Bucket List Management
“A bucket list can be your best friend or your worst enemy.”
Did you ever watch Wheel of Fortune when you were younger (or perhaps you still do)? Every once in awhile they would have categories called “Before and After”, well here is my bucket list before and after.
The Before: Bucket List.
My Bucket List has been pretty much the one thing about this site that has remained fairly constant since the beginning. Sure about 6 months back I did a bit of a remodel of it, but if there has been one thing that Location 180 has been known for, it’s this list. I’ve received emails from numerous readers and other bloggers saying that they’ve been inspired to do the same thing, and have set out to create a list of their own.
Well now that a year as passed since I originally wrote this list, I’m found wondering if it has been a positive endeavor.
Still working on #61 - Compose at least one spectacular HDR Image
Part of me wants to say: “Of course it has been! How could anything bad come of it?!”
While the other part of me is saying: “Wow, I’ve read dozens of these lists over the last year, and I’m not sure I’ve read a single one that was shockingly unique.”
I don’t remember where the comment was left, but somewhere in the last few months I’ve had a reader mention that my bucket list was just a glorified check list of stuff that you can do on any STA travel tour; that it was too generic. And you know what, after reading so many similar posts, I’m inclined to agree with him.
So does this mean that I’m going to change my list or take it down, and shun the whole concept?
Absolutely not.
What this tells me is that there are tons and tons of people out there with extremely similar goals. That said, VERY FEW of those people will ever achieve even 50% of the things on their list. Many people have the desire to create a list of all of the exotic places they’d like to go, and the adventures they’d like to have, but for many of them, just writing about it is half of the escape. I think this is why writing a bucket list is such a common exercise.
Someone can write about going to the Eiffel Tower and by doing this, something changes. It’s like a box was checked in their head. Now they have even more of an excuse to slack off since its already implied that no matter what, they will go there someday. They could be asked if they have ever been to the Eiffel Tower, and now instead of just saying “no”, they say “no, but its on my bucket list, so ill go someday.”
Someday is dangerous.
Unless you have a plan to get there, it probably isn’t going to happen. Because in your head, you’ve already gone. You can now talk about it as though the Eiffel Tower is a part of your life without ever stepping foot on French soil.
The After: List Management
All of that said, I still think having a bucket list is an excellent thing and a great exercise. It’s just a matter of how you plan to execute it.
If you are like most people, the majority of the things on your list are travel related or places you want to go. This is great, however if you actually want to go to any of those places, a little list management is going to be necessary.
I’m going to assume you have a couple things on your list that you really want to do. Those are probably the first things you are thinking about when it comes to where you’ll begin. The truth is, without any list management, those are the things you probably WILL accomplish at some point. If your lifelong dream is to float the canals of Venice via gondola, you will probably do it one day.
But what about everything else? There is a good chance you will have ignored almost everything else in order to do the few you wanted the most.
When I talk about list management I want you to think about this:
What can I check off my bucket list that will enable me to check off everything else?
If you have 95 places you want to see on your list, and 5 that relate to lifestyle or making a living, it’s those five you should be focused on RIGHT NOW.
Let’s use my list as an example.
- #10 Start a Successful Blog
- #11 Make a Living Off My Own Business
- #35 Achieve Zero Debt
- #66 Make $10 a Day Via Blog/Internet
Those are the key things on my list that are enablers.
Once I’ve completed those items, it will be much easier to complete the rest of my list. So that is what I’m focused on right now. Sure any one of the last four months I could have hopped on a flight down to Koh Phangan and gone to the Full Moon Party (#48). I still may do that in the next couple months, but the point is that it isn’t my focus. It’s “making a living off my own business” that will allow me to do that and everything else.
By managing your list, and preparing to do everything before you die, you will not only be more focused, but you will be much more fulfilled as well.
The Action: Where Do You Stand?
If you don’t have a list yet, here is your opportunity to write one. Check out this post to learn How to Write a Bucket List. Let me also say, it doesn’t matter if it is a who’s of who of tourist traps and generic items. Like I said, most people will never do half the things that they add to their list.
You will be the one that actually does them.
Now, establish the one thing on your list that will enable you to do the most other things on the list. That is where you should start. Don’t start with Eiffel Tower if you know you won’t make the effort to go for 10 years. Thats a decade wasted. Begin something that will get you there sooner. Obviously you have the rest of your life to complete the list, but the sooner you think about your goals as something tangible and actionable, you can break out of the “someday mindset” and start making progress.
I think creating a blog is an excellent starting point if you aren’t sure where to begin. Not only can you state your goals publicly, but if you are willing to put in the time and cultivate it, over time it will be a huge asset in your quest to do remarkable things.
A Bucket List can be your best friend or your worst enemy when it comes to achieving your goals. Focusing on list management and not the dream goal will ensure that writing this list is one of the most valuable things you’ve ever done.
If you enjoyed this post be sure to check out the Location 180 Mailing List (check the side bar) as well as sign up for my RSS Feed. I’ve also got a pretty sweet Facebook Fan Page too!
Damn, this really sounds very useful – I love making lists and giving myself short-ass deadlines !
It’s a grrrrrrreat idea and I agree – Someday really is dangerous – you must make it now or on a fixed date, it’s just the way our psychology works !!
Hey Sean!
Nice topic to cover. I drafted a bucket list a long time ago but stopped writing it just after half way, it just didn’t seem like something I really wanted to do.
