Make a list, make a plan, have a whole lot of fun
A recently divorced stay-at-home mom whose last child is about to finish high school wants to milk a cow. A 46-year-old IT manager wants to run Pike's Peak. A 78-year-old grandmother has always wanted to learn fly fishing.
What's on your Bucket List?
The sooner you get it down on paper—that is, all the things you want to do before you 'kick the bucket'—the more time and better health you'll have to enjoy them.
The following "Bucket Checklist" can help get you started:
- Hold a Bucket List Party
- Talk to your family and friends
- Thumb through an atlas
- Buy a "Reader's Guide" for your local area
- Read old letters and journals
- Peruse your local library, music or video store
- Host a "Who Do You Want To Be?" costume party
- Take care of administrative tasks
- Set priorities
- Engage a support network
Hold a Bucket List Party
Invite friends and/or family over and hand out paper at the door. Set the theme for everyone to create a unique Bucket List of their own using the ideas below to generate discussions and brainstorming.
Talk to Your Family and Friends
It's funny what people remember. You may have remarked to a friend years ago that you've always wanted to tour New England in autumn—a mention you may have long forgotten, but he or she remembers because it sounded like a fun trip you could one day do together. Let everyone know you are crafting a Bucket List—you may well get useful ideas and long-forgotten suggestions. At the very least, you'll find out who knows you well and who thinks bungee jumping would be something you'd enjoy.
Thumb Through an Atlas
It can be tough to envision the world from the privacy of your own backyard, so thumb through an atlas for ideas on places to visit. While many people may list London and Paris as places they've always wanted to see, perusing through an atlas can remind you of smaller, more off-the-beaten path locales like Portugal or Nova Scotia.
Buy a "Reader's Guide" For Your Local Area
Don't forget your own backyard, while you're at it. Some people go their whole lives, never getting around to a living museum, wine gallery or holiday tour of homes in their area that they have always wanted to visit. It wouldn't hurt to put your hands on a local guide to remember these places and also discover new ones that you may not even know about but are interesting enough for a tourist recommendation.
Read Old Diaries and Journals
As you take this trip down memory lane, look for phrases like "one of these days I'm going to...." or "I've always wanted to...." Whether it's visiting a special place or wearing a red dress to a cocktail party instead of your usual black, you'll rediscover tidbits of your past self in who you were, who you wanted to be and what you dreamed of doing—as documented in past diaries and journals.
Peruse Your Local Library, Music or Video Store
Perhaps in college you vowed that you would read the complete works of Proust before you died. Maybe you once saw a movie and thought it would be interesting to visit the locale in which it was filmed (think of the Provence countryside in A Good Year or scenes from Out of Africa). A music store can remind you of all the concerts you never attended—but still can; artists like Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton still tour from time to time. Spending a day in a well-stocked music store is a good way to drum up memories that may lead to Bucket List items.
Host a "Who Do You Want To Be?" Costume Party
Is someone out there living the life you planned? Maybe it's Roger Federer, Meryl Streep or Mick Jagger. No matter. You can still be Meryl before you kick the proverbial bucket—host a tongue-in-cheek costume party and invite guests to come not as they are, but as they once wanted to be. Yet another trip down memory lane could help stir Bucket List ideas—even if it's too late to win an Oscar and raise four children. Just don't be surprised if a Farrah Fawcett look-a-like shows up at your party.
Take Care of Administrative Tasks
Everyone has those nagging tasks—draw up a will, write a living trust, buy long term care insurance. "I need to call my widowed aunt in Tupelo" or "I haven't seen my son out in California in years." Get those things on your Bucket List and then do them —preferably early on. It'll be a relief and make the rest of your Bucket List escapades more enjoyable.
Set Priorities
Once you narrow down your Bucket List to the things you truly want to do, take a stab at prioritizing the list. You may not follow the order exactly, but you should have a sense of the things you definitely want to do first to ensure that you accomplish them.
Engage a Support Network
A support network is important for two reasons. First, you may find enlistees interested in a festival in New Mexico, or a grandchild with whom that last fulfilling hayride will be the best you've ever taken. Naturally, if you feel you must do an item alone, then do so by all means. The benefit of engaging the support of family and friends is that once they understand you are seeking fulfillment through your Bucket List, they will hopefully stand by (or stand down) and support you all the way.
