Is it okay if your ‘true personality type’ means you want to do... nothing?

[blizeH]

I have vague memory of a recent MMM article that basically says if you’re financially independent, you can do whatever your ‘true personality type’ is – well, in my case I’m not sure I’d actually want to do an awful lot.

Going for walks or bike rides, visiting friends and family, reading a book, watching a TV show, learning a new skill (photography, cooking, graphic design etc), playing a game, visiting somewhere that I haven’t been before... there are so many ways to fill my time, and to be honest (I’m sad to admit this) I think my personality type would happily fill the voids with browsing the web, trying to learn things or read about things that interest me for absolutely no point in particular.

There’s still so much to do – cooking, cleaning, maintaining the house and our rental property, the garden, doing tax returns, managing the stock portfolio, and I’d still like to be involved in a small capacity with website work, just helping out friends etc.

But that’s all I want. I don’t feel like I need to, or want to, fill my life with work, no matter how rewarding it may be. I’m worried that I’m naturally lazy, but I also think it’s partly down to a lack of confidence (ie not wanting the stress of challenging myself) and in general I’m at my happiest/most content when I’m doing very little. Is anyone else in a similar position?

[matchewed]

Hmm, I think the thought that doing all those things = lazy is the silly part.

That is living life. And it is living life according to your terms. Nothing says that in order to FIRE you need to have some grand scheme of building your own yacht.

[Jenga]

That doesn't sound like doing nothing to me at all!  It sounds like you'd have more than enough to keep you busy, and a lot of it "productive" by any definition.  :)

I wouldn't have a grand plan to do some important "work" in retirement either;  I'll enjoy the opportunity to do a bit more volunteering, and learn more things, but other than that I hope to spend time with family and pursue my hobbies. Perhaps it's a hallmark of the "homebody" personality type... ;)

[hybrid]

I think that, like so many things in life, your actual experience will differ greatly from what you imagine it to be. I have met a lot of older folks who really struggled their first year after they retired because their forty-year routine ended abruptly and they simply weren't prepared for a lifetime of whatever they wanted to do instead of what they were obligated to do.

You'll be fine.

[blizeH]

I have met a lot of older folks who really struggled their first year after they retired because their forty-year routine ended abruptly and they simply weren't prepared for a lifetime of whatever they wanted to do instead of what they were obligated to do.

I think that's part of the problem here, my granddad for example worked into his 70s by choice, despite having a pension that would more than cover his expenses. But I'm only 28 and I'm ready to give it all up now, I think many of my (hard-working) family would be horrified to find out how I feel.

And thanks guys, I definitely feel like I have plenty to keep me occupied - more than enough, even without work! More than anything I want to be able to do things guilt free, whether it's spending an evening watching movies/playing games, or waking up on a nice sunny day and going out for a long frivolous bike ride. Last week we couldn't go visit my girlfriend's grandparents because we had too much to do around the house, I never want to be in that position again!

[dragoncar]

[blizeH]

I've never seen Office Space before (or even heard of it, though I have seen the meme above posted a few times) but I think it's about time I changed that! :)

Also, those are two great shouts Basenji... I used to take Japanese classes but had to stop due to (you guessed it) a lack of time, and my cat follows me everywhere I go, and hates when I leave for work so spending more time at home would be good from that point of view too :D

[EK]

Personally I think simply existing and living life is quite enough really. Very underrated. You're not the only one.

I remember in high school a friend asked what I wanted to do as a grown up and I replied that I wanted to wake up every day and do what I want, even if what I want is to do nothing in particular. That's still what I want, and I see it as perfectly legitimate.

[Basenji]

I've never seen Office Space before (or even heard of it, though I have seen the meme above posted a few times) but I think it's about time I changed that! :)

Also, those are two great shouts Basenji... I used to take Japanese classes but had to stop due to (you guessed it) a lack of time, and my cat follows me everywhere I go, and hates when I leave for work so spending more time at home would be good from that point of view too :D

You have to see it.

The final scene makes me think now of MMM:
Peter Gibbons: This isn't so bad, huh? Makin' bucks, gettin' exercise, workin' outside.
Lawrence: Fuckin' A!
Peter Gibbons: Fuckin' A!

