100+ Things To Do in Retirement
What to do in retirement?
Retiring soon and wondering what to do? The options are endless. Here are 100+ ideas to help spark your imagination.
Combining my actual experience with the learnings and thoughts from others has left me convinced more than ever that creating an awesome retirement comes down to having two areas covered: money and life (time).
You need to have enough money to retire, to provide for your needs, at least some wants, and hopefully a few desires.
But just as important you must have plans for what you’re going to do with your time. How are you going to spend your life in retirement?
In fact, not having a plan for life side is the most common reason I’ve seen for people “failing” at retirement — they become “bored” once they quit work since they haven’t given any thought to or planned how to spend their time.
I have created five categories that I believe make up the best retirement life for most people.
Successful retirees will select activities from all of these categories to create an awesome retirement life.
Envisioning your new life – who you will be and what you will be doing – might be the most important part of your retirement plan. If you need help getting started, have fun reading a list of ideas of what to do in retirement, inspired by a Huge List of Retirement Activities.
“You’ll be amazed at the new opportunities that you’ll discover that you didn’t know were out there. It’s not selfish to reserve that first year just for you. After all, that is what you worked towards.”
What should you do in retirement every day?
NOTE: Many of the activities cover several categories. For example, pickleball has elements of health and fitness, fun, and social interaction. I have placed each activity in the category that most define it but know that any given activity might cover the needs of more than one category.
Health and Fitness
Exercise
- Bodybuilding
- Cardio
- CrossFit
- Cycling
- Go to a gym class
- Go to the gym
- Jogging
- Learn a New Sport
- Pilates
- Rowing
- Run
- Stair Stepper
- Swim
- Water aerobics
- Yoga
- Zumba
Sports
- Archery
- Badminton
- Baseball/Softball
- Basketball
- Bocce
- Bowling
- Boxing
- Dodgeball
- Flag Football
- Fencing
- Golf
- Handball
- Hockey
- Horseshoes
- Martial arts
- Pickleball
- Racquetball
- Run a marathon
- Senior rodeo
- Shuffleboard
- Skiing
- Soccer
- Squash
- Surfing
- Tennis
- Track and field
- Triathlons
- Volleyball
- Water polo
Active Pursuits
- Buy a drone
- Climb a 14er
- Fishing
- Four wheeling
- Hike
- Hunting
- Learn how to dance
- Learn how to yo-yo
- Line dancing
- Orienteering
- Pan for gold
- Pick flowers
- Ride a horse
- Ride a hot air balloon
- Square dancing
- Take more walks
- Take on the seven summits
- Tai chi
- Try a boomerang
- Tubing
Nutrition
- Cook (more often)
- Learn to cook healthy meals
- Start a diet
FUN
Some are repeatable and some are one-time efforts.
Travel
- Become a local travel guide
- Camper road trips
- College Football Games
- Go on a cruise
- Go on a solo trip
- Go on a train ride
- Go RVing
- Go to a hot springs
- Go on a safari
- Go to Disney
- River cruises
- Stay in unique Airbnbs
- Take a road trip
- Take day trips
- Take longer vacations
- Travel the world
Relaxing Fun
- Be outdoors more
- Camping (or glamping)
- Drive a remote control car
- Get a pen pal
- Go stargazing
- Have more leisure time
- Join a film club
- Look into your genealogy
- Play board games
- Play bridge
- Play video and computer games
- Read some fiction books
- Ride a submarine
- Ride a train
- Sunbathe
- Trade homes with someone
- Try new restaurants
- Watch the sunrise
Cultured Fun
- Go to museums
- See an aquarium
- Try local theatre
- Visit a zoos
- Visit historical sites
- Visit national parks
- Watch a symphony
Active Fun
- Animal Adoption
- Be a clown
- Billiards
- Build with Legos
- Car Racing
- Clean up the environment
- Climb a tree
- Create a bucket list and go do it
- Croquet
- Darts
- Declutter your house
- Do DIY projects
- Downsize your home
- Fly a kite
- Get a tattoo
- Get or foster a new pet
- Go boating
- Go on a picnic
- Go parasailing
- Go roller skating
- Go shopping
- Go snorkeling
- Go storm chasing
- Go thrift shopping
- Go to a festival/concert/play
- Go to a flea market
- Go to a haunted house
- Go to an amusement park
- Go to the beach
- Go to the casino
- Go to the zoo
- Have a party or bonfire
- Hunting
- Judge a competition
- Lawn bowling
- Learn to bake
- Make a movie or a video
- Move somewhere new
- Organize your home
- Paintball
- Ping pong
- Play a prank on someone
- Poker
- Rearrange your house
- Renovate your home
- Ride in canoes or kayaks
- Train a guide dog
- Trap shooting
- Try a scavenger hunt
- Try extreme sports
- Try metal detecting at a beach
- Try skydiving
- Try some arts & crafts
- War Reenactments
Hobbies to do in retirement
- Acting
- Animal training
- Become a performer
- Become a sommelier
- Birding/Birdwatching
- Blacksmithing
- Bonsai
- Build a robot or AI
- Candle Making
- Car collecting
- Carpentry
- Classic car restoration
- Collect antiques
- Collect models (trains, houses, etc.)
