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Ask HN: What would you spend your time working on if you didn't need money?

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51–60 of 305 posts

Re: Ask HN: What would you spend your time working on if you didn't need money?

#51
I don't think there is really one answer to this. I'd be surprised if people's hobbies and interests are really this stable across a lifetime. If you'd have asked me five years ago, all my hobbies were very close to my actual job and I'd have been building compute labs and writing infrastructure orchestration software for fun. Ten years ago, I was more into amateur data analytics and I'd have at least wanted to try setting up my own BCS computer ranking for NCAA football. 20 years ago, it would have been photography and travel writing. Right now, I'd be all-in on personal athletics, trying to continue lifting and rehab my old fledgling habits of climbing and swimming, but mostly doubling down on running since it's what I'm best at and it consumes a lot of time anyway. I'd also love to get involved in big cat rescue, but with the success pumas are already having in the Americas, the need is probably mostly in Eurasia and Africa and I don't think I'd want to leave the only continent I've ever called home. Family still matters. I'd move closer to them, not farther.

Given all this history, I'm definitely not going to pretend I have any idea what I'm going to want to do when I actually retire. I'm also not alone. What I really end up doing is contingent on not disupting whatever my wife wants to do.

Re: Ask HN: What would you spend your time working on if you didn't need money?

#52
Maybe a better question for me would be what I would stop spending time working on. I'd continue doing what I currently do, but I'd cut out some of the things that come with the job that no sane person would do other than for the pay. For instance, I would still be doing research, which I view as very important, but I'd do more research and wouldn't mess around with the peer review process. I'd be writing open source software that would help others do their research too. I'd write textbooks and give them away for free. I wouldn't be doing administrative work of any kind, and I wouldn't waste time on a lot of the stuff I do at home.

Re: Ask HN: What would you spend your time working on if you didn't need money?

#53

A depressing reality to this question is to just look at the current crop of billionaires. None of them need money, yet many of them spend their time pursuing more. I know all of us have these quaint answers about all the noble or fulfilling things we would do, but the data doesn't seem to support that.

I've met people who were born into enough money they never needed to work, and a lot of them are just pretty normal people sans jobs. I think the interesting question here would be how would you live if you had enough without working, but little enough that you still had to think about how to stretch it over a lifetime. E.g. are you flying first class to spend a few days skiing in the Alps this weekend? Probably not, but you can make sandwiches and go for a hike instead of clocking in to work.

Re: Ask HN: What would you spend your time working on if you didn't need money?

#54
post #8

I'm not sure, and that slightly concerning to me. I'm on the path to be financially independent within the decade, but I'm not really sure what I'd do in that case. I'd probably keep writing software (since that's my first love) and just have the complete freedom to quit a job or take time off if I want. I'd like to get into some more hobbies, since I really went 100% in on software once I started working full time a…

I'm on a similar path, and still haven't figured it out. My main recommendation would be to increase the time you spend on hobbies, travelling, volunteering, etc. Use the next few years to figure out what you enjoy, and what you are retiring to. Slowly let it expand to fill your available time.

And if you decide not to stop working, there is something truly freeing about knowing that you don't need the job. In some cases I'd argue that it actually makes you a better employee (since you aren't willing to put up with bs, play politics, etc).

Re: Ask HN: What would you spend your time working on if you didn't need money?

#56
I’d love to help universal basic education become true.

There are some people who are extremely qualified and specialized in their fields, but many more would really benefit from additional formal education. Even tech literacy is taken for granted sometimes, even though it shouldn’t. It’s the kind of thing that makes an actual difference in the lives of people.

Re: Ask HN: What would you spend your time working on if you didn't need money?

#57

A depressing reality to this question is to just look at the current crop of billionaires. None of them need money, yet many of them spend their time pursuing more. I know all of us have these quaint answers about all the noble or fulfilling things we would do, but the data doesn't seem to support that.

See Selection bias https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selection_bias
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