Create a Bucket List

Quick Win

Spell out your life goals — big or small — and start going after them. Setting attainable goals may improve mental health and quality of life.

Try This Today

• Let yourself dream. To write a bucket list, start by asking yourself: What would you do if you had unlimited time? Are there skills you’ve always wanted to learn? Places you’d like to visit? 
• Make a plan. Pick one goal to start on. Break it down into manageable steps and plot your path to achieving it.
• Get started. Take the first step, schedule time on your calendar each week to check your progress and cross off steps as you complete them.

Why

A bucket list is a useful tool for mapping out your personal goals, which “can provide a sense of agency in creating a future that best supports and enhances quality of life and overall well-being,” according to the authors of a study published in BMC Geriatrics in 2024. In that study, researchers polled 1,551 adults ages 65 and older about their goals. The most common theme was “activities and experiences” — things like travel, pursuing hobbies and getting a book published.