How to Create a Bucket List You’ll Actually Use: Part 1

As an Amazon Affiliate, we may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

We’ve probably all started a Bucket List at one time or another. It may be floating around in our head or recorded somewhere, like a notebook or even a spreadsheet. For many of us, the Bucket List is a list of travel destinations we hope to get to before we’re too old to get to them.

The term was popularized back in 2007, with the release of the Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman film about “Two terminally ill men who escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die.”

Let’s face it, a trip – no matter how great, is finite. And yes, the memories linger and are incredibly worthwhile. But could our Bucket List be more? Absolutely.

Broaden your definition of a Bucket List

Why not broaden our definition of a Bucket List? Why not include anything we hope to do, learn, dream, or achieve? Let’s face it, a trip, no matter how great, is finite. We can spend a year saving for a particular destination spot but what about afterwards? Why not create a series of Bucket Lists that speak to all our desires? Doing this brings us a whole lot closer to helping us create a life we love. Read on and I’ll show you how!

The hardest part is starting

Knowing how to begin really is the hardest part. So, don’t try to come up with all your Bucket List topics before you begin. Start by brainstorming all your current interests. Maybe you’re in a rut and you feel as though you’ve been doing the same things for years, but you’re not really sure how to branch out. Or, you realize you’ve long-since forgotten your plans to write a memoir. You may even be wondering, ‘is it too late to start this?’

Maybe you’re an avid gardener, growing all your own vegetables throughout the summer, and making jam and canning into the fall. You’ve done this for as long as you can remember. If it’s still feeling good, go for it. But if this is beginning to feel a bit overwhelming but you’re not ready to quit gardening or completely scale it back, give Container Gardening a shot for a summer, and see if that rejuvenates you. Sometimes, just switching things up a bit reinvigorates the process.

Keep brainstorming until you’re dry

Give yourself some time on this stage. You won’t have this in a day or even a week, but it’s a fun exercise to revisit at regular intervals.

You may be an adventurous cook but lately you’re finding yourself scaling back a bit. Sometimes it’s the switch from cooking for four or five to cooking for one or two that triggers a reexamination of just how much you really love preparing full-on meals, every day. Or, maybe you’ve realized it’s time to rejigger how you eat, perhaps focusing on fewer refined carbs, or eating more gut-friendly foods.

Embracing change can be difficult

As I’ve always said, we all have the same 24 hours in each day. And yes, our commitments are all different and some of us have far more leisure time than others might, for whatever reason. Still, as Annie Dillard said, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” We need to make conscious decisions about how we spend the free time we do have.

If you’ve always wanted to learn French but felt you didn’t have the time, this is a Bucket List item. Acknowledging the desire, helps guide you toward figuring out the ‘how.’

Your first list will be long and wandering

Your first brainstorm may have everything from ‘lose 10 pounds,’ to ‘take your first cruise,’ to ‘write a book.’ This is a good thing; it means your mind is actively directing you to create a life you love.

So, what next? Next is beginning to categorize all these ideas and wishes and dreams into more categorized lists. Here’s one way to begin to create category lists (but by no means the only way!). Try starting with these categories and seeing where it leads you.

• Travel and Adventure – This will include all the places you’ve said you’d like to visit, the activities you’d like to experience, and the cultural experiences you’d like to have
  
• Personal Development – This list could include all the skills you’d like to learn, the books you’d like to read, the courses you’d like to take, the languages you’d like to master
  
• Health and Fitness – This list could include all the physical challenges you’d like to improve on or overcome, the wellness goals you have, and the dietary changes you’d like to make
  
• Career and Finance – If you’re working, this will include the professional milestones you’d still like to see, the financial targets you’d like to reach, the business ventures you’d like to start or be a part of
  
• Relationships and Social Life – Maybe you’d like to figure out how to better spend quality time with your family, reconnect with old friends, or even the social events you’d like to start being a part of
  
• Creativity and Hobbies – This could include artistic projects, new hobbies to explore, or platforms or skills you’d like to acquire
  
• Experiences and Thrills – This list could include everything you’ve wanted to do, but haven’t. Maybe you’ve always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon, attend a weekend’s-long outdoor concert, or visit European Christmas Markets
  
• Giving Back – This could include volunteering you’d like to involve yourself in, charitable contribution goals, or even community involvement

Can you have too many lists?

The trick to all this is starting big and narrowing down as you go. Don’t limit yourself or your ideas in any way in the early stages. Just capture all your thoughts on paper, in a Word document or even a spreadsheet.

