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What are you going to do when you retire? That's usually the first question after the big announcement comes out. Everyone has plans, but retirees often discover that these were not as sustainable, lasting or rewarding as they'd thought, and they have empty hours to fill. At this point, developing meaningful alternatives can be overwhelming. Time passes, and opportunities are lost.

So well before I retired, I started a list of activities that I could do and might want to do in retirement if I got bored. It quickly reached 16 pages without much time or effort. It’s not a Plan A or a bucket list, and I can’t do everything on the list. It’s only a resource to consult if I’m stuck for ideas or want to reconsider my options.

It’s easy to create your own, and it’s not valuable just for those approaching retirement: Colleagues half my age now realize the value of starting early, not just to plan for retirement but to have ideas ready for any occasion, such as an unplanned sabbatical or a vacation. Regardless of age, one’s circumstances and interests change over the years; with more options ready now, you won’t waste precious time later.

Making an attainable list

I didn’t think that I’d need a list. But a lunchtime conversation with yet another bored, unhappy retiree caused me to reconsider. Back at the office, I opened a Word document an entered several retirement activities that readily came to mind—and then stopped. Racking my brain for more ideas would waste time and turn this into a burdensome project to avoid. So I put the list aside, knowing that I could return later. It was enough just to begin and allow my mind to work in the background.

Sure enough, as I walked to my car, my mind drifted. An idea emerged. It wasn’t new; it had just been buried deep in my brain. I didn’t want to misplace it again, so I stopped to dictate a note on my cellphone. I soon realized that immediately preserving a thought is a critical step in making the process work.

Later, as I read a magazine, new ideas came to light. There was an interesting book that I might like; a bicycle excursion to try in Missouri, which also reminded me of a nice Ohio ride; and a volunteer opportunity with the national Rails To Trails network that I might enjoy. And joining a local bicycle club would replace some of the workplace socialization that I would miss! I’d added five activities to my notes in five minutes. That was easy!

After a few more weeks of this serendipity, I added my notes to the Word document and found that I now had a full-page bullet list of interesting and fun activities. Categories emerged—biking, books, museums, volunteering, among others—so I put them in outline form. This generated more ideas. I liked running, and there were marathons that I wanted to run before my legs gave out. And so on. That took me to two pages without trying.

As I returned to my Word document from time to time, more ideas came to mind: piano lessons I could resume after many years, an incomplete urban studies degree that I could finish, and a geology course that I could take. And projects that I wanted to realize years ago but which had hit a brick wall: a historical marker, a veterans memorial along a local highway, and genealogical research. I didn’t have to or need to accomplish any of these, but the list would remind me that they were there to pursue.

It should be apparent that specificity is critical. Don’t just say “travel;” say where. For “movies,” list titles. Otherwise, your list will be a useless collection of vague notions. Further, specificity will trigger more ideas. You don’t have to come up with everything at once. List a few ideas, and let your mind percolate.

My list includes many minor activities that require little time—visits to certain museums, a research project or a short hike. Even if your Plan A is working nicely, it’s great to have a list of simple things that you can do. They fill an open day quite nicely. Yet they are easily forgotten unless you jot them down.

Closure—doing something for a friend or a relative before the passage of time makes it impossible and leads to regret—is the most intriguing category on my list. It included taking my older sister around Ohio to see places of personal interest but that she never was able to visit. We made that trip soon after my retirement, perhaps just in time. I wish I’d started my list decades ago: similar opportunities lapsed for lack of a constant reminder.

Put your list into action

How should you create your list? There are four guiding principles.

  • The naturalist John Burroughs notes: “How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.” Your retirement should be full of light and color, however you define the term, as well. So include only activities that are rewarding. A colonoscopy is not full of light and color. Nor is cleaning out the garage. They belong on some other list.

  • General Dwight Eisenhower cautions: “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” Retirement plans aren’t bulletproof. Change happens. So unleash your imagination, and consider possibilities. It’s fine to focus on yourself; these are ideas, not intentions. Who knows what lies ahead? In life, as in war, it’s best to have options ready.

  • The economist Paul Romer observes: “Possibilities do not merely add up. They multiply.”

  • Keep it simple. This is a list, not an essay. Use few words and one line per item.

What goes in it? Anything full of light and color. Routine or bucket list, simple or complicated, long or short, tangible or intangible, practical or speculative.

Everyone has ideas about what to do in retirement, but it’s practically impossible to remember them all when the time comes. It’s a huge project just to try. Many don’t, so they lapse into boredom. I think that’s why my retiree lunchmate was so unhappy.

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution. It’s easy to start early and maintain a big list of possible activities without getting bogged down. And it can serve many purposes: setting priorities, clarifying interests, filling an open day or providing ideas for Plan B.

What I’ve related may seem obvious now, but it’s not intuitive. Nearly everyone, young or old, that I talk to about my list, has an “a ha” moment and thinks it’s brilliant. You’ll have to decide for yourself. But I think you’d find that creating a list is worth the small effort that’s required.

I have. Though retired, I continue to add to my list. It’s now a seventeen-pager—and growing.

Douglas R. Melin is a retired chief counsel at the Marathon Petroleum Corp.

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This column reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily the views of the ABA Journal—or the American Bar Association.