this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2024
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Imagine all your basic needs are covered: housing, food, healthcare, and so on. You don't need to work for a living anymore. What would you do with your time?

I know this might sound like a bit of a dreamy question, but it's been on my mind lately, especially as I see so many people working tirelessly day and night. Perhaps it's time for us to slow down and reflect on what truly matters. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Depends on why/how my needs are being met I suppose. If this is a post-scarcity situation where everyone's needs are met and no one has to work, I'd probably keep at my current job. I install and repair nurse call systems (the buttons you push in a hospital to tell the staff you need help) I mostly enjoy the work and someone is going to have to keep doing it. I live in a town with a huge hospital and could easily keep busy without leaving town.

If this situation where only my own basic needs are met and not everyone else's, I wouldn't keep going to that job. Management is kind of a pain and they can certainly afford to train someone who needs the work. I'd still fix whatever kind of shit I knew how to because honestly, I love working with a wrench but, I'd be doing it freelance at that point. I'd probably start by knocking on the doors of local machine shops, fixing machine tools and lasers was more fun than nurse call and if I wasn't tied to one specific brand, I could probably keep busy without driving 4 hours a day (I quit that job because I was tired of travel). If that took off, I'd try to turn it into a business and train someone to pick up the slack so I could still take the occasional vacation without leaving regular customers hanging. If that wasn't enough to keep even just me busy, I'd probably start asking around about other random shit that needed to be fixed. Lots of people deal with broken shit because they can't afford to fix it and if I was only looking to stave off boredom, not having to make a profit, I could probably get it done affordably.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

In no particular order:

  • Finally do those after-class reading + tutoring sessions for kids in my daughter's school.
  • Sign up for shifts on the "Good-Night-Bus" in my local town that looks after homeless people during night-time.
  • Play hand-pan, guitar & other random instruments at local relaxation spots to add to the overall atmosphere of "the good life"
  • regularly offer my handymen skills to my neighborhood via local web-platform and also contribute to "Repair-CafΓ©s" as a helping hand
  • Find a local community-garden project to help out at so that the city stays 0.1% greener than without me
  • Offer my yet-currently-relevant professional skills (Frontend / WebPerf / CDNs / DevOps) to a NGO that couldn't usually afford my wages (again: preferably something relevant to my region to feel a sense of impact)
  • Keep maintaining my OpenSource repositories and publish new ideas ASAP to prevent Software Patents
[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

I think I'd still work because it makes me feel useful to society.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

under capitalism or an alternative?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

I would work full time on contributing code and development efforts to [email protected] , which is a software used by scientists to distribute massive computational workloads to the computers of volunteers for processing. All sorts of medical, physics, and math research gets done through it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

Aside from being lazy and playing video games all day, I would like to learn new skills. I always said I wanted to try woodworking. A lot of my current skills involve being on a computer so I would like at least one that involves tools and using my hands.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

Software development and computer stuff in general is my passion. I enjoy doing it as a hobby even after doing it at work. If I didn't have to work for money, I would probably work on some open source software. In fact that's kinda my dream / goal - achieve financial independence and work on open source as I please.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

If this is a transition from how I live now to never needing to work again, I'm guessing the first 6 months to a year would just be disbelief and slacking. Video games, TV/YouTube, etc.

I'd probably do more of the things I do with my limited off time: gardening, taking care of family & pets, taekwondo.

Honestly have no idea what I'd do once I became accustomed to it. Maybe travel? Participate in local politics more? Volunteer? I would definitely have a sense that I needed to do something to make my life "worth it" that I currently get from working to provide for my family.

It's definitely a result of conditioning, not some fundamental truth of the universe. But nearly 50 years of that conditioning is hard to break overnight.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (2 children)

10 hours/day on YT and Netflix

Depressed

Existential dread

Anxiety

Eat

Sleep

(In no particular order).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

I'd love to say being productive, learning languages, helping the communities, doing good deeds, exploring the world, trying to fix the wrongs... But as of this moment, the above comment is the realistic answer.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Minus the existential dread most of the time, plus a constant lack of any hope whatsoever but same. Oh and don't forget my eight fucking medications daily, and a few more less often or as needed. And therapy of course. And having regular suicidal/death centric thoughts.

So you have trouble falling asleep and waking up too? That part is fun too.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Hike the entirety of the AT and the PCT.

Go bikepacking more frequently. Or go on a months long trip.

Make art - photography, digital art, linocut.

Help friends and family with projects.

That's the short version. There are so many possibilities once you remove the need to be tied to a job/computer for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I would love to have the freedom to simply not work. I don't want to be rich, I just want to be able to exist without having to work.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

There’s plenty of work right there. Art is work. Training is work.

It’s not that you’d want to live without work.

It’s that you’d want to do work important and meaningful to you.