- Competitive dancing with a dog
- Decoupage
- Do a restaurant crawl
- Do street art
- Draw Cartoons
- Drawing
- Farming
- Finish a Rubix cube
- Flower arranging
- Gambling
- Geology
- Glassblowing
- Go scuba diving
- Grow a garden
- Historical ship model building
- Home brewing
- Interior decorating
- Join a choir
- Join a community garden
- Knitting/crocheting/quilting
- Learn about cars
- Learn an instrument
- Learn how to play a song you love
- Learn photography
- Learn to DJ
- Learn to paint
- Leatherwork
- Listen to the radio
- Make Jewelry
- Make wine
- Make wine or beer
- Mixology
- Model
- Mosaics
- Needlepoint
- Origami
- Paint with watercolors
- People watch
- Piloting
- Play piano
- Play the violin
- Pottery
- Practice calligraphy
- Printmaking
- Raise Chickens
- Ride a motorcycle
- Sailing
- Scrapbooking
- Sculpt
- Sewing
- Shooting range
- Soap making
- Stained glass
- Start a collection of something
- Start a newsletter
- Start a vlog
- Take up beekeeping
- Try an open mic night
- Try glassblowing
- Try Topiary
- Try wine tasting
- Upcycle
- Whittle
- Woodworking
- Write poetry
Work or Work-Like Activities
WORK
- Board service
- Continue present work
- Get a new job in a field you’ve always dreamed about
- Get a part-time job (could combine with hobby/interests)
- Private equity/VC
- Publicly traded company
- School bus driver
- Small/mid-size but established Startup
- Tour guiding
Side Hustles
- Act as an extra for tv or movies
- Babysit
- Become a critic
- Become a landlord
- Become a secret shopper
- Become an entrepreneur
- Become an event planner
- Coach a sport
- Consult on something you know a lot about
- Create a new board game
- Create and sell art
- Do online surveys
- Have a yard sale
- Invent something
- Invest in someone’s business
- Invest your money
- Make and sell something
- Record audiobooks
- Referee
- Refinish and sell furniture
- Sell stuff on eBay
- Sell your old stuff
- Start a blog
- Start a new business
- Start a podcast
- Start a radio show
- Start your own business
- Teach a subject you know a lot about
- Travel with a band
- Work at a camp
Work-Like
- Become a foster parent
- Become an activist or lobbyist
- Build something
- Care for the environment
- Church/synagogue work
- Citizen patrol/Fire-fighter
- Connect with a cause
- Feed the homeless
- Fight crime
- Get involved with local politics
- Host a neighborhood cleanup
- Increase my community involvement
- Join the Peace Corps
- Lecture/speaking opportunities
- Mentor others
- Missionary work
- Organize a charity drive
- Serve on a non-profit board
- Sponsor a child in another country
- Take a volunteer trip abroad
- Tutor young people
- Volunteer with local charities
- Work with charities
- Write a book
Social Interaction
- Be a caregiver to others
- Connect with family
- Connect with friends
- Dinner murder mystery clubs
- Entertains friends (more often)
- Find local events to attend at a community center/library
- Get in contact with an old friend
- Get involved in your community
- Get to know your neighbors
- Go to church
- Go to the senior center
- Go to weddings
- Hang out with retired friends
- Have an accountability partner
- Help out with grandkids
- Hold a charity event
- Host a party/watch event
- Join a book club
- Join a Facebook group
- Join a league
- Join a small group
- Make new friends
- Mentor someone younger than you
- Play bingo
- Reconnect with an old friend
- Social club
- Spend time with your spouse
- Spend time with your kids and grandkids
- Start a local club
- Try a group travel trip
- Try geocaching
- Visit nursing homes
- Write a letter to someone
- WWII club
Mental Stimulation in Retirement
Challenges
- Chess puzzles
- Do a puzzle
- Do sudoku puzzles
- Strategy games like Stratego, Risk, and Monopoly
- Take quizzes
- Trivia game
- Try crosswords
Brainy Tasks
- Find new music to listen to
- Join a debate club
- Keep a journal
- Keep up with the latest technology
- Play a card game
- Play memory games
- Read non-fiction
- Write (about your retirement experience/educate on retirement)
Learn New Things
- Astronomy
- Become an expert in a subject you’re passionate about
- Become CPR certified
- Create a recipe
- Deepen your faith
- Design a piece of clothing
- Dust off old dreams
- Get a different degree
- Get a license in something
- Go back to school
- Invent a board game
- Join a band
- Learn a new language
- Learn new skill
- Learn sign language
- Learn some magic
- Learn to code
- Learn to play chess
- Learn to use a computer
- Set a new goal
- Study a new subject
- Take a free class
- Take night classes
- Teach an instrument
- Teach others
- Write a biography for someone
- Write a screenplay
- Write a song
- Zoology
Trying new activities can help push you out of your comfort zone, helping you learn new skills, meet people, and build confidence. When you’re trying something new, there may be a period when you feel like you want to quit! Try not to give in to that right away.
A year from now, your life could be much different than it is now! Enjoy a happy retirement.
As I prepared for retirement my co-workers asked me if I thought I would be quickly bored. My response was that I had so much I wanted to do I needed two retirements.
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