I had been working 50-60 hour weeks for the past 20 years of my career in different tech sales management positions. In my first downshifting year, I averaged less than 20 hours per week for half of the year, but it varied based on my project load. Overall I worked about 25% of the time last year on paying projects.
I did spend a lot of time writing the blog and working on setting up the biz but for me this was unpaid and a creative endeavor.
The rest of the time I spent living a life – exercising, being outdoors, spending time with my wife, playing with the dog. It is fantastic.
In my second year, work dried up. I’ve written about that elsewhere. Once my wife’s medical condition stabilizes, I plan to focus more on finding more consulting.