[GuitarStv]

Provided you're not getting depressed and feeling stagnated, I don't see any harm in what you're proposing.  Some people who aren't confident and kinda shy occasionally need a bit of a push to do things that make them happy.

[Dr. Doom]

Going for walks or bike rides, visiting friends and family, reading a book, watching a TV show, learning a new skill (photography, cooking, graphic design etc), playing a game, visiting somewhere that I haven’t been before...

Some people would consider your goals to be ambitious.  My uncle Jim RE'd at 58 and he's been watching the Weather Channel for the past 6 years straight.

I'm a Peter myself.  I have never once said "You know, I want to be an entrepreneur once I'm done with the office thing."  I have absolutely zero desire to run a business, work for a business, or even be involved in one once I shed my 9-5 skin. 

I think as long as you have a lot of stuff you like to do and are certain you're going to stay intellectually/emotionally/physically engaged in life, well -- that's enough of a plan in my book.

And you never know.  Things may change after you've been RE'd for a while.  Life is a long time.

[CopperTex]

Do you think the feeling of wanting to do "nothing" stems from the fact that you might not have enough time to do "nothing" in the present moment? After six months of lulling about, will you still feel fulfilled? And for years and years to come? I think when we are so busy working and don't have enough time to take it easy, a life time of nothing seems quite desirable.  Once you have all the downtime you want it may not be as fulfilling as you imagine today. 

[former player]

The notion that we have to have wildly exciting adventures in retirement is just another form of Internet Retirement Policing.   I'm with you in not wanting to spend my retirement travelling round the world like a demented ferret in a pinball machine.

[lauren_knows]

Haha.  That was my first thought too.

Peter Gibbons: What would you do if you had a million dollars?
Lawrence: I'll tell you what I'd do, man: two chicks at the same time, man.
Peter Gibbons: That's it? If you had a million dollars, you'd do two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Damn straight. I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I were a millionaire I could hook that up, too; 'cause chicks dig dudes with money.
Peter Gibbons: Well, not all chicks.
Lawrence: Well, the type of chicks that'd double up on a dude like me do.
Peter Gibbons: Good point.
Lawrence: Well, what about you now? What would you do?
Peter Gibbons: Besides two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Well, yeah.
Peter Gibbons: Nothing.
Lawrence: Nothing, huh?
Peter Gibbons: I would relax... I would sit on my ass all day... I would do nothing.
Lawrence: Well, you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Take a look at my cousin: he's broke, don't do shit.

[Kriegsspiel]

If you haven't already, you should check out www.lackingambition.com, he talks about this a lot. I like his blog because he just gets it. Mike seems like a pretty chill dude, we think a lot alike, and it sounds like you do too.

[golden1]

You are 28.  Eventually you will learn that defining yourself by what you think you "should" be is the quickest road to unhappiness.

I get it, because I am the same way to an extent.  I could be happy just hanging around, reading, running, playing games with the occasional travel.  I used to think that was not enough, that I was not ambitious enough.  But not everyone needs to be that way, and it is totally okay.  I also think that things you take for granted can change when you stop working for awhile.   When you are working, all you want to do is slow down and stop, but once you stop for awhile, and have a chance to look around and see what's out there, you find things to do that you are passionate about. 

[netskyblue]

I kind of feel the same way, but a lot of the things I love to do are still useful things.  I'd LOVE to be a homemaker, but that will not happen without FI in my household, I'm the breadwinner.  I love gardening, canning, knitting, sewing... but they are relegated to night & weekend hobbies.

[frugalnacho]

I would like to do the basic house and yard maintenance, go for bike rides, maybe go on some more vacations, play the guitar more, and take on some little projects here and there.  But I also fantasize about having the time to dust off the ps3 and play another game of skyrim without my damn job getting in the way. 

[Middlesbrough]

Haha.  That was my first thought too.

