I just had 7 months off work, due to the Oil and Gas downturn and used the time to practice being retired.

Was able to utilise the time and get a good feel on many things. Idle time was a concern and being rooted doing nothing was on my mind.
Things that came to pass
[*]estimate of future monthly costs for all items, as insurances were to be paid while home, food, vehicle maintenance, etc etc. Now have a figure that we can work around, with out short changing some good things in life.
[*]Share responsibility around the house, who really is the boss, when I work fly in fly out I tend to lwt her rule the roost when home, not anymore. Equal rights are the go.
[*]Put a lot of time into thinking about the house build and getting quotes and sub contractors on board ready to pull the trigger when I got my next job. Which has now happened, but not in oil & gas. I change my expectations on completion dates and happy to just build as small projects now. Living in an old house on the land allows this.
[*]Diet was another thought. Putting on extra kilos will need to be looked at. I lived healthy for most of it and came to enjoy the girls cooking skills.
[*]Also was able to observe and appreciate how hard she works around the place, her herbal garden, washing dogs, general cleaning. A tireless effort, I will have to contribute more once retired.
[*]Taking the daughter to school 7 days a week, taking her and picking up from badminton 4 times a week.
[*]As mentioned by rjj)4 I was able to do diddly squat when I felt like it.
[*]Learnt how to navigate a bit better around town and appreciate in a good way how bad they do drive.
[*]Visit a few out lying bars. Very enjoyable.
[*]Did a 3 day tour drive of 900 kms to see what's out there in this region of Thailand. More of that to come in the future.
[*]Able to explore any business opportunities. Listen and learn from the forum and one on one chatting.
[*]Had plenty of arguments with the boss, but that's norm for any relationship. Plenty of area to move away and get over it quickly.
[*]Need to try harder and learn the basics of the Thai language, can't rely on the daughter and girl friend to keep me afloat.
[*]Had plenty of quiet moments which I enjoy. I don't read books but can contemplate my navel for a couple of hours when required.
[*]Learnt not to watch to much TV, couple of movies and my rugby league. Will fine tune TV channels later.

There's more but overall I think I will be able to keep myself busy. Doing things or doing nothing.
Keeping ones self healthy is a priority so gentle exercise and good food which is a plenty here are a must.
Beer is still OK.