the end of that month, going to the golf course felt like going to work. Without work, recreation had lost its rejuvenating effects.
Now twenty years later, I had repeated the experience. After six weeks of doing the most fun things I could come up with in our current COVID-impacted world, I was no longer having anywhere near as much fun as I should be having. So, how can someone prepare for finding purpose in retirement?
Brigham Young once famously said that a day should be composed of eight hours of work, eight hours of recreation, and eight hours of sleep. This results in a balanced, purposeful life. And when it gets out of balance, one becomes less productive, tired, burnt out, unhealthy, and/or unhappy. I think there is a great deal of wisdom to be found in that formula.
Clearly, I'm not yet ready to retire. The Physician on FIRE famously opined that while he actually enjoyed his job as an anesthesiologist, he enjoyed his days off more. That is certainly also true for me. But without the workdays, the days off are not as good as they could be. A great meal tastes better when you're hungry.
So, as I “go back to work” after this recreational binge, I wanted to pass along a few suggestions to those of you who are not yet financially independent.
3 Tips for Finding Purpose (Happiness) in Your Retirement
#1 Balance Your Life
Doctors are far more likely to be found on the “working too much and playing/sleeping too little” side of the spectrum than the opposite. See if you cannot make a few changes in your work and family life to allow you to get closer to the ideal of 8 hours of work, 8 hours of recreation, and 8 hours of sleep. It will likely make you happier.
#2 Try It Out
If you have been sitting around fantasizing about a life with no work, I would encourage you to go try it out in some way. Take a long trip or a short sabbatical. Cut back on your call. Take Wednesdays off. I bet most of you will discover what I have—that work plays a meaningful purpose in my life. Removing it completely eliminates a great deal of joy, purpose, and happiness.
Religious leader David O. Mckay said:
Let us realize that: the privilege to work is a gift, the power to work is a blessing, the love of work is success!
That doesn't mean that the work has to be paid work, just that there should still be some work.
#3 Go Overboard
If you are financially independent now, I would encourage you to go overboard. Like the Frank-Starling Curve, there is a point where too much of a good thing becomes, well, too much of a good thing. A lot of people talk about wanting to retire so they can travel. Go travel. A lot. Get it out of your system. Go do those things you may not be able to do when you're older. Do so much of it that you are sick of traveling. Cross that line between not enough and too much travel and play. But don't be surprised when you eventually realize that indeed, you have crossed the line. Now come on home and do some work, whether paid or volunteer. It will make your recreation that much sweeter.
The Frank-Starling Curve: More IV fluid is a good thing…up to a certain point
Now, if ever there were a first-world problem, this is it. But this blog is all about first-world problems and I hope this is one that most of my readers will eventually have to deal with themselves. As you do, I would encourage you to take that immense dedication, work ethic, intelligence, and privilege that have allowed you to be in this position and redirect it to improve the lives of those around you. At least until your next trip.
How are you finding purpose in retirement? Why does work matter in your life? What is the best way to find balance between work and play for you? How will that change in retirement?
Very cool perspective to hear!
I’m really far away from this point of the journey but it’s something I find myself thinking about still. I love what I do and don’t think now that I want to stop after reaching FI. But just being able to bring more balance as well as find time to give more I believe will bring even more joy to what I do.
It’s also a great reminder for me to enjoy the process and not get to caught up stating at the finish line!
Absolutely good advice! I retired in 2018 after 20 years of clinical practice and 25 years of business management. The first 18 months of “play” was terribly frustrating, then came Covid and sheltering-in-place. Since I started 10 hours/week of telemedicine with TeleDoc my balance has returned. Helping patients find health & wellness has always been my personal Mission. It’s good to get back to basics.
I can relate.
I think EVERYONE should understand and pursue FI.
I think SOME of us should pursue RE.
It isn’t for me.
Outstanding post. Although I have toyed with retirement quite a bit over the last five years or so, my spring pandemic-related furlough gave me a glimpse of what retired life could be like. Granted, there was no grand travel opportunity, but waking up in the morning with only looking forward to chores like sourcing more toilet paper, planning dinner, and walking the dogs left me very unfulfilled. I could not wait to get back to work!