Peter Gibbons: What would you do if you had a million dollars?
Lawrence: I'll tell you what I'd do, man: two chicks at the same time, man.
Peter Gibbons: That's it? If you had a million dollars, you'd do two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Damn straight. I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I were a millionaire I could hook that up, too; 'cause chicks dig dudes with money.
Peter Gibbons: Well, not all chicks.
Lawrence: Well, the type of chicks that'd double up on a dude like me do.
Peter Gibbons: Good point.
Lawrence: Well, what about you now? What would you do?
Peter Gibbons: Besides two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Well, yeah.
Peter Gibbons: Nothing.
Lawrence: Nothing, huh?
Peter Gibbons: I would relax... I would sit on my ass all day... I would do nothing.
Lawrence: Well, you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Take a look at my cousin: he's broke, don't do shit.

My brother and I love to quote movies and this one is one of the best! We had to pull out the dvd player just to get the exact quotes on the million dollars speech.

PC load letter? What does that even mean?

[gobius]

I don't see any issue with you not wanting to do anything.  My FIRE plans would be similar to yours.  The thing is, you'll be able to do something else if you want to; you'll just have to figure out what that is.

RE:  Office Space.  At my job we have to give project status reports every so often (multiple projects on one report), so I started labeling them "Total Project Status Reports" (TPS Reports) when I started sending them out.  A lot of the other young people got it right away; thankfully management didn't.

[Middlesbrough]

I don't see any issue with you not wanting to do anything.  My FIRE plans would be similar to yours.  The thing is, you'll be able to do something else if you want to; you'll just have to figure out what that is.

RE:  Office Space.  At my job we have to give project status reports every so often (multiple projects on one report), so I started labeling them "Total Project Status Reports" (TPS Reports) when I started sending them out.  A lot of the other young people got it right away; thankfully management didn't.

I don't know if you heard, but we are putting cover letters on TPS reports now. I will get you the memo.

[parsimonious]

My husband 'retired' five years ago at the age of 32 (we had moved for my high salary job). Besides exercise and keeping house (no kids, just cats), he doesn't really do much anyone would consider productive. He spends his free time on the internet, renting movies from the library and playing video games (not an expensive hobby if you can just wait 1-2 years to play a release).

He's been a good lesson in tempering expectations for my eventual FIRE. I am very suspicious of anyone that says 'just wait! You'll start all these new projects and will probably earn some side hustle money just for fun with all the extra energy and time.' Nope. Some people aren't like that, and it's okay.

My husband is the most relaxed and happy person I know. I refer to him as The Dude. No ambition, just living life and loving every day.

[Spartana]

For the OP. One of the beauties of retirement is that you really can do just whatever you want, be as ambitious (or unambitious) as you want, and define what kind of life you want for yourself. There is no one size fits all retirement. The only problem I have come across is dealing with other people's expectations of me - from family to friends to even random strangers. But, like Peter in the Office Space quote below, you eventually just learn to ignore them and follow what's important to you.


[Peter is wearing shorts, sandals and a paisley shirt, with his feet up on his desk, munching chips and playing tetris on his computer]

Bill Lumbergh: So, Peter, what's happening? Aahh, now, are you going to go ahead and have those TPS reports for us this afternoon?

Peter Gibbons: No.

Bill Lumbergh: Ah. Yeah. So I guess we should probably go ahead and have a little talk. Hmm?

Peter Gibbons: Not right now, Lumbergh, I'm kinda busy. In fact, look, I'm gonna have to ask you to just go ahead and come back another time. 

[Nords]

Going for walks or bike rides, visiting friends and family, reading a book, watching a TV show, learning a new skill (photography, cooking, graphic design etc), playing a game, visiting somewhere that I haven’t been before... there are so many ways to fill my time, and to be honest (I’m sad to admit this) I think my personality type would happily fill the voids with browsing the web, trying to learn things or read about things that interest me for absolutely no point in particular.

There’s still so much to do – cooking, cleaning, maintaining the house and our rental property, the garden, doing tax returns, managing the stock portfolio, and I’d still like to be involved in a small capacity with website work, just helping out friends etc.

But that’s all I want. I don’t feel like I need to, or want to, fill my life with work, no matter how rewarding it may be. I’m worried that I’m naturally lazy, but I also think it’s partly down to a lack of confidence (ie not wanting the stress of challenging myself) and in general I’m at my happiest/most content when I’m doing very little. Is anyone else in a similar position?

