Yes, you can, and plenty of people do. The difference between a rental that runs on a few hours a week and one that takes over your life comes down to systems, not hours.
I self-manage four short-term rentals in four different states, and I do it in under ten hours a week. I built that portfolio while still thinking like the working professional I'd been for 30 years, so I designed it from the start to fit around a real schedule rather than consume one.
Where the time actually goes
The work of a short-term rental falls into a few buckets: guest communication, cleaning and turnovers, maintenance, and the financial side. Most of it can be systematized, delegated, or handled in short, predictable windows. A reliable cleaning team and a trusted local handyman cover the two pieces that are hardest to do from a desk job, and good software handles much of the rest.
The part I keep personally is guest communication, because I think that's where most owners over-automate and lose the experience that earns five-star reviews. But "keeping it personal" doesn't mean being on call constantly. With the right setup, it's a handful of short touchpoints, not a second shift.
The honest version
The realistic answer is that one or two properties are very manageable alongside a full-time job, especially if you have ten or more years left in your career and a good cleaning crew in place. The trouble usually comes when people skip the systems and try to handle everything reactively, by hand, in the moment. That's what turns a rental into a second job.
The goal is to build it right once, so it runs quietly in the background. That's entirely doable while you're still working, and it's how a lot of people fund the retirement they actually want.