I am late-40s with a 3MM net worth, inclusive of a paid-off house. I don't spend much money, probably $18k per year. But I fill my days with work and biking to and from work.
I am afraid I am going to be bored. I have tried a week of not working and didn't really feel like fixing up the house or doing yard work. I did get to the gym more often. But I spent too much time online doing nothing. I am a buy-and-hold investor, so I don't really want to day trade although I might sell some covered calls.
The concept of travel sounds great, but I'd pretty much be traveling by myself. And I hate the modern airline experience and the everything-is-a-scam hotel experience. I tried a week of living like a nomad and found myself feeling marginalized like a homeless person. Even tried volunteering for a couple of weeks but didn't do it for me.
I just think I am going to be really bored and that depresses me. Tell me I am a loser and to just need to man-up and FIRE already and be fantastic without the crutch of a job to go to that identifies me and fills my days. I think I need therapy.
This reminds me of that old scene in the ancient sitcom "Cheers", where Sam the bartender tries to cheer up Norm the beer drinker. Nothing works. Finally Sam says "Well, I could just keep on coming up with entertaining ideas for you to have fun with, and you could keep on shooting them down." Norm immediately cheers up and says "Yeah, that's it!!"
If you enjoy work, or if you find it fulfilling, then keep working. Doctors, lawyers, university professors... very few of them ever have any compelling reason to retire.
Hopefully you're not one of those people who depends on everyone else in the office to entertain them with human
drama theater or calls everyone into meetings as a cure for temporary loneliness.
I also hope you're not one of those people who gets their life's structure and routine from the cubicle walls of the office environment.
One friend of mine who evinced thoughts similar to yours turned out to be chronically/clinically depressed. If that sounds like you then it's worth discussing with a doctor... but I've only known one person like that.
One week is not enough time to test-drive your retirement. It's barely enough time to recover from chronic fatigue, which seems to cover some of your symptoms. I'd recommend an absolute minimum of 30 days, and more like two months. Even then you should approach changes cautiously and not make any huge disruptions in location, relationship status, or progeny for at least two years. Take it a day at a time and make small changes, giving each change at least a week or two of trial before moving to another change. Or don't make any changes to your life at all-- just enjoy being while smelling the proverbial flowers.
Your idea of travel has been skewed by work vacations. When you retire you can choose the way you want to travel. You can live in vacation rental apartments or do house-sitting gigs. And again, if you're not traveling for at least 30 days then you're not doing it right. Earlier this year we spent 70 days in southern Spain hanging around our daughter's house with day trips and occasional overnighters to other cities. Next month we're going back for another 70 days.
If you don't enjoy your work and are looking for something else, though, there are tons of resources on the web to find new hobbies. For instance, Nords frequently recommends Zelinski's Get-A-Life tree (I haven't read any of Zelinski's work myself).
As FiveSigmas says, you could start here:
http://bestretirementquotes.blogspot.com/2009/10/get-life-tree-great-retirement-planning.htmlEventually you'll rekindle the creativity and enthusiasm for a playful life that you used to have when you were a kid.