Works for me.

Might need more surfing. 

[eostache]

My job is about as nice and stress free as a job can be but I'd much rather be spending all my time riding my bike, hiking and camping. I'm not anywhere near enough to FIRE to be able to do that full time though.

[Zamboni]

Nothing wrong with doing nothing.  At one point it was built into "the system":  that used to be the whole point of the day of rest, after all.  Kind of sad that so few people rest even one day a week anymore.

[HappierAtHome]

You described my ideal retirement lifestyle.

[taekvideo]

I work 30 hours a week at home (online)... and my sister already calls me a lazy ass lol.
When I retire in my early 30's I intend to live exactly the lifestyle you describe (at least for awhile, who knows what I'll want to do after a few years of that).
Wonder what she'll say then ^^

[blizeH]

My husband is the most relaxed and happy person I know. I refer to him as The Dude. No ambition, just living life and loving every day.

Your husband is living the dream! :)

With all of the Office Space quotes in this thread now I feel like I need to try to see it this week! (hoping it's on Netflix UK)

And thank you all so much for the replies, it's actually quite re-assuring to know that I'm not alone, and I'm actually taking quite a lot of inspiration from this thread! Thanks again.

[hybrid]

My husband is the most relaxed and happy person I know. I refer to him as The Dude. No ambition, just living life and loving every day.

Your husband is living the dream! :)

OP, does your husband take care of absolutely everything else since you work and he has become a house-husband? I have to admit I find the notion of a 27 year old guy "retired" a bit odd given that you work full time. If he were also working the both of you could retire earlier. 

[parsimonious]

That's why I put 'retired' in quotes. I do work full time and support both of us. He is a house husband that does most of the grocery shopping, chores, and most importantly: cat poop scooping. Still...he has a lot of free time.

We were saving 60% of our income before discovering the concept of FIRE and we've managed to bump it up to 80% this year after reading MMM. We figured we didn't need the extra money. My job is pretty awesome currently, so I don't begrudge being married to the Dude.

I have a week on / week off work schedule. On my week off...I work out, read library books and play video games.

Being lazy is super awesome and saves so much money.

[WGH]

Nothing wrong with that at all. I work two jobs and have since I was 18 and I'm 33 now. Most people think I'm ambitious or even a workaholic. Truth is I HATE working. I hate getting up early, I hate the commute, I hate the politics, etc. And quite honestly I'll come to work and see opportunities to improve and stand out or break out of the pile as Jack Welch explained it. But it's a challenge to motivate myself to want to do more. I have found that I'm motivated by working like crazy so I can hurry up and stop working and just retire.

I have also discovered that if you spread yourself thin and work two jobs and a lot of hours people still are awe inspired even though you don't really put forth maximum effort. Another way to explain that is the guy who arrives at 6 am and works till 6 pm is revered as the office hero even though it's quite possible he isn't doing anything productive all day long like a Peter Gibbons doing 15 minutes of real actual work. But it's all about the face time and availability, you look like you're working even if you're just staring at your computer. Or obsessively reading MMM and checking mint.com!

IMHO I think you maybe struggling with the typical American expectation of work like a dog and take as little leisure time as possible. I'm with you. I do picture a lot of travel once I'm retired but I also picture many many many hours reading, binge watching TV and movies, and playing video games and essentially doing NOTHING.

[lizzzi]

This is one that I have really struggled with. I tend to "should" on myself. As someone posted above, this is a sure road to unhappiness.

One of my brothers used to have it right, I think. He never would fill up his life with a bunch of "shoulds". He said he needed a lot of time every day to "just be." I think that "just being" is a great way to live life.

But the all time best take on this subject was in one of MMM's blogs. I will never be able to find it to tell you which one, but I copied it out on a piece of notebook paper and keep it right in the front of my Glenstal Book of Prayer. (No, I'm not a holy roller.) Here it is: "Life is not a contest to see who can accomplish the most. It is simply a series of days where your goal is to wake up, have a great time, and go to bed even happier than when you woke up."