Instead of a move toward permanent retirement, I redoubled my effort to find the right job fit for the twilight of my professional career.
what, tired of video games! I think you were playing the wrong video games. the summer before I entered med school, I played Halo all day with my buddies, made sure to workout in between maybe for an hour, everyday. I never got tired of it! I’ve played a lot of video games and never got tired of it!
then again, that’s why you’re financially independent with a successful business on the side, and I am years away from my financial goals 🙂
This is a particularly timely post for me. I am trying to decide when I should retire from my practice. I’m nearing FRA and financially, I’m set. I worry about what I’m going to do to fill my days. In the past, when I had more than two weeks off, I couldn’t wait to get home from vacation (although I love to travel). I already gave up call a few years ago and with Covid and the current state of regulations in medicine, I no longer think part-time or locums work is a great option. We now have a grandson and spending more time with him is appealing even if it means moving to be closer to him.
I’m finding that retirement isn’t ending a career or even finding a new job, it is more like finding a whole new career! I haven’t done that since my twenties.
I could not have agreed with you more that retirement is like finding a whole entire new career. With most of us are healthy and current life expectancy, we are likely going to have as long a time period after retirement as our working life. Finding meaning/purpose and a good balance is an entirely new task. Ideally, I would like to utilize some of my skills and training as physician in this next phase. I have engaged myself in overseas teaching/mission trips combined with adventures trips last couple of years. This year is tough with the pandemic. Welome any suggestions
I would suggest your “new” career utilize your existing skill set. You will add so much more value given your expertise and with so many people in need, I believe you will get a tremendous amount of satisfaction from it. This is what I did five years ago (I am not a physician but my experience is similar to those posting here). Your initial engagement is inspiring. Consult with a teaching hospital, a university, or a LT care facility. Look for an appt to a Board of Directors. You will find that being the “wealth of knowledge” for others is rewarding. Best wishes.
I am completely retired. I was not sure I was going to like it but I do. I think you have to actively look for new things to do. I am doing all the things that I never had time to pursue when working. I have plenty of time to exercise both my body and my mind. I have focused on meeting new people and socializing even during the pandemic. I am discovering that I have some artistic ability and I am going with it.
I hear this a lot–“doing all the things I never had time to pursue when working”. But I can’t relate to it. I’ve got the time to do everything I want despite working. In fact, when we start thinking about doing “big trips” (like a 3 or 4 weeker) it isn’t the work we can’t work around, it’s the kids’ schedules and needs! In that respect, it isn’t lack of money (solved) or the presence of work (solved), it’s the family commitment. And with a 5 year old, that’s not going away any time soon. I suppose even that could be “hired out” but it doesn’t seem right to do so, at least not very often.
Yes, my kid’s idea of a sabbatical is different than mine. And the resulting compromise turns out to be a standard American vacation.
But “doing the things I never had time” also involves being present (and engaged) for breakfast and dinner (and now lunch) about 80% of the time; so it is important to see the small things too).
Good point. Certainly something I’ve been trying to do a lot more these days. I know my 5 year old much better than I ever knew her siblings at her age, but I get to spend lots of time now with the teens…probably more than they want!
I was more or less forced into retirement in an academic war. Best thing to happen to me. I always had hobbies and activities, even when it was considered a moral outrage for MDs to do so. I’m now 67 and my days are full and invigorating. Between exercise, religious practice, music, shooting, school (getting another degree for fun), a little consulting, managing a commercial property, and hanging with my grandchildren, I need to keep a written schedule to get it all done! The key is developing interests even when the Man wants more from you, and then letting them expand when you retire. The problem with travel (and we do, regularly) is that it’s episodic. A successful retirement requires a balance of activities that one can do regardless of the weather and time in your life.
I totally get what you are saying. For me, work sets the stage of tearing me down, not building me up. I’m trying to change those factors and the mindset associated with it. Honestly, I am not sure I can change it much more without changing careers.
I am also oddly content to sit in a tent/hotel for several days waiting for a storm to pass, so perhaps I have an innate ability to thrive from boredom.
Whereupon Freud might ask why I chose medicine.
DITTO!!!
