Mini-Retirement vs. Semi-Retirement

A few folks have emailed me and congratulated me on my semi-retirement. I'm very grateful for the remarks and support, but I do feel the need to make a clarification. Technically I view myself in a mini-retirement right now. What's the difference? Both of them are constrained in a dimension: mini-retirement is constrained in duration (meaning that it will end at some point), while a semi-retirement is constrained in money or hours worked per week or weeks per year. So during my mini-retirement, I'm not working at all. But it must stop at some point. Now, if I could only find a job or role that would then allow me to be semi-retired, then I would be set.

Remember that post I made on debt-free living? I understand that the math of paying off a mortgage may not always make sense, but the psychology of it sure feels pretty good right now.

What might be next for me? Figuring that out is one of the goals I have for the next 2-3 months. I'm talking to a lot of different people and the spectrum of choices is huge right now. Here's a short list of some of the ideas popping around:

• Find another CTO-like job at a local software company
• Be a consultant to start-ups or potential investors in start-ups
• Start my own software or software-as-a-service company
• Become a high school computer science teacher
• Become a professional photographer. I realize you don't just suddenly "become" one of these, but I'm working along a path to at least have this as a part-time vocation.
• Be a trainer on software development process, presentation skills, etc.
• Be a freelance Ruby on Rails developer
• Be a college instructor or professor

Clearly I have some work to do. Comments or emails to scare me away from any of these options are encouraged.