6 ms·

Ask HN: What would you do every day, assuming you didn't need to work?

23 points by andrewstuart 8y ago

ericathegreat 8y ago
Gardening, teaching, volunteering. Make a go of a few of my side projects, knowing that if they failed it would be okay.
wesammikhail 8y ago
6 months ago, the fin-tech company I founded 1.5 years earlier got acquired and I´ve been asking myself that same question for the past few months now. I don´t need to work ever again in my life as this is my second successful exit (I´m 30 years old) but now comes the hard part. What do I do next? I have been mostly experimenting with new ideas, trying to find some interesting new verticals within which I can start a new business or perhaps change course completely and help other entrepreneurs reach their goals. So I´m considering starting my own angel investment firm as it has been a life long dream of mine. However, the harder I look, the less excited I get about the state of early stage tech companies - especially here in Europe where I currently live. I wish Scandinavia´s startup scene was in better shape but I´m getting somewhat discouraged having seen how tiny the supply of well thought-out early stage businesses is.
dave84 8y ago
I’m in the lucky enough position that I have 10 weeks continuous off over the summer. I’m also constrained by the fact that I’m not rich. I spend more time with my kids, retired parents and friends, I cook more elaborate meals, go to the seaside/trails, cycle and walk more, read books, go to the gym/Jiu Jitsu, play/learn guitar, tackle the never ending list of things to be done around the house, learn something technical, do some online courses, occasional consulting. That’s about it. I think I’d need something bigger to work towards if it was the rest of my life though. I’d probably start a small software company.
mimixco 8y ago
Start another company.
0_gravitas 8y ago
Work on things that I want to work on and learn things that I want to learn.
Noumenon72 8y ago
I did this for 1 of the 2.5 years I was unemployed (the rest I was actually studying programming, which counts as work). I read a lot of fitness articles about joints and fixed things that were broken about my body with careful therapy exercises. You have to keep fit, but you have time to do it the fun way, so I took up ice skating, kayaking, and skiing. With enough time to read and practice you can get lots better than most adult learners. I didn't visit any friends and don't regret that at all. I played with a lot of nieces and nephews. There is still more entertainment in the world than you can consume even 24/7, and you can still wish for more free time even when you have nothing but. I would stop working in a second if I didn't have to. Although, one thing I will also do is feel guilt that everyone else is working and I've got it so nice. Even though I came by the money honestly, it's just a waste of potential. I'm not sad I quit the job I couldn't stand but I'm glad I went back to work eventually.
- jchonphoenix 8y ago
  Genuinely curious how you fixed your joints. Do you have any reading or tricks that you learned?
  - MichaelKovacs 8y ago
    +1, would love to know as well what you did to fix your joints
bobochan 8y ago
I would volunteer to teach programming, particularly at the high school or junior college level. I teach graduate students now but the real need is for people that really love the material to impart that excitement to students that are just starting to discover it.
jasonkester 8y ago
This is why it's important to have other interests besides just what you do at your day job. This question stops being a question if you're already looking forward to the weekends so that you can get out and do $X, and you rearrange things and take unpaid leave so that you can get in a big six week $X trip every year. Sadly, lots of people make it all the way to retirement without ever really finding their $X. They're suddenly dumped out on the world with nothing to do and have to scramble to find a hobby. But it doesn't usually seem to work. You don't want to learn Fly Fishing at 65 because you have nothing better to do. You want to have it have been your passion for the last 30 years and now you get to go out and pursue it for real, all day every day. Like a few others on this thread, I got myself into this position pretty early in life (through slow, deliberate, effort rather than exit event, but with essentially the same result). Fortunately, I already knew what I wanted to do every day. To sum up: Find your thing today and start doing it. Today. Don't wait until some magic event in the future that may never come.
pr07ecH70r 8y ago
Read, read, read and read! Explore more "inputs" from different topics. Exercise regularly, eat healthy and have virtually no stress. ...and read even more. :)
highhedgehog 8y ago
Most likely backpacking
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
tudelo 8y ago
Play too many video games. If my income is the same as it is now, spend too much money on clothes and going out. Do some programming but probably not as much, and only on things I am interested in, such as open source game clients. I currently read a lot (though not traditional books usually, but I have done a lot of that in the past) so I would probably read more. Oh, and waste time on hackernews/stackexchange/reddit.
nniroclax 8y ago
I would wake up early and go surfing. Then I'd come home, shower, go meet some friends for coffee, work on a side project for a few hours (whatever that may be at the moment), make myself some lunch, go for a walk, do a bit of learning, prepare dinner, eat/hang out with some friends/family/SO, read a bit of HN, go to sleep, and wake up and do it all over again. I'm working on incorporating aspects of that ideal day into my every day. As others have mentioned, there's no use in waiting until 'one day' to start.
Veen 8y ago
Assuming we're talking about having enough money to retire with a decent income, I would enroll in an online art history degree course from an institution like the Open University in the UK. Then I'd spend my time traveling around the world looking at the paintings and visiting historical locations while I learn. I'd live in Florence for a few months while learning about the history of Renaissance art and so on.
mud_dauber 8y ago
related "what's your end game?" thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16418842 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16418842
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  I just wanted to say thanks for posting this thread again. I had previously favorited your comment from that thread, forgotten about it, and it was exactly what I needed where I’m at in my life right now.
  - mud_dauber 8y ago
    You're very welcome. I hope you're able to turn this "slacker for intellectuals" ethos into reality. (I'm doing my best as well.)

