Side quest ideas for a more whimsical 2026
Welcome to the new year, dear friend! We are about to embark on another year full of adventures and missions. Perhaps you’ve already mapped out your journey for 2026. Or maybe, you’re just getting started on planning. But before you crack open your adventure log, may I interest you in adding some side quests?
What are side quests, you ask? Essentially, these are activities that fall outside our main endeavors—activities that are beyond our daily work/study, and also not something we regularly do with family or friends. Not quite like hobbies, but still equally fun and interesting enough to pursue.
Others define side quests as activities that disrupt or change up your usual routine, adding an element of fun or whimsy to your days. In a sense, I guess we can say these side quests add a little color or spice to daily life!
If your New Year’s resolution is to get out and live life a little more and break away from the dreary home-work-home cycle, here are some creative side quests you might want to take on.
Oh, and the best part about side quests? If you finish them, you get a sense of fulfillment! But if you don’t, it’s fine; these are completely optional, anyway. The plot will still move forward!
Master artisan
Learn a craft
2026 is all about reclaiming the power of analog, and what better way to do that than by actually working with your hands?
There are many craft workshops and classes you can take throughout the year. You can take a single-day crash course or commit to several sessions. Many potters and ceramicists now have their own pottery studios in the city, making learning all about pottery easier. You can choose one craft, or hop onto different ones each month.
Other crafts of interest to try can be metalsmithing (make your own jewelry!), embroidery, woodworking, and risograph printing.
Let yourself cook!
Cooking is an essential skill, but to make it feel like a chore, gamify it into a side quest. Choose a cookbook and try to learn all the recipes. Or create your own cookbook—ask for your family’s time-tested recipes. Learn them and document them into one book that you and generations after can look back on.
A niche expert: Learn everything you can about a specific topic
Get those gears working and learn something new. Start with a topic that piques your interest—it can be simple or complex. It doesn’t even have to be “useful.” The only thing that matters is that you’re interested in it! What’s good about this is that “research” can now take the place of doomscrolling. Plus, you’ve just added a unique talking point to your arsenal of conversations.
Take this to the next level and earn a certificate or a license for whatever you choose to study, if applicable.
Treasure hunt: Start a collection
If you’re the type to get a dopamine hit whenever you buy something, maybe starting a collection can be your 2026 side quest. Like learning a new topic, the items you can collect are vast and varied—and they don’t have to be useful or expensive. You really just have to like them.
Heart of gold: Volunteer for something
Nothing screams “quest” more than helping others out. Find a cause that’s close to your heart. Volunteer at a pet shelter, or join a tree planting or coastal clean-up. Not only are you doing good deeds, but volunteering is also beneficial for your health, as it can help boost mental health, reduce stress, and build social connections.
Yes, and…: Learn improv
Theater is a great practice in empathy, and that’s multiplied with improv. Improv can help you adapt better to situations and to people, sharpen your wit, and instill confidence. Getting to meet new friends is a great added bonus, too.
The chronicler: Start a record of your year
Maybe you just committed to a journal or planner. Want to make sure you stick to it throughout the year? Create a habit of documenting your days. Journaling is a great way to practice the art of paying attention. Try keeping a physical journal (and fill it with ephemera from your day to day, as in a junk journal), or maybe even try tracking each day with a photo in a dedicated album on your photos app.
You can even zero in on something more specific: record sunset photos, or your outfits. Picking a specific item and committing to it every day will make it an easy side quest to clear.
Gamifying your life
These side quests are a great way to add a little bit of whimsy to your daily life. Instead of simply treating activities as tasks, framing them as a “quest” or part of a “game” that you have to clear can boost motivation and consistency, and might even help you feel more engaged with your tasks.
Having little quests to look forward to also increases your sense of purpose, without it feeling too overwhelming, as “main quests” aka our major goals for the year, such as building a career, taking care of a family, etc., may sometimes feel that way.
Clearing your side quests also fuels a sense of fulfillment. And the best thing about gamifying life? You won’t feel bad asking for help. Go on co-op mode—share quests with friends.
But whether you choose to play solo or decide to round up your most trusted team of friends, I wish you all the best on your 2026 adventure. May you clear all your side quests, build that impressive lore, and level up to achieve your main quest missions, too. Happy New Year!
