One clear trade-off with pursuing financial independence (FI) is working hard for a period so you can enjoy more free time later. Many people get caught chasing more money and more stuff—maybe that’s just how they’re wired—so instead of retiring at 45 or 55 they keep working because it’s part of who they are.
Whether you’re sprinting toward early retirement or just aiming for the “independence” part, learning to manage your time matters. Most people have full-time jobs, maybe a couple of part-time gigs, maybe kids, and take vacations—cruises, road trips, exotic trips, or nearby camping. The FIRE crowd does those things too, but we also pile on side hustles, blogs, small businesses, and even homemade cooking. Where does the time go?
The saying “time is money” holds up. If you manage your schedule well, you get more out of your efforts. Your choice of side hustle matters: do you pick work that demands your constant time (like blogging), or do you build assets you can manage more passively (like rental property)? You can also find efficiencies: dog-walking or bike deliveries combine exercise with income. Tutoring can sharpen teaching skills that pay off at your day job. Volunteering at your kid’s school buys you insight into their day and more time with them.
Time management matters for aspiring early retirees because time is not just money—it’s life. Since I started chasing early retirement five years ago, I’ve learned a lot about managing time, sometimes the hard way. Having my first kids—twins—when I began this journey forced me to get serious about how I spend my hours.
At the heart of time management is recognizing that we don’t have unlimited hours. In the U.S. work culture, you can’t afford to waste the time you do have. Finding contentment during your working years means doing good work, but also investing in yourself and your relationships—often at the same time. Can it be done? Yes, but it takes discipline.
I still have a regular job, two kids, a blog, and a rental business, so my margin for error is small. Work got busier after a promotion last year, rentals have had their moments, and my kids keep getting more active. The first non-negotiable for me is sleep. We go to bed early—around 9 p.m.—and wake up about 5 a.m. No TVs or personal devices in bed (my wife sometimes uses her phone as an alarm for an early class). I avoid caffeine after 2 p.m., and try to stop eating and looking at screens well before bedtime. We don’t always hit those marks—dinner sometimes runs late and we often watch a bit of TV—but the habit helps.
My mornings from about 5 to 7 used to be all blogging. Lately I’ve used that window for work, at least Monday through Thursday, to stay ahead and avoid burnout. That gives me at least three days to write something worth posting. Exercise is equally important. It makes a big difference to sleep and mental clarity, so I squeeze in 20 minutes from about 6:40 to 7:00 a.m. before the kids wake. It’s a short routine—rowing, pull-ups, kettlebells, push-ups—but better than nothing. I’d like to hit 30 minutes consistently; that’s a discipline issue I need to fix. I also try to get extra steps during the day—parking farther away or biking to work in season.
There are small tricks that add up. If you can work from home, sneak in a load of laundry or wash dishes between meetings and skip the commute, saving an hour or more.
Solving daily time crunches helps, but so does a bigger-picture approach. Look at your time seasonally and across your life. Use all your vacation days—work hard when you work, and take the time you’ve earned. If you follow FI/FIRE principles, you’ll accept a season of intense saving to free up hours later. I’m close to early retirement and figuring out how to ramp down from W-2 work, but remember: saving for phase two shouldn’t cost you the things that matter now—your family and your well-being.
Bottom line: control what you can and accept what you can’t. Find time in the margins to optimize your life. If you can choose where to live, consider being closer to the places you visit most—work, school, church, grocery, gym—because those minutes add up. Bonus points if you can walk to them and get exercise while running errands. A smaller home means less cleaning and maintenance time. Identify the seasons when you bring your A-game to work and take vacations when your mind is less productive—summer, for me.
One last thing: if you can’t find an hour or two a week to read, you’ve got homework. Time is money. Time is life.