As a programmer in my 60s, my (rather obvious) advice is to save and invest throughout your career so you have financial flexibility as you get older. I still very much enjoy working but when I have unbooked time I really enjoy that also.
It also helps to have great hobbies. I enjoy writing (I am finishing up a Haskell book, and I have a partially written book on cognitive science that will get finished some day), I take many online classes, read a lot, hang out with friends and family, hiking, kayaking, etc.
As we get older we do slow down. I don't charge very much money anymore as a consultant and I am careful to only take work appropriate to my skills. Now when I write, I do so at a slower pace.
There is a natural order in life and I accept that.
You have to be careful to not sell yourself short. Someone with your level of experience is more likely to avoid pitfalls and look at the bigger picture which is very valuable. A slower pace may result in fewer bugs, resulting in lower overall costs.
Hey, I noticed a couple of things you might wanna improve in your leanpub profile page:
1. The first sentence has the word "Consultant" twice in a row
2. The first paragraph mixes first and third person, i.e. "Mark Watson is an awesome programmer. I use a bunch of techs"
3. The profile pic is stretched horizontally
It also helps to have great hobbies. I enjoy writing (I am finishing up a Haskell book, and I have a partially written book on cognitive science that will get finished some day), I take many online classes, read a lot, hang out with friends and family, hiking, kayaking, etc.
As we get older we do slow down. I don't charge very much money anymore as a consultant and I am careful to only take work appropriate to my skills. Now when I write, I do so at a slower pace.
There is a natural order in life and I accept that.