There’s a downpour outside, and you’re looking for some rainy-day activities. We’ve all been there. Don’t want to waste today because of the bad weather. Below you’ll find meaningful and fun things to do to make this the best rainy day ever.
Why not use this cold and rainy day to make progress on some of your personal goals this year?
1. Explore New Music
The weather doesn’t want you to go outside, so why fight against it? There is so much you can do inside. How many of the 1000 greatest albums of all time have you listened to?
How many of your favorite bands have early albums you’ve never heard of? Go down the rabbit hole and explore all the music you never usually have time for. Build some new playlists you can listen to for months to come. Future-you will thank you.
2. Sit in Your Car
One of my favorite things is to sit in my car and listen to the rain pitter-patter on the rooftop. It’s relaxing and makes you realize what’s important in life. Sometimes the business we are involved in day-to-day seems like the only thing in our lives, but in the car, with rain tapping on the roof, watching the rain reminds you that the little moments are just as special.
3. Read Under an Umbrella or Shelter
Sitting under a tree on a sunny summer’s day with a good book is a beautiful experience. Although you might feel like you’re stuck indoors today, you’re not. Sitting under the same tree in the rain is just as beautiful. Any cover that will shade you from the shower is the perfect spot to read.
The chaos of the rain is all around you, but you have a tiny oasis of peace and calm.
4. Watch Old Movies
Forget about movie theatres; grab your covers and watch something wrapped up on your couch.
Watching classic cinema is the ultimate rainy day activity. I’m sure there are movies you’ve told yourself you’d watch one day, but when are you going to do that? So why not do it today? Here are a few classics to consider:
- Casablanca
- Citizen Kane
- The Godfather
5. Read the Greatest Works of Literature
Rainy days are the perfect time to catch up on some reading. So indulge yourself in a cup of coffee, a comfy chair, and whatever you’ve been reading recently. Or take the opportunity to start reading the classics finally.
- Homer
- Virgil
- Shakespeare
- Milton
I’d start with A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
6. Retro Games
Retro gaming isn’t just a hobby for nerds! I love going back and playing the video games of my childhood. Super Mario Bros, Rad Gravity, Mariokart 64 and Tekken 3! And when it’s rainy outside, what else is there to do? So get back in touch with who you were as a child and play with your old consoles.
You likely have your favorites; don’t leave them to collect dust in the attic. Instead, get them, call your best friend over, host a games night and plug them in.
Somewhere Educational
I’m sure you have a bucket list or a list of goals for the year. You may not have written your goals down, but they’re there in your head. Somewhere on that list is visiting at least one of these educational places in your hometown.
These aren’t only activities for children, but if you have kids, taking them to a museum for the day will keep them entertained, and they’ll learn something too.
- The Aquarium
- Museums
- The Planetarium
- Art Galleries
- The Discovery Center
- Botanical Gardens
- Anywhere with Dinosaurs!
14. Call a Family Member
Life is hectic, and sometimes we are all guilty of not taking the time to call those who mean the most to us. So while the rain falls and you’re bored at home, take the chance to give them a call and make their day. You’ll be grateful you did.
15. Go Out and Get Wet
There are fun things to do inside, but when it’s raining it doesn’t mean you can’t go outside. So you get a little wet. As a child, I loved walking in the rain. So let the feeling of the raindrops on your hands and face tell you that today is a good day.
16. Make Pizza
Have you ever made pizza from scratch? It’s not that hard! Here’s a simple pizza recipe to get you started.
The best thing about making your own pizza is that you get precisely what you want. Or if you have leftovers in the fridge you need to use up, put them on your pizza! Or if you want the finest smoked salmon, parma ham, or Gruyère cheese, you can have that too. The choice is yours!
17. Plant Your Own Food
There is no experience like eating food you planted, watered, took care of, and harvested yourself. Sure, it takes work, and going to the supermarket is much easier, but there are so many benefits you are missing out on if you don’t grow your own food:
- It’s Healthier
- Save Money
So forget about the indoor activities; get out in the rain and plant some seeds.
18. Plan a Trip
A beach vacation may be the last thing on your mind when it rains, but it doesn’t have to be. So why not imagine your perfect vacation and plan it out? Then, use Google maps to add the places you’ll visit and where you’ll stay.
19. Organize Your Productivity System
If you don’t have a system for your tasks and projects, you can’t be as productive as you could be. It’s that simple. It doesn’t take much to build yourself a productivity system. You can have a minimal system set up in just a few minutes.
20. Purge Your House
When you feel stuck at home, the best thing to do is concentrate on something you can control. Your house is a good example, and a rainy day is a perfect time to purge your house of unwanted things. A purge is more than just tidying up or decluttering. It’s a systematic removal of things that don’t improve your life and the organization of everything left.
When you’re done, your whole house and, by extension, your life will be straightforward and stress-free.
21. Build a Second Brain
Creative people have started using a second brain system to capture and store all the ideas that come to them so they can turn them into actionable projects later. But have you ever forgotten a brilliant idea that could have made you a millionaire? If yes, you should create a second brain or personal knowledge management system to hold all your ideas.
