It finally happened — I got a promotion, and I’m thrilled. It’s nice to feel seen and rewarded for the grind. Here’s the twist: I’ve been aiming for early retirement, and now I’m wondering how this promotion pushes that goal farther out. Sigh.
This promotion took longer than I wanted. I could’ve been here back in 2015, but I turned down two offers because the roles didn’t appeal to me. Back then our kids were toddlers and I didn’t want to be away from home more than necessary. Four years later I got another shot — hit one out of the park — and now I’ve got this annoying urge to keep proving myself. There’s a fire in me to outwork everyone else. What the hell, Cubert?
So do I stick to my plan to leave later this summer? I’d say the odds are down to 20% now. Before this promotion I’d have put it at 50%, mainly because I planned to stay just long enough to pad the accounts into 2020. With the promotion comes more pay, a bit more prestige, and suddenly work is more interesting. I wouldn’t be shocked if I stick around another four or five years, but we’ll see. There are still parts of corporate life I could do without.
Higher up means more pressure, more visibility, and more politics. Do I have the stomach for that? The good thing is my past effort toward early retirement gives me options. Make a soft landing by being debt-free and keeping life small. Then you can show up at work with confidence, and if things go sideways — a terrible boss or a brutal run of projects — you can bail and retire.
Time is the biggest immediate issue. That commute is brutal. The morning drive is manageable — it’s when I map out the day — but the drive home nearly doubles the time. From late April to late October I can bike to work and skip the evening slog, but for about five months it’s all car. Time eats everything. With a corporate job you squeeze self-care into little pockets. Maybe remote work would help.
Health is another worry. Promotion means less time for the gym, runs, or home workouts. I’ve been counting on early retirement to get in shape and deal with my achy back and expanding gut. I don’t want to turn into Corporate Goo by choosing work over health — that would be the worst trade-off. Right now I’m stealing time after dinner to swing kettlebells every other night — not enough cardio and too much sitting, but it’s something.
Time also affects family. Being retired would probably let me do more for my marriage and parenting. We’re wiped most weekdays; kids take a lot of energy even though we love them. I imagined early retirement with me handling chores and groceries so Mrs. Cubert could focus on her chiro practice. For now, both of us working means we can afford babysitters for date nights, so that helps.
Stress is another big one. I hate stress. Vacations are great because they make work feel distant — until you imagine yourself back in a cubicle on a tense conference call and ruin the beach buzz. If I’m staying, I need better ways to manage stress: meditation, exercise, and sleep. At least our finances are improving — the mortgage is nearly paid off, which lightens the load.
I’ve got to watch out for hedonic adaptation — chasing one promotion after the next and never feeling satisfied. There’s another stage of life I want to explore, and I hope I’ll recognize when it’s time to jump.
Not long after the promotion, I’ve already been putting in more hours — from about 45 to just over 50 a week. Ever the time manager and honey-badger, I’m grinding. What’s helped is waking at 5 AM and clearing my inbox before the day starts. Monday through Friday I’m not touching the blog; I’m playing inbox Tetris instead. That way I mostly avoid evenings and weekends and get family time. The 5:00–6:30 AM window is a golden productivity zone if you can swing it.
I’m also trying to resist material creep. With a bigger bonus and fatter paychecks it’s tempting to splurge. I’ve given in to the home theater dream — that’s happening — but I’m holding the line on a new car, a bigger house, or a family trip to Italy. Maybe that’ll be for the next promotion.