Why
When was the last time you did an experience you had never done before? As human beings, we need some degree of novelty, curiosity, and a spirit of adventure. We need to expose ourselves to the unfamiliar, to keep learning new things throughout our lives, and to challenge our perspectives in order to grow. This is essential to have some sense of accomplishment and happiness, and to avoid becoming grumpy old people constantly reminiscing about the old times and how things used to be better.
Approaching my doomed birthday (30 yo), I wonder how to add a spark to my daily routine and keep novelty coming my way every now and then. Sitting in front of a screen most of the day, in my spare time I enjoy doing activities, but I don’t like to commit to any for too long. Life is busy, and living in a small town, I often struggle to find new and interesting ideas. Especially ones that I can do in a short amount of time and possibly in one go, like an evening, or half a day during the weekend, without enrolling in a course or take on something demanding.
I asked Google, but most of the lists I found online were quite repetitive and honestly lame. So I started collecting ideas of interesting and unusual activities I’d like to try out sooner or later. Since I am a designer with a good deal of OCD, I felt the need to give it a more systematic approach, by dividing them according to their location, price, time and effort required, and so on. These categories are based on my own context, they might not be accurate according to where you live, so take them with a grain of salt. The list is an ongoing project, you can contribute with your own ideas.
Selection criteria
My main selection criteria are time and uniqueness. The majority of activities on the list are not common ones (you won't find "going for a walk") and don't take a lot of time, just a few hours here and there, to add some spark to daily life and provide interesting and unusual conversation topics. Some of them do require time to master and learn properly, but they can also be enjoyed as a one-time trial (e.g. pottery). They are not location-specific, so you won't find things that can only be done in one specific place on Earth (e.g. visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris). However, some of them do require being in a particular location (e.g. kayaking requires water).
Who
I am Erika, a product designer, and my poor coding skills were greatly compensated by Elisa, a software developer, who made this website work.
Hopefully you found something new and interesting,
Erika