I had several months of house hunting and terminal leave (vacation days to use up prior to retirement from the military) and I had a blast for several weeks.
Completely financially independent at this point with a guaranteed income for the rest of my life and plenty of retirement savings. I probably would have had fun for a few months longer if I could have traveled.
But in the end, I really missed taking care of patients and teaching residents. Those are the things that really make me happy. I wound up returning to work (albeit part time now) before my terminal leave was even finished. I have been working part time now for six months and can honestly say it has reinvigorated my love for my career.
Fundamentally, I think we need to redefine retirement. When I was a young kid in the 1950s-60s, the image of retirement was playing golf or shuffleboard, rocking on a porch, and collecting an employer-based pension. Then you died. Quickly.
I’m now 68. (Both my parents died in their mid-50s.) I do part-time public health consulting with my wife, an epidemiologist who’s 60. I teach sailing part-time as a kind of self-liquidating hobby that gives me free access to nice boats with no maintenance worries or expenses. I indulge my passion for science education by serving on the board of a local educational nonprofit–the opposite of a self-liquidating hobby since I contribute to it financially as well. I went back to school full-time for the first three months of 2020. (Lucky timing!) I hope to spend six weeks this summer as a combination deckhand/educator on a 132-foot schooner in the San Juan Islands in Washington State.
Am I working or retired? Both? I’m not sure what retired really means these days aside from having greater flexibility to choose how I spend the bulk of my time. That’s an ideal, of course; few people have that opportunity. But defining retirement as an absence of work seems no longer relevant.
I think you made my point for me!
I agree with ExMGH’s comment above. The one area that I would push back on is the idea that “few people have that opportunity” to do as he is.
If people achieved some degree of financial independence early and were not trapped in fear by all of the baggage that comes with traditional retirement (no further income–> scarcity mentality, no work –> loss of purpose), then many (most?) people could accomplish something similar.
Without the over-romantization of retirement = no work, people would realize that having a small income from part-time work in the same profession, hobby jobs, or an encore career allows them to live a better lifestyle much sooner.
Can’t believe you worked the Frank starling curve into this post! Everything in moderation is what my dad used to say about everything. He’s probably right.
I’ve been saddened to see a pattern in high functioning women becoming dependent on alcohol after retiring and kids leaving home. A loss of sense of purpose along with boredom are extremely destructive. I will need a purpose and plan to retire to when the time eventually comes
It’s just women? Check out Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino!
Interesting article on the subject here: https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh26-4/308-315.htm
I went on leave for 6 months trying to see
how retirement feels like. Everywhere I went in town people are busy about their
work or school. I felt out of place. I did not
travel, tried to do housework and soon
I was anxious to go back to work. That
was 6 years ago and again toying the idea
of retirement, The posts here are pretty
balance on what retirement is like for us
docs, something you would not see on books how to retire. Thank you all
I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about these first world problems and I really enjoyed reading your perspective.
I imagine a gradual and intentional journey towards equilibrium, where I get to find that perfect mix of recreation, family, traditional work, and creative pursuits that I can sustain forever.
I agree with the other comments above that the traditional retirement model of purposeless recreation is a nice recipe for a rapid decline.
And let me know if you figure out how to keep your money from ruining your kids’ lives. It’s another thing I worry about as well.
Good luck finding “perfect.” I’d be happy to hit “good enough.”
I’m an eternal optimist!
I think many of us got a “taste” of retirement due to mandatory shut downs. We were not able to treat patients (except for dental emergencies) for 7 weeks in Louisiana. Up until that time, the most I had taken off of work was 8 days.
So 7 weeks was a stretch! It allowed me to be forced into realizing and experiencing a few things such as:
time with kids is important
we don’t need NEAR as much to live on as we originally thought
the simple things in life bring about the MOST happiness
I was also able to spend several hours a day with our kids playing sports (baseball, tennis and basketball) that I’d have NEVER been able to do otherwise.
But being able to not work showed me that I do need to do something in order for me to want to jump out of bed in the morning with excitement. I’m glad that I found that with blogging and interacting with those that come to our site. Being able to teach others about something is a great feeling and very rewarding.
Thanks again for the great article at a perfect time in 2020.
