A common objection to retirement I often hear is: “I don’t know what I’d do, I just end up being bored”.
There is no doubt retirement takes some adjusting to and planning for (and not just financially) but how can you be bored when there is an infinite number of things you could do: experiences to have, skills to learn, expertise to share, time to give and knowledge to acquire.
It took me about 45 minutes to come up with this list of 101 different things.
Some require money, some don’t.
Some require travel, some can be done from home.
Some are indulgences, some are altruistic.
But there is something for everyone regardless of gender, background, ability or financial means.
- Study for a degree (in anything you wish)
- Learn to speak a language fluently
- Write a novel
- Read all the “classics”
- Volunteer in a Charity shop
- Teach English overseas
- Help dig wells/build schools/hospitals overseas
- Volunteer on conservation projects overseas
- Cycle a country (continent!)
- Learn an instrument to grade 8 level
- Visit all the football grounds in the UK
- Visit the world’s iconic stadia
- Eat in the world’s top restaurants
- Paint your ‘master piece’
- Teach school leavers your skills
- Become a bird watcher/astronomer
- Write a screen play
- Sail around the Greek Islands
- Swim with Orca
- Watch the great African migration
- Create a wild life haven in your garden
- Create a video series of your skills and experiences for the benefit of others
- Travel around the British Coastline
- Drive Route 66
- Go on a cattle drive with cowboys
- Visit all the wonders of the world
- Learn to scuba dive
- Be an extra in a film
- Visit the North & South Poles
- Trek the Himalayas
- Trek the Amazon
- Sky Dive
- Bungy jump the world’s highest jump
- Make a random act of kindness every day.
- Learn about the solar system
- Start Yoga
- Walk the great walks of the UK
- Keep a bird of prey
- Drive a motorhome around Europe
- Cruise the world
- See the Northern Lights
- Do a shark cage dive.
- Become an expert in wine
- Grow your own fruit and veg
- Watch every West End show (or Broadway show)
- Study the life and times of an icon (past or present).
- Learn how to save a life
- Restore a classic car
- Join a book club
- Build a scale model of something
- Build a model railway in your attic
- Get your golf handicap as low as possible
- Teach your grandchildren a new skill
- Learn to cook
- Learn to fly
- Write your memoirs
- Learn computer code
- Cross the Atlantic in a tall ship
- Run a marathon
- Complete a triathlon
- Learn to sing
- Join a choir or band
- Become a church minister
- Learn about the world’s religions
- Study politics
- Learn economics
- Study philosophy
- Build a house
- Learn to sail
- Write a book of poems
- Spend time in a monastery
- Become a landscape/portrait/animal… photographer & publish your work
- Produce your own beer
- Learn to play chess
- Become an ebay seller
- Write a children’s book
- Become a cartoonist
- Write a travel journal
- Start a blog about your retirement experiences
- Start ball room dancing
- Learn to play poker
- Become a tour guide
- Volunteer for your local wildlife trust
- Watch your favourite team home and away for a season (or more)
- Volunteer for your local political party
- Learn graphic design
- Make soft toys for disadvantaged children around the world
- Take up carpentry
- Study the Bible
- Swim with dolphins
- Take other people’s dogs for a walk
- Become a companion for someone who is lonely
- Become a counsellor
- Learn public speaking
- Start a social enterprise business
- Start a for profit business
- Make and sell your own cakes/jams/preservatives
- Visit the world’s holy places
- Study a period of history
- Become an actor
- Learn mindfulness
What would you add to this?
If you like what you read here why not read more retirement planning articles here.