22. Bake
For rainy days, nothing beats filling your house with the smell of baking chocolate chip cookies or sourdough bread! While everyone else is feeling down because of the weather, you’ll be cutting into your own freshly baked bread!
Invite someone over to share it with you.
23. Learn to Juggle
Heavy rain won’t stop you if you decide to have some indoor fun. Juggling is a skill that very few people take the tie to learn, but it’s not as difficult as it may seem. You could be a juggler in 30 minutes with a systematic approach to juggling. But why bother learning to juggle anyway?
- It clears the mind like meditation
- Neurological benefits
- It’s fun for all ages
24. Karaoke
If your idea of karaoke is someone singing out of tune in front of a bar full of people, you’ve got it wrong. In much of Asia, KVT or karaoke is a cool hobby that friends do together in their own private KTV room. So while you might not have a karaoke center near you, you can recreate it in your living room.
On a rainy Saturday afternoon, get some friends together and search YouTube for karaoke versions of your favorite songs!
25. Go Bowling
There are tons of fun activities to overcome your boredom if you only look for them. Bowling is a great indoor hobby and is perfect for a rainy day. Why? Because you can’t do it alone, it forces you to turn a dreary day into a good time. So invite some friends and meet them at the bowling alley, have a day to remember.
26. Pray or Meditate
If you’re at home alone and wondering what to do, why not take the time to pray or meditate? If you’re already religious and know what to do, that’s fine. Perhaps you could enhance your practice with better Bible notes.
Here’s how to start if you’re unsure and want to try meditation.
- Find somewhere comfortable to sit
- Take a few deep breaths and relax
- Close your eyes
- Focus on nothing but your breath, in and out
- When other thoughts pop into your head, let them come and go and bring your focus back to your breath
Set a timer, try it for 2 minutes, and see how you feel afterward.
27. Dust Off Your Guitar or Piano
Do you have a musical instrument somewhere that you haven’t practiced for a while? Make this the day you get back into the habit and find it, dust it off, and learn a new song. You can always pretend and play air guitar if you don’t have one!
28. Go Ice Skating
Just because it’s raining doesn’t mean you have to stay home. When was the last time you spent a day on the ice? If you don’t know how to skate, make this the day you learn. It may seem silly but call some friends and take the ice skating, and you’ll turn a grey day into a fun day out with friends at an ice rink.
29. Start a Blog
Have you ever thought about starting a side hustle or creating passive income? If you have, make today the day that you start. Try writing your first blog post today!
Don’t expect it to be perfect the first time you try. Just write something. Or you could start by setting up your website. It’s pretty easy. Here’s what you need to do:
- Buy a domain
- Get hosting
- Install WordPress and a theme
- Start writing
30. Start a Journal
A journal is more than just writing down what you do each day, although that can be therapeutic and fun to reflect on. Some people take notes of things that make them anxious or cause them to worry. Others keep a log of their workouts or progress on their projects. If you want to get more done while remaining clear-headed, a bullet journal might be for you.
Whatever kind of journaling you might enjoy, you’ll find it in this list of journaling ideas.
31. Wordle, Quordle, and Crosswords
Some may say that games like Wordle are just a waste of time, but if you enjoy it and it makes you feel good, it’s an excellent way to spend a rainy day. Although the official Wordle only lets you play once each day, there are dozens of wordle clones available online. In addition, Quordle and other spinoffs will give you more of a challenge if that’s what you’re into. And there’s always the crossword too!
32. Find a New Hobby
You may need a new hobby if you find yourself with nothing to do on a rainy day. Indoor hobbies are an excellent place to start. Instead of looking for something you can do just for today, find a hobby that you can do for months or years to come and year-round. Here are a few good ones, but check out this list of indoor hobbies for more!
- Raspberry pi projects
- Yoga
- Speed Reading
33. Learn a New Language
Learning a language might seem like a mammoth task to start on a whim, but languages aren’t as tricky as your high school teacher may have made you think. With all the new ways of learning a language available today, it is easier than ever. You have more options too. For example, you could learn Japanese, Swahili, French, or Spanish. Of course, the more similar your target language is to your native tongue, the easier it will be.
34. Learn Photography
You take photos all the time, but do you really understand the power that the camera in your phone gives you? Learning to take better photos opens up a world of creativity and artistic expression.
Perhaps more importantly, to most people, taking better photos means creating better memories. An image that captures the mood in the room while raindrops stream down the window could make this day unforgettable. In ten years from now, you might see the image and think of the day you started to get serious with your photography.
Go Have Some Fun!
These ideas make a great day for kids or just for the kid in you.
- Arcade
- Trampoline Park
- Laser Tag
- Mini Golf (if it’s indoors)
- Rock Climbing Center
- Visit an Escape Room
Originally from the U.K, Greg has lived in Asia for over 15 years. Fluent in a handful of languages, he ran a management consultancy before creating Face Dragons. He spends his time now traveling around Asia, writing, taking photos, and drinking coffee.