[blizeH]

parsimonious, your husband is a very lucky guy by the sounds of it! And not just because you've helped him retire early :)

And WGH, you sound a lot like me, other than I'm not sure if anyone would ever refer to me as a 'workaholic'! Your idea of retirement matches mine too, all of those things sound great, and being able to travel a lot would be the icing on the cake so to speak.

And I like the idea of 'just being' - no expectations then, just living your life exactly as you want to. And here's the article you're thinking of :) http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2014/03/19/make-it-big/

[Lutra]

If you have the money to do what you choose, even if it seems like "nothing" it is something.  Is it someone's right to say you need to go out and do something productive for your fellow man today?  No.  You can learn and enhance your life through reading, walking, chatting with others....that is something after all.

[SpeedReader]

My husband 'retired' five years ago at the age of 32 (we had moved for my high salary job). Besides exercise and keeping house (no kids, just cats), he doesn't really do much anyone would consider productive. He spends his free time on the internet, renting movies from the library and playing video games (not an expensive hobby if you can just wait 1-2 years to play a release).

How can you be married to my husband?  :-)

[Daisy]

I agree with others that the movie Office Space is a must see!!! Especially if you work in software. Although I had seen the movie previously, I once had a mind-numbing job at a new company and decided I had to see the movie again to see if it made even more sense the second time around. Boy I have never cried/laughed/commiserated so much as when I saw that movie during that time period in my life.

In addition to the comment about enjoying doing nothing by the main character, I also love the first scene when he is stuck in commuting hell traffic and an older man in his walker passes him on the road. That scene had me in tears (good ones)!

And to the OP...your list of "nothing" activities are not actually nothing. Think of how many people make a living doing the things that you list (cooking, cleaning, preparing taxes, organizing personal finances, creating artwork/photography). By doing "nothing" you will actually have like 10-20 part time jobs doing things that others normally get paid for.

Really doing nothing would be sitting on your couch watching TV and movies...but then even some people get paid for that (movie reviewers, etc.).

And I am all for unstructured and "nothing" time that seems like a waste of time to others. I think the mind needs these rest periods for true creativity and personal growth to occur.

[Khan]

I'm with you OP, I also have little desire to "do" much of anything. My only drive is that I don't want a time limit, I hate knowing that in 'X' hours, I -have- to do something.

I am cautiously optimistic about a Nord's like lifestyle though. For me it would be scuba diving, having a stash that makes me independent of monetary motivation, and getting paid to take people diving on top of that? That could be cool...

and if it's not? Well I get back to doing nothing... or something.

[rocketpj]

Scuba, sailing, camping, fishing, video games, playing with my kids (ideally while doing one or more of the above).

Scuba is cheap once you buy the gear - which is abundant on Craigslist.  Just don't be compelled to go off to Fiji.  I can spend an entire dive utterly fascinated by the life happening in a single square meter of reef, even here in BC.  On one dive 5 km from my house I was buzzed by a seal, saw a Wolf eel, was swarmed by scallops, swam with a pair of rockfish, and spent 15 minutes watching an orange peel nudibranch squirm its way along a piece of seaweed.  A retired me will spend a lot of time scuba diving right here in my neighbourhood.

Sailing can be one of the most absurdly expensive sports there is.  It can also be completely free.  Many, many rich people like to race their yachts - in a city like Vancouver there are serious races up to 5 times a week in the summer, and almost every weekend all winter.  All of those awesome boats need lots of crew to operate.  For years I spent endless weekends racing on amazing boats have a complete blast for absolutely no money - in fact the skippers usually bought a few rounds after the race.  I started as a near total novice, and had an incredible amount of fun.  I was offered berths on boats racing in the Aegean, the Victoria-Maui race, and many other amazing events (most of which I declined, with a whimper).  A retired me will spend a lot of days racing rich people`s boats for them.

Camping is a blast for kids, relaxing for parents, and cheap as can be.  Sometimes we get a site at a lake or something, other times we just walk or drive to a likely looking spot in the woods (ideally at a lake somewhere) and set up for free.  This is the beauty of living in North America.  Bring bear spray though.

