On July 1, 2026, I finished my last day at Microsoft. I had been there for more than 23 years.
I took the retirement package. The next day, my “fake retirement” began.
Fake, because I’m still going to work. I have ideas I want to try, and I’m not at the point where I can put work aside completely. But I do want this next stretch to feel different.
I want to enjoy more of my life while I’m living it.
That sounds obvious when I write it down. It’s harder to put into practice when you’ve spent so many years thinking about the next thing you need to get done.
Somewhere in between
Maybe you know this feeling. You’ve worked for a long time. Retirement is getting closer, but there’s still some distance to go. You have another push in you. You’re just less willing to let work take up all the space.
That’s where I am.
I still like making things. I’m excited about working on my own startup, building mobile games and products that help people connect. I also want to be able to step away from the screen without treating the rest of my day as time I should have spent working.
I haven’t worked out the balance yet. I expect it will take some practice.
What I’m working on
Right now, most of my attention is on GreenSwap and Spell It. You can find the rest of my projects at Code From Home.
I’ll write about the work here: what I’m trying, the decisions I’m making, and what I learn when something doesn’t go as planned. I have plenty of experience from my career, but running my own thing will give me a lot to learn.
There will be room for other interests too. Games, small experiments, and random things I do because they get my mind going. I don’t want every interest to have to turn into a product.
A place to keep track
I started YetToRetire because I wanted somewhere to record this part of my life. I also suspect I’m far from the only person in it.
For now, I’ll mostly write. I’m an introvert, and talking to a camera doesn’t come naturally to me. I’d like to learn, though, so a few videos may find their way here as I get more comfortable.
Sometimes I’ll share a video or an idea from someone else and add a few words about why it helped me. Those little discoveries can make a difference, especially when they put words to something you’ve been feeling but haven’t quite managed to explain.
I’ll keep the financial details private. There’s still plenty to talk about: what it feels like to leave a long career, how to keep working without filling every hour, and what to do with the freedom you already have.
If you’re somewhere in this stretch too, I hope some of it feels familiar. I’d be interested to hear how you’re finding your way through it.
I still have work to do. I’d like to enjoy the way there.