I don't necessarily consider my route to have had been completely voluntary, and certain directions sometimes can end up having some forcing elements to them - but for me, I feel a lot of matters worked out quite well, but there were various choices along the way that do not really seem to have had been completely voluntary.. and then some aspects of the direction have both luck and preparation that end up contributing towards decisions in which threshold matters can be decided regarding whether enough is enough.. and how much of this job versus another kind of job or another kind of job is necessary in terms of bringing in income or even making certain kinds of financial and psychological preparations.
I remember in about mid-to-late 2013 disclosing to one of my then work colleagues that when I reassess my financials with lesser income, there are ways to project out the income that I expected to have under one path versus another path and the outcome of those two paths do not really seem to show very much financial differences between working in job x that has higher income or working in job y that has lesser income, but way more freedoms... and for me, I likely would not have had time to spend so much looking into bitcoin were it not for me having had chosen to go into job y rather than staying in job x...... .. and largely my nestegg in job x had mostly had been established (even though another few more years seemed as if it would have had been preferable - since there were perks, and status, and even seeming opportunities and connections - but in the end, circumstances were not going to make such an option of sticking with job x to be worth it for my whole situation.. in regards to what I was willing, ready or able to do)..... and so there was a certain level of tearing and even seeming less prestige and benefits with job y.. even with way more freedoms..
In the end, going down the bitcoin road that may have also come about by giving up on job x (and spending more time on bitcoin-focused kinds of time-allocations) did end up causing both financial and psychological circumstances that way surpassed in surplus value compared to what I had projected my path to have had been nearly 10 years ago when these kinds of weighing of options of staying in job x or some variation of job x were being deliberated by yours truly.
Maybe I am suggesting that there can be some ways in which all of the "i"s do not necessarily need to be dotted, and not all of the "t"s need to be crossed in order to still end up being in a position in which you could still be ready to cross into a new kind of era in which there are fewer traditional "work-related" obligations.. and a path can be gone down in which fewer and fewer "work-related" obligations are filling up your days.... and so I had quite a few "work-related" obligations that I severed in 2013.. but also even more "work-related" obligations that I severed in 2018/2019... and sure, I still do have some things that I do that I label as work-related obligations, even though some people in my life have tried to suggest that I don't have to do them... but I still do dedicate some time to certain kinds of activities that I consider to be "work-related" obligations.. even though they are way more self-directed than many of the obligations that I severed in 2013 and in 2018/2019.
I definitely admire anyone who has taken retirement early/earlier than expected. The finances is one aspect, but i think the psychology of it all, would be harder to overcome. Which is also part of the reason i am thinking about this now rather than later. Spending the bulk of your adult life going in cycles of work/home/weekend, work/home/weekend, work/home/weekend, does become an addiction that needs to be addressed.
I for one will not be weaning myself off, (that is, working for someone else, reducing clients, taking a part time tech job), it's going to be "That's it, I'm Done". We're closing shop (next week/next month/next year). By then i hope i have many i's dotted and t's crossed. Because once I am gone, I am not coming back! Which means i need to prepare myself, financially, physically and mentally as i don't know when that will be, but i know it will come sooner rather than later!
It will be compounding factor that leads everyone to make the call. Completely Voluntary is wishful thinking, we all like to think we made that decision on our own terms, but it could be shitty boss, mental breakdown, lost of a major account/customer, the list can keep going, that make us re-evaluate where we are in life, where we want to be and most importantly where we can be.
You are right, i don't expect to have everything sorted out before such date, but hopefully i would have had the bulk of my plan sorted. hopefully...
On another note, what was/is your job x and job y?