Fishing combines nicely with camping, takes all day if you want it to, and sometimes provides food.

After I finish all that I will likely make some furniture, but that`s about it.  There is always another race or another dive to do, another trout or salmon to catch.

[Tulip]

I LOVE this thread. OP you are not alone! (Obviously, judging from the other responses you have received :).) I have felt this way too, and have felt kind of guilty and a tad embarrassed about it actually (I'm definitely working on this though!). There's just not many people I can talk with about this who understand what I'm getting at...so I'm really glad you posted this and glad for like-minded individuals in this community. I'll agree with others who have said what you describe is not "nothing" but a whole lot of "something" :).

EK, I could not have said it better...I want "to wake up every day and do what I want, even if what I want is to do nothing in particular."

[Left]

I think I'd do nothing for a while, a month at most? Then I'd get bored, get out a little, garden some more, start exploring city more outside of my usual places, eventually get bored of city after 6 months and find another city, then another country?

I don't know, but that's my FI plan for when I hit 40-45... so far away :(
It's mainly I'm single still and while I enjoy my life, a lot of it is filled with work, and I have nothing else to fill time up with and don't give it much effort since I just want to relax when I'm not working. If I don't work, I have nothing to relax from so I'd be forced to look for something first if I want to relax. It isn't relaxing to sit around the house and be bored either :S

[lackofstache]

I work the normal M-F and my wife is a SAHM. On Saturday we switch, she works 12-14 hours and I get to be a SAHD for a day. Saturday is by far my favorite day of the week, because I get a taste of what my retirement would be like. Wake up, eat breakfast & ride our bikes to the pool (kids have lessons). Take the long route home and then maybe a game of wiffle ball. Grab a snack and ride bikes to the local farm co-op to grab our share of produce and "hunt" for our eggs in the chicken encampment (it's huge, ~150 chickens). Get back on the bikes, go to Aldi for some popsicles and brats. Ride home. Make a quick lunch. Eat popsicles. Have a couple hours of draw/play guitar/do some wood working/read/whatever time. Cook brats. Eat brats. Begin "Saturday Movie Night." Eat popcorn. Finish the movie. Play characters from whatever movie we just watched for 45 minutes to an hour. Read 3-5 books to the kids. Put them to bed. Another coupla hours of draw/play guitar/do some wood working/read/whatever time and then my wife comes home. If I could do this everyday, what a life I'd be leading. Often times "nothing" really is something, even if it's just enjoying the things you need to do.

[soccerluvof4]

Since I have become FI and stay home I am LAZY! actually was before that . To many years of owning my own business's burnt me out. There are days I wonder if I have depression because of my attitude about things but at the end of the day I take care of the yard which is alot of work and am always putzing and getting stuff done.  Its just at my schedule and instead of going at it I do at the pace I want. Seemingly to an outsider it looks like I am on top of things but My to do list is alot more ambitious than i am . I also have 4 kids home from school right now for the summer and that is work in itself.  When we go up to our Vacation home (which I have been trying to sell for 3 years now) i will be a workaholic but up there it doesnt seem like work. Plus i can sit down and have a beer anytime i want. But I enjoy being on the web at home. Watching some shows. Reading books and putzing. If i have depression than i have had it my whole life. I think i am just more content! which is why i worked my ass of mostly all my 20's and 30's.

[Bob W]

If your working 40 hours per week that is about 22-25% of your time.  Or about 40% of your waking hours.   So you're either 60% retired or 75% retired already!  I'm guessing for slow movers like us that retirement is a pretty nice pace.   

[Prairie Gal]

OP, what you describe sounds damn good to me! Every Saturday I take the day completely off and just do whatever I want. Sunday I have to get my butt in gear and do housework, laundry, my side business, whatever else needs doing. But Saturday is my day. And this is how I envision my retirement.

I might like to slow travel in Europe (especially Italy and France), if I have the money. Maybe spend 2 or 3 months in each location. And do nothing while I am there. Just soak in the local culture and language. Shop in the markets, enjoy a coffee at an outdoor café, walk the town, converse with the locals. And take photos, lots and lots of photos.   