I love to start a new, bright journal whenever I’m embarking on a life change, or a new project. Sometimes, just removing the ‘lines’ from the page can free your thoughts. I love this bright, dot grid journal for just these reasons.

This next step may take a bit longer. But going through each and every entry on all of your lists, and forcing the specific is the real beginning of making it happen.

The next step

What do I mean? Well, if one of your Health and Fitness entries is ‘do more hiking,’ try to be more specific. Chances are ‘doing more hiking’ to you may not mean just heading to your local park, but may mean hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. If so, create a bullet point below ‘do more hiking’ to include exactly where you’d like to hike.

Now, be as specific as possible

‘Travel more’ on your travel list isn’t going to get you aboard a plane or a ship. But visit the Great Wall of China, or climb the Eiffel Tower, will. Don’t just say ‘Visit the National Parks,’ but add ‘See Yellowstone,’ or ‘take a donkey ride down the Grand Canyon.’

If hiking isn’t your things, maybe it’s iconic scenic drives like the Pacific Coast Highway, or the Amalfi Coast in Italy.

Maybe you’ve always wanted to attend a Napa Valley Cooking School, or immerse yourself in the day-to-day of a winery, or a dude ranch. The list is endless, and the trick is drilling down until you’ve defined your Bucket Lists to the ultra-specific.

Don’t weigh yourself down

One thing you don’t want to do on your Bucket List trip is overpack or find yourself struggling with the wrong or too much luggage. My personal favorite luggage is this brand. I have it in three sizes and I love each for their space, compression, and ease.

The carry on I use for every trip is this favorite. For longer trips, or those with connections and I just want to check my bag and forget it, this is my go-to. This favorite comes in an even larger checked size, but I’ve found that when I use it, my bag is often overweight! So, beware if you choose this option.

Scale your bucket list

You really can’t go wrong with this, if you tend to squeeze just a bit too much into your luggage. After unloading a sizable amount of what I’d packed in my checked bag in the airport line (and been told it was 15 pounds overweight — to the tune of $115), I purchased this and have never looked back. Or had to repack at the airport!

Now comes the really fun part

Bring out all your lists and sub-lists. Get some colored highlighters or use those on your computer to begin to draw connections. Start with a green highlighter and start to highlight the entries from your lists that go together. Another way to think of this is a staircase. The top step is the ultimate ‘destination,’ but it takes ascending all the stairs before that to reach it.

Back to school

My favorite part of back to school time was always the new notebooks, pencils, pens, and markers. Just being excited to break out the new colors can also inspire you to keep at your ultimate Bucket List. Maybe refresh yours with these to jump start yourself.

The top of the stairs

If the top of the stairs is take a cruise around the world, then start thinking about everything you will need to do before you can realistically book this cruise. It won’t be just financial constraints. You’ll quickly see it may also be arranging elder car for an aging parent while you’re gone.

Or, it may be achieving a certain level of fitness, so you’re not hampered whatever you find yourself wanting to do. Once you start, you’ll see this prerequisite list can grow. This is often the primary reason Bucket Lists get abandoned.

You will probably find this will automatically pull from many of your lists at once. For example, if the top of the stairs is to walk the “Path of the Gods,” along the Amalfi Coast of Italy, you will more than likely reference something from your Finances list, something from your Travel and Adventure list, some from your Health and Fitness list, maybe even your Relationships list (if you’d like to do this with someone). Possibly even your Creative and Hobbies list, where you’ve potentially listed learning about Italian ceramics. Get the idea?

Let the colors be your guide

As soon as you begin to see the cross-over between your lists, which include getting your finances in shape for your top-of-stairs experience, you’ll also see you need to get in better shape in order for the hike to be enjoyable. You also might want to learn a bit of Italian so you could exchange a few pleasantries with the locals, and so on.

These AI Translator Earbuds are highly rated and can help up your travel timeline. Sometimes, just gaining the confidence that you’ll be okay in a country where you don’t know the language is all you need to get started.

Go through this exercise with all your entries, making as many color-connections as you can. Some (such as reaching a certain fitness goal), may apply to many of your Bucket List dreams. Let yourself highlight ‘Being able to hike 5 miles in a day’ with lots of colors, indicating this particular ‘step’ is important to achieving many of your dreams.

The next steps to achieving your Bucket List dreams

The Essential Guide to Creating a Bucket List You’ll Actually Use: Part 2, gives you everything you need to take all you’ve created so-far, and make it actionable. After all, what good is a Bucket List you never use? So, click here for Part 2, and the actionable steps you need to make yours a Bucket List you’ll actually use!

Last update on 2025-08-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API