How to Make a Bucket List Without Writing 100 Items at Once
This guide is for anyone who tried to write a bucket list of 100 things, got stuck at around 20, and gave up on it. It shows how to write as much as you can in one sitting, stop there, and add more later.
How to think about the number 100
For most people, the first 15 or so items on a bucket list are things they really want to do. After that, it gets hard to think of more.
When you try to reach 100, you start looking for things that are easy to write instead of things you want to do. When you reread those items later, you don't feel like doing any of them. The more of them there are, the harder it is to find the things you really want to do.
So think of 100 as enough room for every small thing you want to do. You don't have to reach it.
If you stop at 20, you can start using those 20 items as your list.
The method in three steps
- Set a timer for 10 minutes and write things down in the order they come to mind. Sorting and neat handwriting can wait. It's fine to have "Try that popular pancake place" right next to "See the northern lights."
- When you get stuck, stop. Whether you have 15 items or 20, you're done for today. You don't need to force more.
- After that, add one item whenever you think of something. If you're walking home from the store and think, "I'd like to try the café above that shop," add it to the list right there.
Four questions to use when you get stuck
If you get stuck during the 10 minutes, try these four questions. Two or three items from each question is plenty.
What have you recently said "that looks nice" about?
If you said "that looks nice" about a shop you saw on social media, something a friend had, or a place you saw on TV, you can put it straight on the list.
What did you use to love but stopped doing?
Think of classes and hobbies you've given up, and pick ones you'd like to try again.
Who do you want to see or get in touch with?
You can put people on a bucket list, as well as places and things.
What would you like to stop doing?
Things you'd be glad to stop doing can go on the list too.
Two reasons lists stop getting used
The first is thinking every item has to be big. Bucket list articles are usually full of trips abroad and big challenges, but big things and everyday things go on the same list. "See the northern lights" and "Try the new bread at the bakery down the street" each count as one item. If you write down things you can do soon along with the big ones, you'll keep using the list for longer.
The second is writing the list and never looking at it again. This usually comes down to where the list is kept. If it's in a notebook, keep it next to a page you open every day. If it's on your phone, keep it one tap from the Home Screen. When the list is somewhere you'll see it without meaning to, you'll look at it more often.
It's fine to check off only a few
If you keep adding to the list this way for a while, it will grow little by little. It's fine if only two or three items are checked off.
itsuka is a wish list app built so you can look back at the wishes you've written down and think, "Right, I wanted to do that." You can do them whenever your time and plans allow.
"Someday" is a fine deadline. We also suggest opening the breakdown screen now and then to see which categories have the most wishes and which have none.
Start by setting a timer for 10 minutes and writing down things you'd like to do. If you write down one thing, that's enough for today.
itsukaWish list & bucket list app
