Fat. Coast. Lean. Barista. Fart.
Wait, what?!
Rhapsody on a theme
I’m neither casting judgment on the physical attributes of shorelines or coffeeshop employees. Neither have I just passed gas. Rather, I’ve just listed variations of FIRE. Well, Fart FIRE as so styled I admit hasn’t taken off as its originator (and this fan-of-juvenile-humor open-minded blogger) would have hoped. But the point behind it is well made. And if I have any say in the matter, many more people would proudly fart FIRE. You, Dear Reader, can take that sentence in any way you’d like it. So long as I get a nod or a giggle, or both, I’ll be satisfied.
Anyway . . . the point is that there are several types of FIRE that people might shoot for to live a more joyful life. I’ve considered them all. Although I never settled on one as the one for me — thinking that so long as I was on the path and happy, that’s probably good enough; and I can make and change decisions as wealth milestones are met when the rubber hits the road — I have thought that some scenarios are ones I’d like to try more than others.
One of those is transitioning from full-time work to part-time work. In essence, barista FIRE. I mean, by working part-time I can do some work and keep myself engaged, and also earn some money. That’d (along with The Missus continuing to work) eliminate — or at least lower — any need we’d have to draw down on our investments for a longer period. It’d also give me a nice work/free-time balance.
How I’d finagle that scenario, I didn’t know. I had ideas, but hadn’t given it much thought. I figured either that opportunities would present themselves, or that once I started really pursuing the objective, things would fall into place.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum my objective. A part-time work schedule got imposed on me.
May I impose?
As I’ve mentioned in this here blog before, when I moved states a few years back, I started contracting for my old employer. The arrangement has since become de facto part-time. My work for other clients brings me closer to a traditional full time schedule, but exactly how close varies each month.
I obviously knew that I was not working a full-time schedule. But it took a while for my flea-addled brain to process the reality and that I was living the scenario that I’d thought that I’d ultimately like to explore.
So I’ve gotten to experience this part-time set-up earlier than I’d planned. And, frankly, under quite good circumstances.
My verdict? I like it. For many reasons.
This is hour time!
First, I work with lawyers and law firms. I’m a lawyer myself, and I’ve worked alongside attorneys and law firms for decades. But holy moly can they be massive pains in the behind sometimes be challenging to work with.
One such way they accomplish this ignoble feat is by making things way more stressful than they ought to be. Often this is because of their frequent nonresponsiveness, resulting in once generous deadlines wholly unnecessarily becoming nail-biting mad dashes.
Other times it’s because in areas (way) outside their comfort zone (such as those I handle), they profess to be masters, but in fact are complete dolts not. So they demand implementation of offer up ideas that are at best foolish, and at worst wholly counterproductive. I’m pretty adept at persuasively speaking reason to attorneys, playing subtle and effective politics, and righting the ship. So I usually get us to where we should be. But it’s not without significant stress.
As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, it’s the lawyers who will be responsible for driving me out of my field. So every hour that I’m not required to deal with them or other instigators of unnecessary trouble is an hour of stress I’ve avoided. #winning.
Second, I’m able to get all sorts of nonwork tasks accomplished during the course of the week. Doctor’s appointment for Thing Two (The Younger) at 3:00 p.m. on a Tuesday? No problem! Grocery run on a Wednesday morning when the crowds are thin? Done and done! Extended lunch on a Friday? Invitation accepted! All of these things, and more, would be difficult on a full-time schedule. Or might require taking time off of work for reasons I’d not prefer to. I’m sure that a lot of people now working from home due to the ‘rona now have a great appreciation for some or all of these benefits.
Try this on for size and see how you like it
But maybe the biggest reason I like this part-time schedule is that it’s allowed me to actually experience it, and how it suits me, under generous circumstances. That’s just one more thing I’m incredibly grateful for. I fully recognize how fortunate I am. Which isn’t at all to say that I’m not taking full advantage of it. As I mentioned, I enjoy it a lot, thank you very much.
I’ll still likely leave my field. And to do it much sooner than later (just because I’m avoiding some lawyer-induced stress doesn’t mean that I don’t find myself regularly exasperated). But I know for sure that the part-time set-up is one I’d like to pursue, wherever I end up.
This embarrassment of riches has in large part resulted specifically because of my discovery of FIRE, and our progress made since then. I guess that means that I may have farted reached barista FIRE territory. Hopefully barista stress doesn’t come with the territory.
