Every few days, a message will appear in my email box from someone looking for help on a consulting project. When I first retired, I’d do dozens of these in a year for as much as $500/hour. Many of them led to extended contracts.
Lately, however, I hardly respond to them at all, other than to say “thanks for thinking of me.”
The issue with these opportunities is two-fold: 1) my experience in many industries has gotten a bit dated and irrelevant; and, 2) I just don’t feel like doing it much anymore. I often say, “the farther I am from work, the less interested I am in doing it.” I pretty much stopped consulting as the pandemic began and haven’t gone back to it.
I still enjoy doing board work. It’s a bit different than consulting. I’m involved with a privately held company in the auto industry and am currently the chairman for our metro zoo. These are both longstanding commitments that I am deeply engaged in. I previously was also on the advisory board of one of the Big Ten MBA programs, but I gave that up last year.
My initial plan was to be involved in these commitments for my first 5 years of retirement, but now I am 7 years past my FIRE escape. I’m thinking next year will be time to begin to dial out of the rest of it and just goof-off fully. Part of the challenge of giving it up is knowing you can’t easily go back. Still, it’s better to go out earlier than stick around too long.
Are there Consulting / Board Activities that you’ve moved on from? How did you know it was the right time?
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MrFireStation 
I am four years out from wage employment otherwise known as retirement. I was fortunate to escape six months prior to the pandemic. I am actually doing more consulting than I planned to, but it differs from the original plan.
I did two major speaking engagements prior to the shutdown and that was part of my marketing plan. My work dropped off like many others but quickly built back up, but not how I envisioned. I thought that I would be needed for short term projects but clients wanted task work far below my abilities and desire, grunt work…no thanks I’m retired.
I have passed on referrals to people in my network as some assignments are in areas which I am stale or life and speed of change has passed me by. That is fine.
The few professional association meetings I have attended in the past year consist heavily of sales people chasing clients or for those who need my services who attend are more interested in socializing rather than learning something new and are ignorant to what they actually need.
I’m not complaining but the phrase “ok boomer” often goes off in my head. I do find that I do a fair amount of free consultations via the pick my brain over the phone which I am fine with as I don’t need the money, but that free consulting leads to fun enjoyable repeating projects that pay well, pique my interest and don’t have strict deadlines.
I actually just decided to not attend a conference which would be free for me other than a six hour drive and two nights in hotel. I could have marketed for work, but I have enough on my plate and rather than spend the better part of four days, I will do something else and not be stressed with travel the next week to the east coast.
How do I know what projects not to accept? Interest of the work, timing of the work vs. schedule, and fee. Not necessarily in that order
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That sounds like you are having a good experience with a lot of freedom to do work at your own pace. The “grunt work” comment is s real watch out. I see early retirees, who are anxious to do some part-time work and end up grunting out a projects solo – or with people that were three levels below them when they were working.
I have come to draw the line at advising versus project work. Advising you get paid for what you already know… and give good counsel/frameworks/connections to an organization. Board work is a perfect version of that. I avoid project work – that’s simply organizations trying to get grunt work done that requires extra capacity. No fun.
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