Just work part time instead of full time or do contract work for several months a year

I must be too easy to please or something but I work so I can enjoy life outside of work and even being stuck at home while pretty much everything was closed was enjoyable to me...

I don't need a plan because I know what I love to do and I find that people who focused on work all their life have a hard time with retirement because they never took the time to truly start enjoying their time outside work (I've got tons of examples of that from seeing colleagues retiring and I could tell which ones were going to be bored and would go and find another job because that's all they've ever had as a "hobby").

If I could retire tomorrow I would build a four season house to replace our three season cottage, I would go hiking every day (to the joy of my dog), play video games, watch movies, read books, cook, go camping... All the things I already know that I enjoy and that work gets in the way of.

I'm (unfortunately) not even close to retirement, but everything you said, I agree with. For me, a job is like a train track, and I'm on the train and life is just going, and I get off at stops here and there, but that clickity-clack is a constant white noise. Perhaps it's me remembering the immaturity of when I was younger, but I've always found that when I don't have work, I seem less focused on general.

I am fortunate to have a good job, and I don't love it, but it's more than tolerable, which to me is the benchmark. I assume how you feel about your job is a big factor in this whole discussion. I imagine I'll work less when I hit the magic social security number, but the thought of retiring just stopping working entirely one day just doesn't make sense to me.