Very good points. In a few ways you could say I earned my way out, but to make the kind of lifestyle change I made I had to liquidate a large portion of my life. Your point is still well made, and taken.

I did the ‘jump off the fast train onto the slow boat’ kind of downshifting. That is different than many cases, as you pointed out. In your case I would contend that when you returned to the corporate world you came with your eyes opened, and do a much better job of managing back unrealistic demands your career places on your than you did previously.

I would also respectfully submit that spending time doing something ‘more in line with your values’, as you so aptly put it, allowed you time to fully develop those values — – and that is largely why you have been able to return to the corporate environment, and do so with a genuine work-life balance you can live with.

Great post. Kudos to both of us — balanced and happy through downshifting as appropriate to our cases.

Ten years ago, I quit a technical job because I wanted to do something “more in line with my values” – so I became a massage therapist. Though it was more philosophically rewarding, for a time, one cannot underestimate the stress of going from a stable $50k salary+benefits to ~$20k in unpredictable “freelance” income, the loss of retirement savings, the loss of a career path, etc. I returned to the corporate realm about four years ago, and it is not the soul-sucking wasteland I had imagined when I was 28.

I love my job, and it’s even more satisfying to consider that I’m getting closer to the “6-figure salary” without ever taking work home or being on the job past 4:00. It’s possible to downshift and “follow your dream” without quitting your job!

Superb review. I did read this book shortly after downshifting myself. I think you hit it square on the head. My impetus to change was Zig Ziglar’s series of lectures on personal goals. In my case I left a solid 6-figure job of 10 years to take a 70% cut in pay.

I now take home over $215k less per year — but I am so much richer.

I don’t think I’ll ever miss paying a $800 car lease… spending hundreds on dinner with strangers… being on the road in hotels 200+ days per year… or 90 hour work weeks… or inhuman levels of stress…

Instead, as I start my 40′s, I have breakfast with my kids every day, drive them to the park in my $5k pickup, spend time just sitting and talking with my wife, and doing things for those I love.

Life has very little to do with how much money you make. It has much more to do with how much money you keep, and who you take care of with what resources you do have.

Keep up the great work. Your page is inspiring, and all those who visit it should take a moment to appreciate what genuine opportunity your point of view represents.

With the time (and energy!) I’ve freed up from Creative Malingering, I will take on two online sections of Writing for the Professions this spring, to the tune of $3,500 apiece. Because I’ll be moonlighting for the same institution where I work 100% FTE, all my benefits & taxes, including pension, will be yanked out of this, and so I’ll only net about $3,800 from that $7,000. But $3,800 will still go a ways toward meeting my financial goals.

I’d rather loaf, of course. But I need to get set for retirement. Given that what I earn (and what I imagined was relatively generous pay, compared to full-time teaching) falls below a level Barack Obama defines as “low income,” I guess I need to get my act together.

Hmm…. Don’t suppose your employer would let you use that extra time to study for employee improvement/advancement training, by way of putting yourself in line for a promotion & raise?

When done responsibly though, I’ve seen people make this decision and it’s the best thing they’ve ever done.

I’m new to your blog and have subscribed. Thanks!

After making a conscious decision not to put in any more work on my job than I am paid for — which ain’t much — I developed my own system to “downshift.” I call it “Creative Malingering.” Better not describe it in much detail here, ’cause it wouldn’t be good if it got back to my boss & she figured out who I am.

In short, though, I’ve become McCavity the Mystery Cat, and like Eliot’s cat I’m there as little as possible. I download most of the work onto my underlings (we call that “delegating”), do as much of my work as possible from remote sites, and contrive to minimize commutes. To a large degree, this has been successful. Despite absenting myself from work in body and in soul about a third of the time, I received the highest possible performance rating in last spring’s annual review.

One of the tricks is to realize that in the world of work, mediocrity is the norm. So, if you perform at a level even slightly above mediocrity, you can work many fewer hours than your esteemed colleagues and coworkers and still come off looking just fine. Astonishing but true! I’ve been doing this for almost three years now, and no one has caught on. Or if they have, they don’t seem to care.

As Plonkee wisely points out, “You aren’t irreplaceable at work.” Alas, your boss knows that, too.

When I conceived of Creative Malingering, I recognized that some in the administration think of work as a place, not an activity, and that I certainly could get canned. However, I had come to dislike my job so heartily that it didn’t much matter: for me it was “downshift” or walk. I had two years’ worth of living expenses in savings, and at the time this shenanigan started, only two years remained before I could collect Social Security. It was a calculated risk. I decided the risk was worth taking. Besides, I’m pretty good at landing on my feet.

Life is good. Now. For the time being. :-)