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By Cathy Diaz in Beginner's Corner —

Bucket List Journaling [Infographic]

Bucket list is the ultimate to-do list before your body hits the grave. Kinda morbid, but the spirit is one of YOLO and FOMO combined with a bathtub of good intentions.

Bucket List Journaling [Infographic]
Photo by That's Her Business / Unsplash

Hello Fellow Journalers!🖊️📖

Today we're talking about bucket list journaling.

What is a bucket list?

From Merriam-Webster 📔

💡
bucket list(noun): a list of things that one has not done before but wants to do before dying (1)

🪣Bucket list is the ultimate to-do list before your body hits the grave. Kinda morbid, but the spirit is one of YOLO and FOMO combined with a bathtub of good intentions.

So why do one?

Benefits of Bucket Lists

Promotes Health Goals🩺

Have a health goal? Maybe you always wanted to run a 5K, participate in a triathlon or hike the Pacific Crest Trail? Maybe you're like me and you want to go up the stair without you're knees creaking? Regardless of where you land on the President's Fitness Test, health goals are worthwhile to have. When you personalize them to your wants and needs, the meaning of achieving them is deeper. (2)

Goal Setting🥅

Daydreaming can be loads of fun, but so can ticking off you're super secret real life dreams. Did you ever want to write a story AND finish it? Or learn a new skill, take up a hobby you've been thinking about for what feels like forever now? Putting your intended goal on paper helps motivate you to achieve the goal. (3)

Motivate.

Achieve.

Vacation Time

Bucket lists often contain destinations. Did you know there's a scientific journal called The Journal of Happiness? In 2019, The Journal of Happiness published a meta-analysis on the benefits of taking a vacation. Shocker, it benefits you.

The higher quality of the vacation mattered more to individuals over specific experiences. Meaning, snorkeling didn't matter, but you feeling relaxed and having fun regardless of the activity, that did matter. It also was interesting that the benefits were short-lived. (4) To me, that just means

Bucket List Categories

The categories listed below are ways for you to get started on thinking of your own bucket list:

  1. Experiences: go to a music festival or run the local 5K.
  2. Relationships: make new friends or foster old ones.
  3. Creativity: write the novel or learn to paint.
  4. Personal Growth: learn a new skill or challenge your thinking with positivity.
  5. Travel: plan you vacation or staycation.
  6. Seasonal Themes: create a holiday or seasonal experience bucket list.
  7. Deadlined: make your bucket lists timed, to feel some urgency of completing a task.

Just A "You" Thing

Incorporate your loved ones with your bucket wish list. Your partner, friend, or relative can make the experience more enriching and memorable.

Pro Tip: level up with making a shared list. Talk to your intended bucket list companion and write down your bucket list to-do's together. You may find yourself thinking of things you never would have before!

Insta-Inspiration

I love Instagram for journaling layout and inspiration. Below is a great summer themed bucket list. By making it a seasonal bucket list, there's an implied deadline to the list. Create your own time-themed list, perhaps by month or year.

Simple layouts are often more doable than overly ornate. Keep your number of items on the bucket list low to keep it achievable.

Theme your list by activity. Do you have a list of books or movies you've been wanting to read or watch?

Keep a running tally, dedicated to your bucket list experiences. Check off each one and take a look back year after year.

Or create an evergreen bucket list layout that you can go back to again and again.

Now that you're inspired to start your own bucket list, I have a freebie for my members! If you're not a member yet, sign up! It's free😎

-A Very Enthusiastic Journaler

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Citations

  1. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Bucket list definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bucket%20list#:~:text=%3A%20a%20list%20of%20things%20that,wants%20to%20do%20before%20dying
  2. Kringelbach, M. L., & Rebholz, S. (2017). The bucket list effect: A future orientation that motivates health-promoting behaviors. Psychology and Aging, 32(2), 101-109.
  3. McCauley, D., & Fisher, C. D. (2010). Goal setting and task planning: Applications to everyday life. The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(1), 113-126.
  4. The benefits of taking a vacation: A meta-analysis (De Bloom, J., et al., 2019). Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(2), 713-740.
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