Bucket List Generator: 300+ Bucket List Ideas

You've probably had a list in your head for years. The generator above shuffles ideas that fit your budget, your time and the people you'd go with, and turns the ones you pick into a list with a first step for each goal. Below: how to make one, all 312 ideas by category and what helps you finish it.

What is a bucket list?

A bucket list is a list of experiences and goals you want to reach in your lifetime: places to see, skills to learn, things to make and moments with people you love. It's personal, it can hold big and small things, and it changes as you do.

The phrase comes from "kick the bucket," old slang for "to die" whose origin is uncertain. It took off with the 2007 film The Bucket List. Screenwriter Justin Zackham has said the title came from his own list of things to do before he kicked the bucket, shortened to "Justin's Bucket List." Earlier written uses of the phrase are hard to find.

The meaning has grown lighter since. People make a summer bucket list or a high school bucket list without a thought about the end of life. Most lists mix travel, adventure, learning and time with people you love, and small things belong on it too.

A goals list usually covers the next year and is measured, like a raise. A vision board shows in pictures how you want life to feel. A bucket list sits in between: specific experiences you can tick off, with no deadline unless you give it one.

How to make a bucket list in 5 steps

To make a bucket list, brainstorm freely, mix big dreams with small ones, write each item as something specific, give it a first step and a rough date, and review the list once a year. The generator walks you through it: filter, add, plan, then print or copy.

1. Brainstorm without limits

   Shuffle a few times and add anything that makes you smile, then write your own under "Add your own goal." Pin the cards you're unsure about so they stay while you shuffle.

2. Mix big and small

   Keep a few things you could do this month. Every set includes a Quick win: free or under $50, close to home, done in an afternoon or a weekend.

3. Make each item specific

   "See the northern lights in Fairbanks, Alaska" gets done. "Travel more" doesn't. Name the place, the skill or the number.

4. Give each item a first step and a rough date

   Open "Plan it" on a goal. Our ideas come with a first step that takes under 30 minutes; write one for your own goals. Then pick This year, Next 5 years, Someday or a month, which can go into your calendar.

5. Review it once a year

   On your birthday or on January 1, tick off what you did, cross out what no longer fits and add what's new. Setting goals for the new year anyway? Read why most resolutions fail first.

How many items should it have? There's no right number. Our suggestion: start with 10 to 20, so the list fits on one page and still feels doable. The tool holds up to 100 goals.

Making one together? Each of you picks three ideas alone, then you choose five together. "Copy share link" sends the list to the other person.

300+ bucket list ideas by category

Here are all 312 ideas from the generator, 26 in each of 12 categories. Each ends with what it roughly costs and how much time it takes. 223 of them are free or under $50 and 231 can be done near home, so this isn't a list of expensive flights.

Travel and places

Places to see with your own eyes, from a road trip in your own state to the other side of the world. Shuffle ideas from this category.

• See the northern lights in Fairbanks, Alaska ($500+ · A week or more)
• Visit ten US national parks ($500+ · A week or more)
• Drive the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to Los Angeles ($500+ · A week or more)
• Cross the country by train ($500+ · A week or more)
• See the cherry blossoms in Washington, DC ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Watch the sunrise from the rim of the Grand Canyon ($500+ · A week or more)
• Visit every state that borders yours ($50 to $500 · A week or more)
• See a total solar eclipse from the path of totality ($500+ · A week or more)
• Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge (Free · An afternoon)
• Spend a night in a fire lookout or a lighthouse ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Catch a ballgame in five different ballparks ($500+ · A week or more)
• Take a ferry to an island you've never set foot on (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Hear live jazz in New Orleans ($500+ · A weekend)
• Drive old Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica ($500+ · A week or more)
• See Japan in cherry blossom season ($500+ · A week or more)
• Walk the last 100 kilometers of the Camino de Santiago ($500+ · A week or more)
• Visit the town your family came from ($500+ · A week or more)
• Go on a wildlife safari in East Africa ($500+ · A week or more)
• Hike to Machu Picchu in Peru ($500+ · A week or more)
• Live for a month in a city abroad ($500+ · A week or more)
• Set foot in all 50 states ($500+ · A week or more)
• See the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Explore a town within 50 miles that you always drive past (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway when the leaves turn ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Take a trip on your own for the first time ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Ride a cable car or gondola up a mountain (Under $50 · An afternoon)

Adventure and thrills

The ones that make your heart race. Each extreme idea comes with a short safety note. Shuffle ideas from this category.

