This is really positive stuff, but you should never think it's going to be a cosy ride either finacially or otherwise.

By 'the otherwise' I mean there will be times when you are ill and maybe can't do the outdoor jobs for a while and all the time this is happening you're not earning sick pay and the bills are mounting up.
All the more reason to have the indoor jobs to fall back on as written about in other pages. You may not be able to lift a bag of compost or go up a ladder, but you are able to sit in bed and work on the internet etc.

The biggest 'illness' of all is probably self motivation. You may have spent years having your day and work planned for you and suddenly this is gone.
It's a nice hot sunny day and your friends have asked you out to a cricket match, so you go.
That can lead onto waking up, seeing what you've got to do that day and thinking it can wait til tomorrow.

This is very real and very dangerous !

It is vital you bring some of your 'old life' of
perhaps management, motivational and other
skills with you.Although your life is a better
one and you are feeling much better for it, it still has to be a disciplined life because if you get behind on things, there's no one else to come in and get you out the mess.

Plan your week ahead and keep a wall diary split into morning, afternoon and evening and whatever you write in there, stick to it. A good order to get into is doing this with your partner or kids, that way they are keeping an eye on you and will be the first to tell you you're lagging behind.

I probably work about half the hours I used to but I am completely non stop all day long. It almost seems that I have less self time now than I did before the 'escape'.
But lately I have strived to formulate more of a strategy to my life and bring more time management skills I had into my present life.