Now that your children have left home, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about what you want from the future. The chances are that you’ve now got a lot of free time to play with – time that you’ve always dreamed of having for yourself – so taking the time to think about how you spend that time is important. It’s your time to put yourself first – your opportunity to make yourself a priority for once.
A great starting point for doing that is to create a bucket list – aka a list of all the things that you’ve always dreamed of doing but never had the opportunity to do. It’s important to remember that a bucket list isn’t just about the places that you want to visit, it’s also about all of the things that you want to do as well.
Creating a bucket list is like creating a list of everything that you hope to achieve in your life and it’s a great way to take stock of what you want to gain over the coming few years in terms of life experience.
Photo source: Pixabay
So, bearing all of that in mind, where should you start with your bucket list and how can you go about making ticking things off easier? For everything that you need to know about creating your dream bucket list, have a read of the tips and ideas below.
Start by brainstorming
The first step to creating your bucket list should be to create a giant brainstorm. It might be that you already have ideas about what you would like to do and can use them as a starting point for your mind map, or it might be that you lack ideas when it comes to what you would like to do and where you would like to go. So, starting with a brainstorm can be a good idea.
To create your mind map, take the time to sit down and think about what interests you and what you might enjoy doing. For instance, say you’ve always had a keen interest in travel, perhaps you could start your brainstorm thinking about the kinds of places you would like to travel to and visit, and then deeper in the mind map you could think about what you might like to see and do while you’re there.
If you’re unsure how to start your bucket list, a brainstorming session could act as a great place to start.
Think about your aspirations
Another important step to take when it comes to mapping out your bucket list is to think about what your aspirations are and what you want to achieve. It’s important to think about what your longer term aspirations might be and how you can ensure that you’re able to meet them.
For instance, you might like the idea of starting a side hustle as part of your bucket list plan – a small business that you can run remotely and start to build a side income up from. If you’ve always wanted to launch a business but never quite had the time to really focus on it, now might be the perfect time for you to do that.
So, it’s important to make sure that these kinds of plans are factored into your bucket list, to allow you to make sure that you’re able to make these kinds of dreams a reality.
Don’t let your finances hold you back
A common reason that people don’t tend to tick off as much of their bucket list as they might like is sadly down to financial restrictions. The concept of completing a bucket list can feel like a real struggle when money is tight – or you simply don’t have a big disposable income. However, don’t let your finances hold you back. Instead, think about the ways that you can make your dreams come true without impacting your finances.
If finances are an issue because you can’t afford to pay for something – such as your travel plans – in one bulk payment, then you might want to consider getting a loan to help split the cost. There are a lot of frequently asked questions about short term installment loans, but luckily there’s plenty of useful advice online to clearly explain the ins and outs of the process to you. By taking out a loan you can split the cost of a huge expense like a trip or launching a small business, and make it easier to cross things off of your bucket list.
Prioritize
When it comes to starting to tick things off of your bucket list, it’s important to prioritize the things on your list. This means taking the time to think about which of the things on your list are the most important and which ones are less important. By prioritizing what you want to do most, you can ensure that even if you cannot finish the entire list, you can manage to do all of the most important things on it.
A great way to determine which things are most important is to think about what would bring you the most joy. It’s also important to think about which things you’ve been dreaming about for the longest, and what – if anything – could be life changing, such as starting a business, for instance.
You can also mark list items that are easier and less financially costly to do, so you know which ones are easier to do. For instance, taking a camping trip at a local national park will be far more affordable and achievable in the short term than taking an around the world trip, so it makes sense to do that one first, so that you can tick it off of your list.
By taking a smart and methodical approach to your bucket list, you can make it far simpler and easier to tick things off.
There you have it, a guide to how you can make (and start ticking things off) your bucket list this year.