I suppose I am one of those sad souls for whom my work is my hobby.
I cannot imagine going through a day of vacation without reading in my field. That is what days off are for. I would find it hard to keep up if I were to stop practicing altogether.
When I reach a point that my stamina will not permit me to work enough hours to stay good at it, I will reluctantly retire. Not looking forward to that.
I have no idea what I will do with myself at that point. There are lots of other things I want to read about but I suspect I could not study them all day. Maybe take some courses and learn about things I don’t have time for now? But many of the courses would be related to research, which I would not be doing anymore.
Great Post. FIRE is great and all…But the FI is the most important part so one can retire how and when they want to. Some of us actually like our work 😉
I’ve seen it several times with my senior partners. Work has a somewhat negative connotation until they get to the point where they can retire financially, then they realize that they actual like what they do and continue working several more years, happier than ever.
After 27 years working ERs and Free-Standing ER’s, FIRE’d at age 55 several years ago. Currently work a very simple 12 or 24-hour shift of my choosing once a month at a surgical hospital ER and am medical director at a free clinic open 2 days/week, though I’m only there half the time. Don’t miss the full-time gig one iota! Until Covid, traveled a bunch last few years and enjoying life away from medicine and the increasing intrusion of gov’t, lawyers, bureaucrats, hospital administrations, and employer. Enjoy playing some golf, catching up on some hobbies, and working on some home chores
Years ago, medicine was a ‘calling’. Unfortunately, for a multitude of reasons, these days it seems more like a ‘job’ than ever. Glad to be essentially out of this rat race. Glad some of you still feel the ‘calling’, but I don’t at all feel bad or sad about ‘hanging mine up’.
Thanks for what you have done and continue to do. I’m sure we’re all different as far as when we feel we’ve “done our part.” But it is interesting to keep in mind that cops and soldiers basically look at 20 years as a career. If you count the last two years of med school when I was “practicing” and residency, I’m at 20 years already.
Sort of trying out FIRE for the last year-ish. No opportunity to “go overboard” during a pandemic, though! I am staying home and away from others. I do Not want to get sick.
I am close to retirement. The plan is to retire in 3 years when my board certification runs out! I am working part time. Unfortunately working part time these days includes checking your EHR messages on your time off (not fun), writing papers with students (which I enjoy), and reviewing charts for clinic(a necessity). Does anyone else who works part-time have these problems? I consider myself to be working full-time but more of it is done on the computer at home. I work about 40 hours a week. I am looking for ways to make my time off actual time off. I am open to any suggestions. I think I will last longer if I can actually have time off to do non work related things but I don’t want to be a burden to my partners.
I am in the same predicament. Trying to find more time to spend with family and for myself, but I find myself still working well over 40 hrs a week (it’s the charting and patient emails) even though I cut my hours back 30%. Trying to be less detail-oriented on my charting but that goes against my training. Would also welcome suggestions. (And don’t say scribe, that’s not an option)
I’m in the same boat, able to retire financially, and getting to be of an age where the pressure of full time practice was draining the joy I had in being a doctor. While not everyone’s personal situation will work for this, my solution has been to work 1-3 weeks a month as a locums. My spouse goes with me most of the time, and we enjoy exploring the towns and areas about them. The people in the practices and hospitals are happy for the help, and the compensation is good. I can control my schedule of time off. In some places the work is more intense, in others, very relaxed. I enjoy still being able to contribute while no longer feeling burned out. I don’t mind working hard on a busy assignment, if I know I will be leaving in a few days. I feel that my being there gives the local people a break and helps the community to retain my specialty.
Time scheduled, or better FTE, becomes meaningless. I changed from full FTE five days a week to four days a week and ended up doing more total “working hours” than full FTE. You have to independently adjust your total “working” hours, somewhat easier if the financial factor is less crucial.
Agree with the above posters about the beautiful use of the Frank-Starling curve! Everything has a “just right ” point, it seems–like MMM’s “The Sweet Spot”!
I also agree that vacation seems oh so much sweeter when you creep exhausted back home after battling the mountain of work you have to get through to take that blessed week. But then, if you go to a cool place, you feel you must rush around like a madman to see ALL the sights, or hike ALL the trails. Then, of course, comes the dread of return, the piled-up work, the mountain of emails, and the frantic pace of the week back where you pay again (this time in sweat equity) for your week away.
