Coasting is boring.

Work is boring.

Coasting means I can spend my best time & effort on stuff that isn't boring. I'm not coasting when it comes to my personal goals and dreams :)

What's the difference working 10hrs/week vs being retired with a side project?

People pursue coasting so they can do other things.

What's wrong with boring, especially if you have a family?

Not everyone is up to writing textbooks and compilers all day.

When I'm bored I feel my life slipping away. It's not a happy state.

Eloquent and succintly put. Not everyone is like this I have realized, but to each their own. I would extend a bit, its not easy for me to be not bored. I have to be doing something complex, and someting that takes a lot of time to build up. Hobbies _can_ fill that gap but only when I treat them like work, and I enjoy doing so. Doing something I enjoy for a job is ideal, because it matches what the job expects of my time with how I prefer to use it. I wish I could coast but even doing that leaves not enough time to build up the hard or complex things I derive joy from. I did not used to understand this, and spent the first 25 or so years of my life very unhappy and insecure. When I discovered rigour (etc), I discovered joy. Realisticaly to support a family while also being happy, I need to work a job I enjoy. Of course my happiness isn't owed to me, I feel fortunate to even think of chasing it.

I don't even have a family but I'm currently considering switching to a job that is easier. My current job is interesting and pays well, but is very demanding and stressful. To meet the demands of my job and not burn out requires my life to pretty much revolve around work and it's just not worth it. I've been dreaming of a boring 9 to 5 job for the past year or so.

> What's wrong with boring, especially if you have a family?

You are waiting for death. That is the only thing wrong.

Spending time with loved ones doing nothing productive per se is more than waiting for death.

It's living.

There's "boring" and there's "content", and OP is probably talking about the latter. Once you have a family it takes over a lot of the energy you could previously use for work, and that's both expected and desirable.

> and desirable.

evidence required.

The evidence is that a society filled with bitter, maladjusted people who's parents were too busy pouring their heart and soul into work to provide a stable, loving family household is one nobody should want. Like, there's shades of grey here, but you should prioritise your children over your next Jira ticket.

Coasting is getting your kicks outside of work hours.