23 points by andrewstuart 8y ago

Gardening, teaching, volunteering. Make a go of a few of my side projects, knowing that if they failed it would be okay.

wesammikhail 8y ago

6 months ago, the fin-tech company I founded 1.5 years earlier got acquired and I´ve been asking myself that same question for the past few months now. I don´t need to work ever again in my life as this is my second successful exit (I´m 30 years old) but now comes the hard part. What do I do next? I have been mostly experimenting with new ideas, trying to find some interesting new verticals within which I can start a new business or perhaps change course completely and help other entrepreneurs reach their goals. So I´m considering starting my own angel investment firm as it has been a life long dream of mine. However, the harder I look, the less excited I get about the state of early stage tech companies - especially here in Europe where I currently live. I wish Scandinavia´s startup scene was in better shape but I´m getting somewhat discouraged having seen how tiny the supply of well thought-out early stage businesses is.

dave84 8y ago

I’m in the lucky enough position that I have 10 weeks continuous off over the summer. I’m also constrained by the fact that I’m not rich. I spend more time with my kids, retired parents and friends, I cook more elaborate meals, go to the seaside/trails, cycle and walk more, read books, go to the gym/Jiu Jitsu, play/learn guitar, tackle the never ending list of things to be done around the house, learn something technical, do some online courses, occasional consulting. That’s about it. I think I’d need something bigger to work towards if it was the rest of my life though. I’d probably start a small software company.

mimixco 8y ago

Start another company.

0_gravitas 8y ago

Work on things that I want to work on and learn things that I want to learn.

Noumenon72 8y ago

I did this for 1 of the 2.5 years I was unemployed (the rest I was actually studying programming, which counts as work). I read a lot of fitness articles about joints and fixed things that were broken about my body with careful therapy exercises. You have to keep fit, but you have time to do it the fun way, so I took up ice skating, kayaking, and skiing. With enough time to read and practice you can get lots better than most adult learners. I didn't visit any friends and don't regret that at all. I played with a lot of nieces and nephews. There is still more entertainment in the world than you can consume even 24/7, and you can still wish for more free time even when you have nothing but. I would stop working in a second if I didn't have to. Although, one thing I will also do is feel guilt that everyone else is working and I've got it so nice. Even though I came by the money honestly, it's just a waste of potential. I'm not sad I quit the job I couldn't stand but I'm glad I went back to work eventually.

jchonphoenix 8y ago
Genuinely curious how you fixed your joints. Do you have any reading or tricks that you learned?
- MichaelKovacs 8y ago
  +1, would love to know as well what you did to fix your joints

bobochan 8y ago

I would volunteer to teach programming, particularly at the high school or junior college level. I teach graduate students now but the real need is for people that really love the material to impart that excitement to students that are just starting to discover it.

jasonkester 8y ago

This is why it's important to have other interests besides just what you do at your day job. This question stops being a question if you're already looking forward to the weekends so that you can get out and do $X, and you rearrange things and take unpaid leave so that you can get in a big six week $X trip every year. Sadly, lots of people make it all the way to retirement without ever really finding their $X. They're suddenly dumped out on the world with nothing to do and have to scramble to find a hobby. But it doesn't usually seem to work. You don't want to learn Fly Fishing at 65 because you have nothing better to do. You want to have it have been your passion for the last 30 years and now you get to go out and pursue it for real, all day every day. Like a few others on this thread, I got myself into this position pretty early in life (through slow, deliberate, effort rather than exit event, but with essentially the same result). Fortunately, I already knew what I wanted to do every day. To sum up: Find your thing today and start doing it. Today. Don't wait until some magic event in the future that may never come.

pr07ecH70r 8y ago

Read, read, read and read! Explore more "inputs" from different topics. Exercise regularly, eat healthy and have virtually no stress. ...and read even more. :)

highhedgehog 8y ago

Most likely backpacking

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

tudelo 8y ago

Play too many video games. If my income is the same as it is now, spend too much money on clothes and going out. Do some programming but probably not as much, and only on things I am interested in, such as open source game clients. I currently read a lot (though not traditional books usually, but I have done a lot of that in the past) so I would probably read more. Oh, and waste time on hackernews/stackexchange/reddit.

nniroclax 8y ago

I would wake up early and go surfing. Then I'd come home, shower, go meet some friends for coffee, work on a side project for a few hours (whatever that may be at the moment), make myself some lunch, go for a walk, do a bit of learning, prepare dinner, eat/hang out with some friends/family/SO, read a bit of HN, go to sleep, and wake up and do it all over again. I'm working on incorporating aspects of that ideal day into my every day. As others have mentioned, there's no use in waiting until 'one day' to start.

Veen 8y ago

Assuming we're talking about having enough money to retire with a decent income, I would enroll in an online art history degree course from an institution like the Open University in the UK. Then I'd spend my time traveling around the world looking at the paintings and visiting historical locations while I learn. I'd live in Florence for a few months while learning about the history of Renaissance art and so on.

mud_dauber 8y ago

related "what's your end game?" thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16418842 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16418842

toomuchtodo 8y ago
I just wanted to say thanks for posting this thread again. I had previously favorited your comment from that thread, forgotten about it, and it was exactly what I needed where I’m at in my life right now.
- mud_dauber 8y ago
  You're very welcome. I hope you're able to turn this "slacker for intellectuals" ethos into reality. (I'm doing my best as well.)