Bias Towards Action: The Adventure List(s) | Ep 572

Summary of Bias Towards Action: The Adventure List(s) | Ep 572

by ChooseFI

1h 10m•November 10, 2025
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Overview of Bias Towards Action: The Adventure List(s) | Ep 572

This episode of ChooseFI (Ep. 572) features two guests — Emily W. and Emily C. — who met at a ChooseFI local meetup and discuss practical ways to build more adventure, novelty, and intentionality into daily life. The conversation centers on two complementary tools: an “adventure list” (20+ ideas organized into four travel/engagement levels) and a “little adventures” list (local, short-duration activities). Themes include friendship as a growth engine, experimenting with new identities, using constraints as a creative advantage, and a bias toward action.

Guests & context

  • Hosts/guests: Brad (host), Emily W. and Emily C. (met at Richmond ChooseFI meetup).
  • Backgrounds: Both Emily’s are active in the FI community but are not fully retired — they use part-time or flexible work, house-sitting, TrustedHousesitters, travel hacks and local experimentation to buy time and experiences.
  • Episode genesis: brainstorming on a hike; inspired by Jillian from Retire Often (mini-retirements) and a previous “Mrs. Adventure Rich”/go-bag idea.

Main concepts & frameworks

  • Two lists:
    • Adventure List: 20+ bigger ideas/experiences for life, organized and iterated.
    • Little Adventures: a running Google Doc or calendar of local short activities to inject novelty regularly.
  • Four travel/adventure “levels” (none is inherently better; each has different texture and memory dividend):
    1. See/Do: short trips/tours (e.g., see the pyramids).
    2. Learn/Retreat: classes, workshops, week-long intensives (e.g., week-long Egyptology course).
    3. Slow Travel / Longer Stay: rent an apartment for months, self-directed immersion (language learning, neighborhood familiarity).
    4. Work/Volunteer: commitments where time is not fully your own (e.g., dig or run a bookshop in another country).
  • “Shift left” strategy: if you dream of a level-3/4 experience, move left to smaller, faster experiments (level 1 or 2) first to test fit.
  • Constraints as gifts: limited time/money/commitments force creativity, help you fail fast, and let you iterate on preferences.

Key takeaways

  • Be weird / be vulnerable: intentional authenticity helps you attract the right friends and experiences.
  • Friendship is catalytic: friends encourage action, recommend adventures, and help normalize new identities.
  • Experiment often: treat travel and lifestyle changes as low-risk experiments before major commitments.
  • Measure & prioritize: track adventures like financial goals — “what gets measured gets managed.”
  • Small steps compound: local short adventures build the muscle and confidence to scale up to longer or deeper experiences.

Concrete examples & anecdotes

  • Dinosaur dig in Montana — Emily W. booked this after reading Die With Zero; the group unearthed an allosaurus.
  • Goat cheese intensive — Emily W. attending a folk-school-style intensive on cheese-making.
  • Run a bookshop in Scotland — Emily W.’s upcoming level-4 experiment tied to ancestry.
  • Portugal/Azores hostel + yoga retreat — Emily C. tested solo/hostel travel and spontaneous travel with strangers.
  • TrustedHousesitters & Airbnb basement apartment — ways Emily W. offset housing costs and tested travel living styles.
  • Mini local experiences: persimmon festival, foraging walk/book event, bungee fitness, trampoline park, rage room, axe throwing, aerial silks, trapeze (Brad’s daughters), porcupine-hosted dry cabin in Maine.

Actionable steps — how to start your own adventure list

  1. Brain-dump 20 ideas: set a timer and word-vomit every interesting experience/place you want to try.
  2. Categorize into the four levels (See/Do; Class/Retreat; Slow Stay; Work/Volunteer).
  3. “Shift left”: for any level-3/4 items, add a related level-1/2 experiment to the left to test first.
  4. Create a “Little Adventures” Google Doc or calendar:
    • Add local, short-duration options you can pull from spontaneously.
    • Keep a “done” list so you can review memory dividends.
  5. Set measurable goals:
    • e.g., X new experiences per month / Y little adventures per quarter.
    • Block them on your calendar and treat them like appointments.
  6. Invite people: ask existing friends or new acquaintances (be willing to be refused — that’s fine).
  7. Iterate: review every few weeks (Jillian’s mini-retirement check-in idea) and adjust based on what you learn.
  8. Stack experiences: combine activities (coffee + wandering a new neighborhood + visit a museum) to maximize novelty & connection.

Tips for finding ideas & resources

  • Sources: Atlas Obscura, local newsletters (e.g., Axios city newsletters), community Facebook groups, word-of-mouth from friends.
  • Tools/services: TrustedHousesitters (house/dog-sitting), Airbnb, local event calendars, meetup groups (ChooseFI local groups).
  • Mental hacks: keep your ear open, ask friends for recommendations, and save discoveries immediately to your “little adventures” doc so they aren’t forgotten.

Notable quotes / memorable lines

  • “Be weird.” — a core permission to be authentically you and attract the right people.
  • “Constraints can be a gift.” — limited resources/time force creative, scalable experiments.
  • “Don’t be the person to tell yourself no.” — give yourself permission to dream big, then test.
  • “Five is better with friends.” — the ChooseFI community mantra: adventure is amplified by company.

Example “first 90-day” checklist (fast-start)

  • Day 1: Brain-dump 20 adventure ideas.
  • Day 2–3: Categorize into four levels; pick 3 top-priority items.
  • Week 1: Create Little Adventures Google Doc + list 10 local things.
  • Week 2: Block one local adventure on your calendar; invite a friend.
  • Month 1–3: Run one level-1 or 2 experiment for each top-priority item; log results and feelings.

Resources mentioned

  • Books/podcasts: Die With Zero; Retire Often (Jillian) and Retire Often podcast; Mrs. Adventure Rich episode (planned spontaneity).
  • Sites/services: Atlas Obscura; Axios (local newsletters); TrustedHousesitters; ChooseFI local groups (choosefi.com/local).
  • ChooseFI: subscribe to newsletter (choosefi.com/subscribe), FI 101 course (choosefi.com/fi101), and cards page (choosefi.com/cards).

Bottom line / call to action

  • Build two lists: a 20+ adventure list (with the four-level travel framework) and a rolling “little adventures” doc/calendar. Use them to create novelty, test new identities, and intentionally design more memorable years. Start small, measure, invite friends, and bias toward action.