Side Quest Ideas IRL: 50 Solo Quests to Try

7 min read · Brainrot Test

Side quest ideas IRL are small, slightly random real-life missions you do for no reason except that they're fun: walk to a part of town you've never seen, try a snack you can't pronounce, find the best bench in your neighborhood, read a whole book in a day. Below are 50 solo quests sorted by cost, weather and distance. Pick one, do it this week, and count it as touching grass with a storyline.

If your main quest lately has been "watch one more TikTok," Check my brainrot and see how much of your day your phone is actually taking.

What's a side quest?

In video games, a side quest is an optional mission that isn't part of the main story. It doesn't move the plot forward, but it's often the most fun part of the game.

The side quest meaning in slang is the same thing, in real life. Your main quest is school, work, uni, chores. A side quest is the detour: getting lost on purpose, taking the long way home, going to that weird café. When someone says "I went on a side quest," they mean they did something unplanned and a little bit chaotic.

Reddit's r/outside (the subreddit that treats real life like a video game) has been doing this joke for years. The trend just caught up.

The rules for a good solo side quest

• It's optional. If it feels like homework, it's not a side quest.
• It's specific. "Go outside" is vague. "Find a dog and ask its name" is a quest.
• It has an ending. You know when you've completed it.
• Phone stays in your pocket except for maps or a photo at the end.

Free side quests (1–15)

No money needed. These are the free side quest ideas to start with.

1. Walk a route home you've never taken.
2. Find the oldest building in your town and learn one fact about it.
3. Watch a full sunset without taking a photo.
4. Go to the library and borrow a book from a section you've never visited.
5. Write a letter to your future self and hide it.
6. Find five different kinds of trees on one street.
7. Sit in a park for 20 minutes and people-watch. No phone.
8. Walk to the highest point near you and look out.
9. Learn a card trick from a library book and perform it for a family member.
10. Clean out one drawer and find something you forgot you had.
11. Walk until you find a street art piece or mural.
12. Go to a free museum or gallery (lots of UK museums are free, and many US and Canadian ones have free days).
13. Cook a meal using only what's already in the kitchen.
14. Map every free water fountain or bench on your usual route.
15. Wake up for a sunrise.

Side quests under $10 / £10 (16–27)

Cheap side quests with a tiny budget.

16. Buy the weirdest snack at a corner shop or bodega and rate it.
17. Take a bus to the last stop and back.
18. Get a disposable camera and use all the shots in one week.
19. Try a food you've never eaten from a place you've never been.
20. Buy a secondhand book from a charity shop or thrift store based only on the cover.
21. Get a postcard of your own town and mail it to a friend.
22. Plant seeds in a cup and keep them alive.
23. Find the best hot chocolate within walking distance. Rank at least three.
24. Buy a cheap sketchbook and fill five pages in one sitting.
25. Visit an international grocery store and buy something new.
26. Take yourself to a matinee movie alone.
27. Buy a single flower and give it to someone for no reason.

Side quests for a rainy day (28–38)

Rain isn't a reason to scroll. Rainy day side quests:

28. Read a book in one day, cover to cover.
29. Learn to make one dish from scratch, like pasta or bread.
30. Build a blanket fort and read in it. No shame.
31. Write a short story set in your own street.
32. Do a 500-piece puzzle.
33. Rearrange your room completely.
34. Teach yourself to draw one thing really well, like hands or eyes.
35. Listen to a full album with your eyes closed.
36. Go for a walk in the rain. Proper main character moment.
37. Write a list of 50 things you want to do before you turn 20 (or 25).
38. Learn a new card game and play 10 rounds of it solo.

Doing one side quest is easy. Doing them regularly is harder, because after a week you forget and slide back to scrolling. Brainrot Test builds this in: each day's two-minute drill ends with one real-world phone action on a timer, like putting your phone in another room for 10 minutes. Those 10 minutes are the perfect slot for a mini side quest, and each drill you finish takes a point off your score. Check my brainrot

Side quests near home (39–50)

For when you can't go far. Side quests to do in real life, within walking distance.

39. Find every cat in your neighborhood and give them names.
40. Say good morning to three neighbors.
41. Walk every street within 10 minutes of home.
42. Find the best tree to sit under.
43. Help someone carry their shopping.
44. Draw a map of your area from memory, then check it.
45. Find a local noticeboard and go to one event on it.
46. Pick up 20 pieces of litter on one street.
47. Find a hidden path, alley or shortcut you didn't know existed.
48. Walk to the nearest body of water, even a pond.
49. Sit outside and write down every sound you hear for 10 minutes.
50. Ask an older relative about their teenage years and write the best story down.

Side quest adventure ideas for later

Once you've done a few, level up with bigger side quest adventure ideas: a day trip by train, a hike, a volunteering shift, a solo museum day in a new city. Safety note: tell someone where you're going, and stick to places you'd be comfortable in.

Turn it into a streak

Random side quest ideas are fun once. They become a habit when you track them.

Here's how:

1. Write the list down. Copy the 50 above into a notebook, or print them.
2. Aim for one a week. Not every day. One a week is a year of adventures.
3. Cross them off. A crossed-off list is weirdly motivating.
4. Take one photo at the end. Just one. It's proof, not content.
5. Add your own. After a month, you'll start inventing better ones.

Want to do side quests with people? We've got a whole separate list of side quest ideas with friends, sorted by night, weekend and school. And if you want a bigger structure, try Analog January.

Solo side quests IRL are a cheat code for a life that feels less like the same feed on repeat. Start with number one.

Swap one scroll session for a side quest today

Side quest ideas IRL work best when you know how much time you're really giving your phone. Brainrot Test takes about as long as a quick quest: 17 questions about what you actually do when you pick up your phone, and you get a score from 0 to 100 plus how you compare with everyone else. Then the daily drill gives you a timed phone-away moment to fill.

Check my brainrot

FAQ

What's a side quest in real life?

A side quest in real life is a small, optional mission you do for fun, like taking a new route home or trying a food you've never had. The term comes from video games, where side quests aren't part of the main story. In slang, going on a side quest means doing something random and unplanned.

What are some fun side quests to do alone?

Walk a route you've never taken, watch a sunset without your phone, ride a bus to the last stop, read a book in one day or rank the hot chocolate near you. Solo side quests are about noticing things. Keep them specific so you know when you're done.

What are free side quest ideas?

Free side quests include going to a free museum, exploring a new part of your town, borrowing a random library book, watching a sunrise, cooking with what's in the kitchen and mapping local street art. You don't need money for a good one. You need a specific goal.

What are good side quests to do on a rainy day?

Read a book start to finish, learn to cook one dish, do a jigsaw puzzle, rearrange your room, write a short story or go for a walk in the rain. Rainy days are good for longer indoor quests. Keep your phone in another room so it doesn't take over.

How do I make side quests a habit?

Write a list, aim for one quest a week and cross them off as you go. Tracking makes it stick. Pairing quests with a daily phone-away moment, like the timed action in Brainrot Test's daily drill, gives you a regular slot to do them.