I realized that what I really want are things like building up my own business, having lots of adventures with my friends, travelling, being healthy, adventures with pretty girls and just see where it all takes me.
Whether or not I see the Pyramids or go Skydiving is not something that will make my life better or worse. I like the mystery of the unknown adventures that lie ahead.
Cheers
Diggy
Thanks for bringing this up again Sean! I found your Bucket list particularly fascinating. I haven’t one myself, I just focus on short-term targets and the practical ones (also achieve zero debt for example) and just be open to as many possibilities as possible and Eiffel towers and all that come with the flow
I don’t personally like the idea of ticking something off a list, but it’s a great motivator and certainly helped you achieve so much in the last year!
Keep up the good work – hope you get those essential items off soon so you can focus on the fun!
Good point about doing the enablers items first. I keep spending too much time focusing on the things I want to do when I get there and not enough time working on getting there in the first place.
Well first of all I want to congratulate you because I bet that you’ve been able to cross some of those of the list. Now I think that’s so on point when you say-
“Now they have even more of an excuse to slack off since its already implied that no matter what, they will go there someday.”
I think that by putting your dreams on the list, but also the actionable things you need to do to go to “Costa Rica” in my case and focusing on it will probably get me there quicker.
Now I need to go get on making that list thanks brother! Keep crossing those off, next year you’ll have to make a new list or add at least some more.
Great advice here. I review mine quite often and most of the items really come down to 1 enabler, that is quit my job and make an income online. Once that’s done, I think I could breeze through my list and really enjoy the process.
Sometimes I wish that I had never put the damn thing together because it seems to taunt me haha. But I’ll conquer this thing one way or another, I just need to get into the right position to do it.
Awesome idea for a post, something that a lot of us readers can relate to. Cheers!
Great, great points on the bucket list Sean. I’ve been taking notes on your list and several of our other blogger friends. It’s about time I compile my own here soon in the next few weeks. Goal #1: compile a Bucket List!
I think you bring up a good point here that without some kind of “action” this is nothing more than a list. I put together my own list (I call it a Life List) after reading your post awhile back on “How to write a bucket list”. At the time I wasn’t really thinking of including “enabler” items I just wanted a list of things that I thought would be cool to experience.
I may not obtain or accomplish everything on my list but as long as I make an effort to do so (apply some action) and enjoy the journey along the way…that is what I value the most.
After reading this though you got me thinking about things I can do now to make it easier to at least start that journey. I’ve got the “what” in the form of a list…now I need the “how”.
Good stuff Sean!
You aren’t actually writing these to call *me* out, right? It just feels that way. I’m just reading these things far too personally.
Sean, I really like these last few posts. As for a Bucket List, I’ve contemplated it many times. As you know from my BlogCrush, it is one of my favorite features of your blog.
But as you note, so many people are doing them and they seem to be the same recycled objectives. Also, so few post them and actually put things into action to achieve them. It’s like a dream cloud floating in the menu bar, occasionally visited and with no substance. When I get the point that I publish it I want it to be something I’m gonna do. But like quitting your job/getting married/having kids I don’t know if there’s ever a “perfect time” to start a bucket list.
So…have you hooked up with the traffic school classmate in Thailand yet?
This post is money Sean. It’s classic 80/20. Focusing on the highest-impact, enabling items makes the rest a reality. Once every 3-6 months, I sit down and re-focus on a life-list. I trim things that are no longer relevant or motivating, and refresh it to sync with my real goals. I save the document, and don’t look at it again for 3-6 months. At the end of it, I nearly always have accomplished exactly what I set out for – and I didn’t need to refer to a damn list to remind me along the way.
It’s an important process not because “otherwise you’ll forget you want to do it” but simply because it sets your life trajectory and gives your sub-conscious a witching rod towards what you want.
Sean —
Very informative post. I really like your approach.
David is right. Focusing on the “enablers” is classic 80/20 thinking. I spent far too much time trying to focus on too many life goals at once. As a result, I ended up spinning my wheels and accomplishing nothing. This year has been spent primarily on the enabler goals and a few others. As a result, I’ve made much more progress in the past four or five months than I have in the past two or three years.
Thanks for putting a name to what I’ve been doing. Putting a label on it suddenly makes me feel smarter. It’s almost like I knew what I was doing
[...] motivation. You can read Sean’s original post here. Sean also provides additional tips on bucket list management and suggested that the best projects to start on you bucket lists are the ones with the most [...]
[...] before I die until recently. It wasn’t until Sean Ogle recently wrote about bucket lists, and how to identify the most important life goals that will enable you to achieve the other items on you…—the travel goals, the possessions, the fun stuff—that I finally got motivated to really [...]
I agree with Cody from a few comments above. Goal for this week – complete a bucket list.
I was just wondering when you completed your bucket list did you just quickly write down 100 things you thought of in succession? Or was it more of a list in progress that took a little while to put together. FOr me i think i could write down maybe only 10-20 unique things like learn the croatian language or something but th following may just be STA travel type stuff. BUt i suppose its the journey not the destination.
Cheers. Location180 is great inspiration.
[...] Bucket List Management Sean simply shows you his “before and after” of his bucket list that he made about a year ago. I found it pretty useful; I think he makes some great points that are actionable too. [...]
Leave your response!
Twitter
Error: Unable to access Twitter at URL (http://www.twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/seanogle.json?count=5). Verify service status. (HTTP code 401.)
Connect!
Unconventional Guides
Ready For a Change?
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
Recent Comments
Most Commented