A couple working over a computer to create their bucket list using one of these 8 unique approaches.
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Your Bucket List should be as unique as you are, and there’s no one way to create it! In fact, there are tons of ways to make a list that suits your unique style. Whether you prefer a clear, organized approach or something more flexible and spontaneous, there’s a method that will fit your style perfectly.

Let’s dive into 8 creative ways to make a Bucket List that’s just right for you!

#1 – The Mortality Bucket List

When most people think of creating a Bucket List, they imagine facing a terminal diagnosis. You’re suddenly aware that your time on earth is limited and you realize all the dreams you’ve yet to fulfill. So, you create a list of everything you’ve always wanted to do, determined to check off as much as possible before time runs out. It’s a powerful reminder to live your life fully, even when the clock is ticking down.

Don’t Wait – start making your Bucket List travel goals and dreams a reality today!

#2 – The Traditional Bucket List

Create a Bucket List by brainstorming ideas that fit your interests and passions, prioritizing them, and then planning out a timeline for the next 5, 10, 15 years. This is the approach that I used in my Make A Bucket List in 5 Easy Steps and my Free Create a Bucket List Worksheet. This is a great, straight-forward way to go about it.

#3 – The 50 by 50 Bucket List

Write down 50 things you want to achieve before you turn 50. After you turn 50, then work on a 60 by 60 list, then a 70 by 70 list.

I like this approach because of its long-range thinking, your list gets reprioritized regularly, and new things can be added to it all the time.

Thinking about things you want to accomplish before your next milestone birthday is a great way to make a Bucket List. Man with beard working on laptop.

#4 – The 56 New Things Bucket List

In this method of creating a Bucket List, every year, you set out to do a targeted number of new things where the target number equals your age. So when you’re 56, you set out to try 56 new “firsts” that year. New places to visit, new restaurants to eat at, new skills to learn, new hobbies to try, etc.

This approach pushes you out of your comfort zone – in small ways at first (like shopping at a different grocery store than you usually do), but eventually in bigger and bolder ways like traveling to a new country or going on a yoga retreat.

This method is less about brainstorming a specific list at the beginning of the year, but more about opening your mind to new ideas throughout the year. One friend I spoke to said this approach “has really changed my mind set so I am more open to finding new things to try or to volunteer for.”

#5 – The Parent or Friend Bucket List

Help your parent make a bucket list and then help them achieve it. Family in front of the National Museum of the Air Force in Ohio

My friend Janet and her husband are helping her 87 year-old father check off items on his Bucket List. They take him on several short trips a year to places like the Field of Dreams in Iowa, the National Museum of the Air Force in Ohio, and the Grand Ol’ Opry in Nashville.

Helping a loved one achieve their Bucket List Goals is awesome way to make someone else’s dreams come true. Plus you get to have more memories with that special person in your life.

A related way is to sit down with a good friend and create a joint Friends Bucket List together. In this approach, you have an accountability partner to work with you to make those dreams happen, and you have someone to create the memories with.

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Blue checkmark in a blue box - indicating completion of a task or a Bucket List item.

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#6 – The 100 Items in 60 Minutes Life List

This is truly rapid-fire brainstorming! In just one hour, write down everything you want to be, do, have, or experience in your lifetime. Ready. Set. Go!

#7 – The City/Country Bucket List

Before you arrive in a new place, you can create a Bucket List for each country or city you visit, especially if you’re going to be spending a longer time there. What all do you want to see, accomplish and experience while you’re there?

Internet research of course, (especially read the travel bloggers who have been there!) but where else can you look for ideas? Join Facebook Groups, ask friends and family who have been there.

Once you arrive in that country or city, talk to all the people you meet about the area and you’ll keep adding new items to your list that only the locals know about. Those are sometimes the very best ideas!

#8 – The Short-term Bucket List

If planning too far out into the future overwhelms you, try a Short-term List. One example is to have kids to create a Bucket List of everything they want to do during their summer break from school. They call it the Summer Bucket List and our family used to do that when my kids were younger.

But this idea could work for any season or any time when you want to be hyper-focused on getting things accomplished in a shorter period of time.

Conclusion

I hope one of these approaches resonates with you to create a Bucket List that excites, motivates and inspires you. Whatever approach works for you – I can’t wait to see what you do with it!

More Bucket List Resources

Here are some more posts about creating a Bucket List and inspirational destinations. If you’d like to receive emails when I’ve posted new content to the site, please complete the short form above.

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