I’m feeling a little bored. Woke up this morning and felt like I couldn’t be bothered doing anything. I’ve got a few things planned – a zoom call with an old work colleague, a tennis coaching lesson which I really need after last night’s abject performance and then this afternoon popping over to my daughter to help out with her move to her new home.
That’s all reasonably active, I suppose, but with this latest six months of Covid restrictions now in force I feel I need to find something new, a real passion that will carry me through to the Spring when hopefully Covid will be behind us all.
By way of inspiration I found this list of 101 things to do in retirement to avoid boredom – a good 10% can’t be done right now because they involve travel while others are just too difficult or scary plus there are few I’m doing or have done.
Right now the ones that appeal are around learning or study. I need to get focused, I know, though part of me feels that a bit boredom is allowed, maybe it’s the catalyst to something new.
Here’s the list, be inspired.
- 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