Time is such a strange thing. One minute, you’re five and playing with small toys, the next you’re in college attempting to figure out your career. Time keeps speeding by, and it can be difficult to enjoy each moment and experience everything we can. How can we, as humans, ensure we explore everything life has to offer us? Two words: bucket lists. A bucket list is a magical thing! It can help you narrow down your goals, push you to reach great heights, and allow you to truly live a life full of happiness and fulfillment. But how do you create a successful bucket list? Keep reading, I’ll fill you in!
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What is a Bucket List?
First, let’s all get on the same page. A bucket list, by definition, is a list of experiences one wishes to accomplish before death. Sounds a bit morbid, but you get the picture. It is a personalized list of items to check off throughout your life to ensure you have lived a fulfilled and happy life. However, it is more than just a simple check list. If used correctly, a decent bucket list can be an incredible goal setting tool as well! It can help you narrow down your long- and short-term goals to help you stay on the right path.
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Why are Bucket Lists so Important?
Well, I have touched on these things already, but let’s be perfectly clear. Here is a list of benefits to having and maintaining a motivational bucket list:
- Helps ensure you live a fulfilled and happy life
- Assists you with tracking your favorite life experiences
- Forces you to re-evaluate your priorities and helps you focus on what you really want in life
- Gives you inspiration for destinations to visit and activities to complete during your vacation time
- Helps narrow down your long- and short-term goals
- Motivates you to reach your highest potential
- Pushes you outside of your comfort zone
- Gives you great material to utilize in other motivational projects, such as vision boards
Related: An Ultimate Guide to Short Term Goals You Can Actually Achieve
Supplies for Creating a Bucket List
A bucket list can easily be created digitally. But a much more fun and perhaps more fulfilling way is to write it down by hand. Many people choose to create a bucket list and include it inside their planner or journal. Others create a visual bucket list with pictures for each item. Whichever way you choose, here are some great supplies to help you along the way:
- The Olden Chapters Goal Printable Planner: This is the ultimate goal printable planner! With over 25 different workbooks, calendars, trackers, goal worksheets, and more, this planner includes everything you might need to reach each and every goal this year.
- Bullet Journal: Many people use a bullet journal as a planner, list holder, or personal journal. I personally use it as the latter two paired with my printable planner. Bullet journals make amazing notebooks because they have dot-grid pages and a specific index area. If you want to learn more about how to use a bullet journal efficiently, check out Rider Carol’s fabulous book The Bullet Journal Method.
- Project Planning Free Printable: This is a free project planning printable that is perfect for starting your goals off on the right foot! It helps you create an attack plan for any large goal, with space for notes, a task list, rewards, and more!
- Coletto Pen and Refill: These pens are absolutely my favorite to use when color coding tasks and notes. They are fantastic multi-pens that don’t feel too bulky and have amazing ink quality! Be warned, the pen itself doesn’t come with ink (because they are so customizable) so you have to purchase them separately.
- Tombow Duel Brush Pens: These fantastic brush pens are great for goal setting, journaling, and project planning. The lighter colors are great to use as highlighters and the darker colors are perfect for sketching out ideas. They are super popular to use with the bullet journal!
- Poster Board: When you’re working on your goals, it is important to print them out and post them somewhere (even better is to create a vision board!). A poster board is one of the cheap essentials needed in this process!
- Glitter Glue: Another great craft supply to always have on hand is glitter glue. It just adds that extra bit of flare to any project, don’t you think?
- Command Strips: Command strips are perfect for hanging up your goals and poster board onto your wall. I use these ALL THE TIME to hang up my vision board and goals (which I keep in a picture frame on the wall near my desk). Command strips make it so easy to hang anything you need and ensure you don’t damage you walls!
- Mod-Podge: Finally, mod-podge is great when creating your goals, especially if you are going to hang up a list of your goals or create a vision board on your wall. Just add a layer of mod-podge and it will last forever!
Check out my Ultimate Goal Printable Planner today! It will skyrocket your productivity, explode your GPA, and help you reach all your goals!
Project Planner Free Printable
This freebie is perfect to kickstart your goals on the right track! It helps you turn your goals into actionable steps, with space to add a task list, notes, ideas, rewards, and so much more! Download it today to get started!
How to Create a Motivational Bucket List
Alright, let’s dive right into it! Below are all of the easy steps to complete in order to create the ultimate bucket list that will help you lead a life of fulfillment.
1. Create a Personal Mission Statement
Whenever you’re working on anything goal-related, I HIGHLY recommend you begin with creating a personal mission statement. This is a short, one to two sentence phrase that encompasses your values, life goals, and overall purpose in life. When you read it, you should be PUMPED UP! The huge benefit of creating one is that when you create your bucket list or work on your goals, you will have a clear roadmap or focus to help you remember what truly matters to you. Check out this post to learn everything there is to know about creating these amazing statements!