Work in the proper dose is much easier in shift work. ER docs, anesthesiologists, radiologists and the like have the luxury of slowly backing off a career (and maybe starting some awesome blogs while they do it) but for a surgeon slowing down becomes more difficult. Since most patients have problems that can and should be treated conservatively and non-operatively, you must see a large number of patients and have them fail non-operative management to have a full surgery schedule. This is like tapping a lot of maple trees to get enough sap to make the syrup! If you are absent too long, the supply line is disrupted and pretty soon there is no one to operate on and you may just as well stay on vacation!
For me, the March and April slowdown (no elective surgeries) represented a “First Spring”, where I took long walks with my wife during daylight hours and noticed how amazing everything looked–the flowers, trees, wildlife, etc. She looked at me oddly and said “It’s spring. Normal spring. During daylight. You just haven’t seen it in 25 years!”
Wow. Took a pandemic to make me press pause. The two month slowdown convinced me that not only could I retire but that I probably should –I’ve missed too much already.
I did something different- I switched specialties at age 66.
In truth, I had taken care of pregnant women with drug addiction for the last 7-8 years. I transitioned over several years to taking care of addiction patients without pregnancy and Jan 1, 2020, I stopped obstetrics. I’m working half time (M,Tu and every other Wednesday), no call, no weekends. I have taken up a number of new hobbies and am enjoying life and knowing that when I work, I am doing important work.
I just have to get used to taking care of men (we’re strange creatures, you know).
The trick is to find another rewarding thing to do. I ran for the NH House.
Wow I’m sorry for Any of you that can’t find meaning in life after retirement. All of you are one trick ponies. Become a well rounded individual prior to retirement. Balance family ,friends and interests outside of Medicine . I practiced for 32 years .I had a wonderful career working with incredibly talented people ; nurses, colleagues, administrators etc. .
I retired 5 years ago at age 60 and I have never been happier. I don’t know how I used to find time to work. Plenty of interests and activities to fill every day. I do miss the chaos .A group of people working to solve difficult sometimes life threatening problems.
I am grateful I haven’t had to manage a 30 person medical practice with no income during the Covid crises. I’m grateful I haven’t had to work in a personally life threatening environment. I’m grateful for a fulfilling outdoor lifestyle.
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to wake up every morning and know I have too many meaningful choices to fill my time. I’m awed by the opportunities that the the next 30 years will offer. Life is GRAND !
I AM a 1 trick pony. I am a general pediatrician practicing full-time. I am 75. I think it is my job. I work with the nicest people in the world. the residents are always interesting. the patients are great. one 7 year old told me that he wants to be a coroner when he grows up. kids like telehealth. they think they are on television. I have no managerial responsibilities. I am line staff, and expected to do what I do and no more. I look forward to evenings and weekends. this is WAY better than when I was a young mother and seemed to always be behind.
Because I am perhaps a bit younger than most of the above contributors, I have thought about other careers that would prevent mental stagnation, yet afford time to pursue some of the above recommendations. As a former solo-practitioner, I plan to transition to full retirement via teaching high school science. Summers will be free, and I will enjoy spontaneity on the weekends – an unusual concept for a physician used to being on-call 24 hours a day with minimal coverage for vacation. My wife and I have lived well within our means, and we have been completely debt free for sometime. If you have an interest in this unusual journey, the below link provides a summary of a 52 year old (former) physician in search of happiness.
https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/12/why-this-plastic-surgeon-closed-his-practice-to-become-a-high-school-science-teacher.html
I like to travel. I like to work. I like surprises but I like planning. The best of all: locum tenens. We’ve been to Alaska 12 times! We also like to fish, but we don’t want to do it more than once or twice a week. At age 70, I’m OK doing 12 hours a day but if I go past 14 I’m not doing my best work. Some time in the next 10 years I’ll make a firm resolve to stop call. For the time being I’m a temp with a telehealth outfit.
At the end of the pandemic, though, we’re going to find a lot of our jobs have gone to midlevels. I’m not sure what I’ll do then.