I like to refer to my Year of Exploration jaunts as “adventures.” It’s probably because I enjoy gaming, so it’s fun to imagine life as a series of side quests and dungeon crawls.

So often, when we think of going on an adventure, or exploring, we imagine it has to be a big all-day expedition, with lots of planning involved. You may feel like my stated goal of visiting a new place every week for a year is just too hard for your lifestyle. I’m here to tell you that you can plan a side quest that takes as little as half an hour, and that your average adventure will probably take about 1-2 hours.

Here are the steps I’m taking to ensure that I have a successful Year of Exploration.

1. Keep a list of places to go. Every time I see a review of a cool-sounding restaurant in The Seattle Times, or someone who I follow on Instagram posts some delicious-looking local food, or I see an advertisement for an interesting art exhibit, I put it on my list. This helps me remember where I want to go, and gives me some inspiration to draw from when I’m planning the week and month ahead.
2. Watch for new stores and places you’ve never noticed before in your own neighborhood. Keep these in reserve for the weeks when you’re super busy, sick, or your car has broken down. You’ll be glad to have some easy, convenient adventures and you may find a new favorite place.
3. Recruit adventure buddies. Especially if you’re new to the area, chances are you have friends who have lots of favorite local places where they’d love to take you. So make sure to actively reach out to people. You’ll not only widen your net of places to visit, but you’ll also get a chance to catch up with friends.
4. Similarly, include your out-of-town guests in your adventure plans. Any time someone visits you, use it as an excuse to finally visit some really cool place you’ve had your eye on, or to do something you might not normally do but that your guest would love (for instance, maybe the zoo isn’t your normal jam but your sister is bringing your eight year old nephew for a visit). Of course, do some research first, ask around and make sure you’re going someplace awesome. This probably isn’t the best time to try the brand-new sushi restaurant that doesn’t any any Google reviews yet.
5. Adventures don’t have to cost money. Read in a park you’ve never visited before, take your dog for a hike, go see what your local library is like.
6. Tack adventures on to existing errands. What interesting small businesses can you visit near the grocery store or your doctor’s office? Maybe if you have to go spend an afternoon at the DMV, you deserve to hit that cute new bakery for a treat on the way home.
7. Stalk your favorite makers. Pay close attention to the social media of your favorite local artists, crafters, and food and beverage creators. Visiting them at a craft fair or restaurant pop-up is a great way to visit a new place and continue to build your relationship with the people who make the things you love.
8. Build adventures into your travel plans, too. It’s easy to go to new places when you’re visiting a new-to-you city, but you can have adventures in your old home town, too. It’s easy, when visiting a city you know well, to fall back on visiting all of your old favorites. Make time to go someplace new as well. I’m going down to Portland in March, and while I know I’ll definitely hit Powell’s and some other favorite spots, I don’t want to get into a rut for my visits there!

I’m loving my year of exploration so far! This weekend, we visited a comic book and gaming shop in the next town over. It took less than 10 minutes to drive there, and now we know that we have a nearby spot to pick up graphic novels. It’s even dog friendly, so our corgi can come along next time.

Do you have any ideas for my adventures this year? Share them in the comments.