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Creating Your Own Personal Mission Statement
2. Create Your Bucket List Categories
Once you have a clear focus, start creating a list of categories you might want in your bucket list. This simple step will help you with the next step so much! Here are some examples:
- Travel (ex: visit Australia)
- Experience (ex: go skydiving)
- Career (ex: land dream job as a family physician)
- Education (ex: become fluent in French)
- Personal (ex: read the 100 Books to Read Before You Die list)
- Family (ex: raise three wonderful children)
- Finances (ex: pay off all student debt)
- Health & Wellness (ex: run a marathon)
3. Brainstorm Ideas
Next, it is time to get started with the brainstorming process! This will help ensure you don’t miss anything that should be on your perfect bucket list. Before you search for inspirational ideas on the web, take each of your categories and begin to jot down any ideas that come to you. Perhaps do this in a notebook and make each page a category to help you stay organized. Write down every idea that comes to you, even if it isn’t realistic or something you actually want to focus on (we will evaluate and narrow them down later). Keep writing until there is nothing left you can think of! Perhaps even take a break and return to it in a few minutes or different day.
While brainstorming, you should keep in mind your:
- Own personal mission statement
- Spouse/partner’s goals (might be relevant to what you do in the future)
- Personal health and the health of those around you (never risk your life!)
- Childhood and current dreams
- Current short- and long-term goals
4. Research Inspiration
Now that you have all of your own ideas written down, it is time to look up some inspiration! Search the web and check out my list of ideas below to get you started. This will also help bring up some ideas you already had but perhaps have forgotten about! There are also some great books you can check out for cheap on the subject!
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Bucket List Inspirational Resources:
- My 50 Bucket List-Worthy Ideas (below)
- The Bucket List: 1000 Adventures Big and Small by Kath Stathers
- Destinations of a Lifetime: 225 of the World’s Most Amazing Places by National Geographic
- 50 States, 5000 Ideas by National Geographic
- 329 Bucket List Ideas by Develop Good Habits
Related: Achieve Your Long-Term Goals in 8 Simple Steps
5. Narrow Down and Finalize
Next, go through each of your bucket list brainstormed ideas by category and begin to narrow down your list. There is no right or wrong number of bucket list items, you just want to be sure that they are things you truly want to pursue. Keep narrowing them down until you are completely satisfied with your list. Here are some questions you should be asking yourself:
- Is this realistic? Can I afford it in my lifetime? Is it physically possible?
- Will I be satisfied or fulfilled after I have done this?
- Does this align with my personal mission statement and values?
- Is this something I am truly passionate or excited about? Is it meaningful to me? Do I actually want to do it?
- Does this motivate me to reach my goals?
6. Print Out Your List and Post it Somewhere
Now that you have your finalized list, type it up or write it out and post it somewhere you can see frequently. This is incredibly important! Be sure to reference it often and use it when you are creating your goals each year. You can even create a vision board with each of the bucket list items to motivate you even further!
Related: How to Create the Perfect Vision Board and Turn Your Dreams into Reality
7. Repeat This Process Each Year
As you grow and your life changes, it is important to change your bucket list and goals with it. Make a point, perhaps each December when you’re creating your New Year’s Resolutions, to repeat this entire process, update your bucket list, and repost it to maintain motivation! Then, be sure to schedule and plan how to achieve at least one of your bucket list items in the coming year.
How to Use Your Bucket List to its Fullest Potential
Okay, so you have a bucket list. You might be wondering “what’s next?” or perhaps “how can I truly use this to reach my dreams?” All great questions! Here are some of my top tips that will help you on your journey to checking off those bucket list items and living out your dreams!
- Schedule and work on trying to accomplish at least one bucket list item each year.
- For each bucket list item you are currently pursuing, print out a free project planning printable and create a plan of action to get started!
- Use your bucket list to help guide you in your goal setting process for both your short- and long- term goals.
- Check out this Student Printable Planner to help you on your path to accomplish your goals!
- Look at your list often! Post it next to or incorporate it into your vision board.
- Use images of bucket list items as your phone or desktop background Even better, on many computers, you can create a playlist of multiple images for your background to switch out every 20 minutes or so!
Bonus: 50 Bucket List Ideas to Inspire You to Get Started!
As promised, here are my top bucket list ideas in different categories to help you get started with your own list!
