Nono.MA
Sketch.Nono.MA

Mini-retirements

When I lived in London in 2015, I left my job two months before going to live and study in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Instead of accruing two more months of pay, I would take a break, travel to Japan for two weeks, and spend the summer back home. I planned for a two-month pause.

A question submitted to the podcast by Marc Exposito1 made me reflect on 'mini-retirements'—what they are and potential techniques, challenges, and reasons to live as if you were retired—and, in retrospect, understand my 2015 break like one. I deliberately reserved time to wander around Japan's streets at my own pace (like that of a turtle) and enjoy Málaga's sunny weather. What would happen if, instead of working for forty years and retiring for twenty, you distributed those twenty years throughout your career? Marc asked.

Listen to a Getting Simple podcast on mini-retirements.


  1. You can submit a question here. I'd love to hear from you. =) 

March 16, 2021
Nono Martínez Alonso


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Pencil sketch of Nono Martínez Alonso.