But other than that I just want to get up when I want, do what I want, eat when I am hungry, nap if I feel like it. Walk the dog, take lots of photos, read lots of books, listen to music, watch movies, surf the web, spend lots of time with any grand kids I might have by then.

[parsimonious]

There are days I wonder if I have depression because of my attitude about things.

If i have depression than i have had it my whole life. I think i am just more content!

Hah! This sounds like me. For a while I was worried I was depressed since I don't have a busy life like a lot of my friends or coworkers. I look at their schedules and am just exhausted for them.

Two things helped decrease my "guilt": 1. I read about the Big Five Personality Traits, and how introversion is defined more by energy states than sociability. Low sociability is a result of diminishing energy from external environments.  My husband and I score very low on extroversion, and no surprise we don't have a jam packed activity fueled life. 

2. Get into heavy weight lifting. We've been doing it for about two years (before MMM even). It saves money since gym days are SACRED and I hate skipping them (so we don't go on vacations, or go out with our friends on fridays or drink excess alcohol). But after you deadlift / squat huge weights, you feel a total sense of accomplishment and can reward yourself by eating greek yogurt on the couch the rest of the day.

[Eperdu]

I can so relate to this. I managed to achieve FI and since then I have done a whole lot of "nothing", although I've also managed to have a few kids since then and I'm kind of a SAHD.

I beat myself up a lot for not wanting to go back to work or start another business. Am I lazy? I don't know, I've met some truly lazy people (I'm related to a few) and I do a lot more than them. Maybe it's just that I hate the office environment. I can easily fill my day and I'm rarely bored (especially with young children in the house). I like my time and my independence. I read, go for walks, take trips, play games, run errands, manage my investments, take care of household tasks, many child care duties, and also help take care of an ailing relative.

So I don't have a good answer for you, op, but at least you're not alone.

[curiousnomad]

Phew, this thread is a huge relief!  MMM is awesome but intimidating with all the things he does.

My goal: read in a hammock in the woods. Thats it! No travel, no remodeling, no hobby businesses (I also have no family). I just want time to read! Which feels incredibly selfish, like I'm not contributing anything to the world, but hermits do contribute, just in the most subtle unexpected ways (e.g. bending expectational paradigms).  This is something I have not dared share w anyone else until this thread here - thank you!

My plan: I drive semi and live in my truck (no housing costs!). After retirement I will live in a class b and move around the national forests (free camping usually 14 day limit). Restock in town during camp moves, including library ebooks. Hang hammock in next set of trees and read!

I constantly struggle with the idea of working full time 10 years to save nest egg (I have student loans to pay first), or working seasonally (driver winter, read summer) forever.

Any opinions on those options??

[blackomen]

On some days, I honestly feel like doing nothing..  and if that day falls on a weekend or a holiday, I might actually end up doing effectively nothing.

But a lifetime of doing "nothing" or at least after reaching FI?  I'll actually challenge you to hold that up for many years..

[CptCool]

Phew, this thread is a huge relief!  MMM is awesome but intimidating with all the things he does.

My goal: read in a hammock in the woods. Thats it! No travel, no remodeling, no hobby businesses (I also have no family). I just want time to read! Which feels incredibly selfish, like I'm not contributing anything to the world, but hermits do contribute, just in the most subtle unexpected ways (e.g. bending expectational paradigms).  This is something I have not dared share w anyone else until this thread here - thank you!

My plan: I drive semi and live in my truck (no housing costs!). After retirement I will live in a class b and move around the national forests (free camping usually 14 day limit). Restock in town during camp moves, including library ebooks. Hang hammock in next set of trees and read!

I constantly struggle with the idea of working full time 10 years to save nest egg (I have student loans to pay first), or working seasonally (driver winter, read summer) forever.

Any opinions on those options??

It sounds like you could try out option 2 (1/2 work, 1/2 reading) and see how you like it. Then, after your trial period (1-2 years) you can decide to continue, or go full time.

Life is always changing - it's good to make plans for the next 10 years, but just make sure you know that those 10 year plans could change daily.