- Travel:
- Watch a show at the Sydney Opera House in Australia
- Have high tea in London
- Take a picture with the Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Go on a safari adventure in Africa
- Wander around Hobbiton in New Zealand
- Visit all the wonders of the world
- Step foot onto all 7 continents
- Road Trip through all 50 United States
- Hike inside 58 US National Parks
Related: The Ultimate Yellowstone National Park Itinerary
- Experience:
- Scuba dive in tropical waters
- Go skydiving over a beautiful country side
- Bungee jump with your favorite people
- Travel by hot air balloon
- Attend the Olympics
- Eat a $500 plate of food at a fancy restaurant
- Meet your favorite celebrity
- Attend an outdoor concert
- Go to the Superbowl and watch your team win
- Family:
- Get married to the person of your dreams
- Start a family
- Go on 10 life-changing family vacations or road trips
- Travel with your family on a cruise ship
Related: 34 Cheap and Fun Date Night Ideas
- Personal:
- Volunteer 1000 hours of my time to a meaningful cause
- Read 50 books a year for ten years straight
- Move to your dream location
- Create a time capsule for yourself or your family
Related: 21 Life-Changing Books You Must Read Before You Die
- Education:
- Become fluent in a second language
- Earn an additional degree
- Learn a new skill (programming, sewing, baking)
- Visit the world’s top 5 museums
- Learn how to swing dance
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Acing Your Next Exam
- Financial:
- Pay off all of your debt
- Save up $500,000 for retirement
- Become a Millionaire
- Start your own business (like a blog!)
- Save up college funds for your children
- Flip a fixer-upper
- Purchase your dream home
- Buy a vacation home (and rent it out)
- Purchase your dream car
- Donate $100,000 to meaningful charities
Related: Learn How to Create a Successful Money-Making Blog in this FREE 5-Day Course!
- Career:
- Earn a college degree
- Land your dream job
- Pass a licensing exam
- Earn a major promotion
- Become a legal expert in your chosen field
Related: 10 Foolproof Steps to Finding Your Dream Career
- Health
and Wellness:
- Earn a black belt in karate
- Backpack a 50-mile trail
- Run a marathon
- Become the healthiest version of yourself
- Find a healthy hobby you love
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Healthy on a Budget
Top Books on Goal Setting
The entire goal setting and achieving process can be overwhelming and difficult. There are absolutely right and wrong ways of going about it and these books have helped me achieve my biggest dreams (and continue to lead me in the right direction today!). I am sure they will lead you on the path to achieving your largest goals in life.
The Compound Effect: Jumpstart your Income, Your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy
If you haven’t read this book you are seriously missing out. It is a complete game changer and should be sitting on everyone’s shelf. This Wall Street Journal and New York Times Bestseller covers the powerful yet surprisingly simple principle that little everyday decisions will either help you achieve greatness or end up in disaster naturally, and how to steer them in the right direction. It covers how to win at everything, abolish bad habits, maintain motivation and more. It is an absolute must read!
Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals by Michael Hyatt
As the title suggests, this is book covers a phenomenal 5-step plan that guarantees you set and reach the most important goals in your life. It covers tips that help you when you get stuck, how to quit-proof your goals, and so much more. As an added bonus, it is a quick and easy read!
Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs by John Doerr
This New York Times Bestseller explores the secrets of the famous and wildly successful goal-setting system of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) that has been proven time and time again to be effective. This system ensures you maintain focus and stay on track until your goals are being met!
Goals! How to Get Everything You Want – Faster Than You Thought Possible by Brian Tracy
This is a fantastic book that helps distinguish the people who reach their goals from those that just dream of having a better life. It then dives into a simple yet powerful goal setting method that is incredibly effective. Tracy also focuses on specific goals in different areas in life, such as finances, health, and family. A fantastic read!
Goal-Setting Series
This post is part of my goal-setting series. Here are the rest of the great posts included in this blog series (and what order I recommend reading them in):
- How to Create a Personal Mission Statement and Why It’s So Important
- Discover How to Create a Motivational Bucket List (+50 Ideas to Get You Started)
- The Ultimate Guide to Long-Term Goal Planning
- How to Create Short Term Goals in 12 Easy Steps: An Ultimate Guide
- Create the Perfect Vision Board in These Simple Steps
- How to Complete a Monthly Goal Review
- An Ultimate Guide to Completing a Personal Mid-Year Review
- Steps for a Successful Quarterly and Yearly Goal Review
- 12 Secretes to Ensure You Reach Your Goals This Year
- The Ultimate Guide to Goal Setting and Achieving
Seasonal Bucket Lists:
You can also create yearly bucket lists to help you enjoy the seasons! These really help push you outside your comfort zone and allow you to try new things. Here are my current seasonal bucket lists you might want to check out!
- The Ultimate Winter Bucket List
- The Ultimate Spring Bucket List
- The Ultimate Summer Bucket List
- The Ultimate Fall Bucket List
- The Ultimate Halloween Bucket List
- The Ultimate Holiday Bucket List
- 105 Fun Things to Do When You’re Bored at Home
Phew! That was a lot to cover! Well, I hope you found some useful tips and tricks to create a motivational bucket list. Once you create your own customized bucket list, you will see just how easy it is to stay focused and motivated throughout your life. Have fun and happy adventures!
Don’t forget your free project planner to help you on your journey to achieving your goals!
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