No need to undermine it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

Spending time with my wife

Working on open source projects

Learning new skills, musical instruments

Practicing karate

Spending time with my wife

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

I'd go to school and take every course I possibly could for the rest of my life or until I couldn't.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

I haven’t worked for almost a year. Mostly, I wake up, play video games, eat, and do some work around the house. There are pretty bad days where I feel worthless and tell myself pretty negative stories, but I’ve gotten much better at ignoring them. Now, I’ll be going back to work soon, and I’m terrified of losing my total free time.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Go on long walks with a litter bag cleaning parks etc while listening to books and music. Get really in shape. Cook every meal for my family. Write fiction. Get involved in helping local political movements. Attend more protests.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

They're would be a lot of time involved in bettering my community. Also a lot of trips and hobbies.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

A lot of birdwatching, maybe some music-making, and learning to cook very well.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

When I work I do my hobbies in my free time when I'm unemployed I do fuck all just playing games and passing the time.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I just sleep in and play video games and be depressed. It’s not good.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I do that when I don't work but will Monday, or after the holidays. But when I actually had time as in, I'm not going to have to be back to work for a long time, I'd start picking up useful stuff. Turns out the sleep in and games/ depressive state comes from expecting to have to go back to the routine again. That's why how you react to time out when you are still pressured to have to work eventually doesn't give you a good answer to this question.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

I agree with this. It takes me weeks, if not months, to really unwind.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Garden, fuck, go to the beach, read, dance, cook and ferment, hang out with people. Probably still work some for money if I needed it to buy stuff like drinks or an e-bike, or to travel, I'm sure we'd still have a money economy of some sort. Same stuff I'd do if I could afford to retire. If I was a few years younger, would foster a kid or two.

Oh, and I'm sure I could live a full and healthy life without paid employment, myself.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Reading, hiking, backpacking, cooking, brewing, fixing, loving, caring, dreaming, building, gaming, growing, learning, teaching.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago

Harder, better, faster, stronger

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Hmmm I am kinda in this situation now and I have to say I still want to work just not for other people (unless I know them well). I actually am trying to be more active and working on my own stuff makes me feel good and gets me off my ass.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I would do a lot more camping and cycling mostly. really give the bass a red hot shot. tackle my pile of plastic shame

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

I do shit ton of traveling. Lots of camping and I spend a lot of spare time writing. Also I could knock out my backlog of games.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 5 months ago

While I understand the sentiment, there are a lot of jobs out there that are necessary but no one wants to do. If no one had to work society would fall apart. At least at this point in time. Maybe it we ever make it to the startrek universe with boundless energy, replictors, medical devices that just cure you.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago

A lot of woodworking, a lot of fishing, and a lot of hanging out with family. It would be glorious.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

I'd love to learn more. I've wanted to go and do either another degree, or get my PhD, but it's just not realistic with being the only one bringing in money.

Probably finally finish some projects, too, rather than just starting them and losing interest.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

I'd work on my car and my computer/gamedev stuff, and teach others to do the same. Also more gardening.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Gardening and pickling/preserving foods to start. Writing a novel.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Depends on income. With more income, I'd travel a lot and do things. With no income, I'd try to make some things, be online and read pirated books :)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

I’d keep working for a few years and use every single penny to generate additional passive income. Once I was not just comfortable, but nicely appointed, I’d split my time between working part time, doing stuff to help other people, and being a gigantic slut.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

I like to think I'd tend to my garden, fix bicycles for the neighborhood, volunteer at a youth center and become politically active. But there were times when I had no job and no lack of money, and I just doomscrolled 16 hours a day.
Now I have a job that doesn't stress me out, has purpose, pays the bills and then some, and is done at 3pm. And I actually do all these other things in my free time.
But I do need strong external motivation to start the day and get outside.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Probably just developing free & open source software. Doing other things that I enjoy: music production, traveling, idk. I'd definitely make sure to have some goal, something that I can learn or work on. Something that I can achieve, and look back at.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Reading, crafting, learning a language.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

This answer might be somewhat unusual, but honestly? I would continue working. I like to keep busy, and I feel like I would get bored quickly. Sure, a break might be nice for me to catch up with personal projects, but in the long term, I would like to work.

I suppose it also helps that I'm a rare case where I enjoy the work that I do

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Fishing and sailing.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago

Create and contribute to open source projects.

Write music.

Make little video games.

Write short stories.

Learn a new language.

Basically, a lot of stuff I already do as a hobby, but I would have more time/energy to devote

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Realistically? I'd play video games all day and die at 35. I kinda need work for the daily structure and the socialization.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 5 months ago

I think many people say stuff like that, and indeed they would for a few months, but after a while people would look for stuff to do, and they tend to turn towards volunteering. That fulfills both daily structure and socialization. Do you think that's something you would eventually do in that case as well?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

I would keep working part time because I love my job (psychotherapist). I would also garden, knit, go camping a lot, learn a musical instrument, write fiction and non-fiction books, have a podcast about mental health, and spend more time with friends. Traveling would also be a favorite.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Probably take a break for a month or two then look for some oss project or activism to participate in, play more music and video games, etc.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

I'd probably spend my time learning IT, computer hardware specs and maybe networking.

Maybe build a private file sharing | streaming service for my apartment, and start a website blog.

Perhaps also persue digital art and finally learn how to use vectors.

Maybe also make a YouTube channel and spend my time educating others.

But alas, im bound by my need for an income and will spend the next few years trying to persists as a (almost) new mechanical engineer bachelor.

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