I have literally just started my PhD (read 3 weeks) and don't have the foggiest idea what 4 years in would feel like. But I have been out earning money for a lot of years. Two things to think about - if you leave it will be very hard to go back - once you are earning a decent living it is very hard to return to a student's lifestyle and 2) the world will always be there.
I am in my late 30s and have been traveling for the past 3 years, I didn't do any before then. And I don't regret for a minute not traveling when I was younger. Being older, with a bigger skill set makes travel in many ways easier. Jobs are easier to come by etc etc.
The other thing to think about is what skill set are walking away with now if you leave? A partly finished PhD and a large gap between postgrad and work will not look brilliant on a resume. May not be nice to hear, but it is the truth.

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Hi Ev,
As keenbean said, presenting your proposed idea might be a good chance to get feedback from researchers who have been down that track already.

I have to say at this early stage I don't feel at all detached from my PhD. My understanding is that there two types of people who undertake a PhD. The first group are those who do it for a living, such as yourself. It is a means to an ends, you need the degree to achieve certain positions in academia and thus choose a PhD which gets you there. Then there are people like me. I left with a masters 10 or so years ago with no intention of going back to study, but have always had an interest in a particular area of my profession (child psychology). Over the past couple of years my views about it have solidified to the point where I want to investigate further my theories and thus a PhD is the next step. I have only in the past month begun to think about using it as a launching pad for work as a researcher or academic.
Not sure if I am right or not, what do ya think?

I am but a rudderless ship alone on the sea that is a PhD.

I have just started a PhD in Psychology and am looking for a book or two to help give me structure etc.
I have the unwritten rules of PhD research by Petre and Rugg which has been very good. But I am looking for one or two more.
What did you read that you found good, or bad.
Cheers

I work full time and have two kids, 6 and 5 and am enrolled part time in the PhD. I have found it is a case of juggling what you need to get done. I don't read anything for pleasure anymore, I don't watch telly anymore. They argue that you can do a PhD based on approx 20 hours a week part time, though I have found this varies from week to week and is heavily affected by when I have a meeting with my supervisor. It should take me between 5 and 8 years to finish the PhD and I am funded for 8 years.