Re: What would you do if you didn't have to work?
I really liked reading gary online's blog post asking what you would do if you didn't have to work, and even though I'm far from the current expected retirement age, I still think a lot about what I could, or would, do without needing to work to survive.
The "have to" is really important here; I've been in the position where I needed to work but couldn't, and you'd think this would mean I did all sorts of fun, exciting, or creative things...but mostly I just stressed about the fact that I still needed some way to pay for housing, food, and the like. I don't remember very much about this period of my life except that I spent a lot of nights playing mahjong solitaire.
I think, even if I didn't have to work, I'd probably still wake up early of my own accord. I could take my time with breakfast, with catching up on a few feeds, with doing a bit of light cleaning. I could read more books, play more games, indulge (but would it really be an indulgence?) in more hobbies. I could also travel more! There's so much of the world I haven't seen, so many places to explore and people to meet.
Bluntly, I feel like I'd finally get to the living part of living, the parts that are always forcibly subordinated to the societal necessity to work.