• Go skydiving with a tandem instructor ($500+ · An afternoon)
• Bungee jump from a bridge ($500+ · An afternoon)
• Go white-water rafting on a big river ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Ride the tallest roller coaster you can find ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Get certified to scuba dive ($500+ · A week or more)
• Snorkel with sea turtles ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Zip-line through a forest canopy ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Try indoor rock climbing (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Climb a 14,000-foot peak in Colorado (Under $50 · A weekend)
• Go tandem paragliding over a coast or a valley ($500+ · An afternoon)
• Drive a race car on a real track ($500+ · An afternoon)
• Stand up on a surfboard and ride a wave ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Go shark cage diving ($500+ · An afternoon)
• Hike a section of the Appalachian Trail (Under $50 · A week or more)
• Take a flying trapeze class ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Fly in a hot-air balloon at sunrise ($500+ · An afternoon)
• Go dog sledding on a winter trail ($500+ · An afternoon)
• Sleep in a snow shelter you helped build ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Paddle a sea kayak past sea caves ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Throw axes with friends (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Get out of an escape room in time (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Explore a wild cave with a guide ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Hike to the rim of a volcano ($500+ · A week or more)
• Ski or snowboard a black diamond run ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Hike under a full moon (Free · An afternoon)
• Ride a mountain bike down a real trail (Under $50 · An afternoon)

Outdoors and nature

Trails, lakes, night skies and seasons, most of them closer to home than you think. Shuffle ideas from this category.

• Sleep under the stars at a dark-sky park (Under $50 · A weekend)
• Watch a meteor shower from a dark field (Free · An afternoon)
• Hike to a waterfall (Free · An afternoon)
• Camp for a whole weekend without your phone (Under $50 · A weekend)
• Walk among the giant redwoods ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Go backpacking for three nights ($50 to $500 · A week or more)
• Paddle a canoe across a lake at dawn (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Plant a tree you can watch grow for years (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Grow a vegetable garden from seed (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Learn to name 20 birds by their song (Free · Ongoing)
• Go tide pooling at low tide (Free · An afternoon)
• Watch whales migrate along the coast ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Soak in a natural hot spring (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Visit the same state park in all four seasons (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Climb a tree like you did as a kid (Free · An afternoon)
• Go foraging with an expert guide (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Spend a night in a cabin in the woods ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Kayak down a river from one town to the next (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• See the bluebonnets bloom in Texas Hill Country (Under $50 · A weekend)
• Hike to a summit with a view (Free · An afternoon)
• Watch the sunrise and the sunset on the same day outside (Free · An afternoon)
• Cook dinner over a campfire you built (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Go snowshoeing through fresh snow (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Swim in all five Great Lakes ($50 to $500 · A week or more)
• Sleep in a hammock between two trees (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Walk a full loop around a lake near you (Free · An afternoon)

Learn a skill

Skills you build a little at a time. Most come with a daily habit that gets you there. Shuffle ideas from this category.

• Learn to play the guitar (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Become conversational in a new language (Free · Ongoing)
• Learn to play one song on the piano (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Learn to swim with confidence (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Cook ten dishes without a recipe (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Learn the basics of American Sign Language (Free · Ongoing)
• Type 60 words a minute without looking (Free · Ongoing)
• Learn to dance salsa (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Learn to drive a stick shift (Free · An afternoon)
• Code and publish a small website (Free · Ongoing)
• Learn first aid and CPR (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Learn to juggle three balls (Free · Ongoing)
• Learn to sail a small boat ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Learn to ride a motorcycle safely ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Change a car tire and check your own oil (Free · An afternoon)
• Take an introductory flight lesson in a small plane ($500+ · An afternoon)
• Play chess well enough to beat a friend (Free · Ongoing)
• Learn to fix things around the house yourself (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Learn to read sheet music (Free · Ongoing)
• Learn to sing in tune (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Solve a 3x3 puzzle cube from memory (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Earn a certificate in a subject you love ($50 to $500 · Ongoing)
• Learn to ride a horse ($50 to $500 · Ongoing)
• Tie five useful knots without looking (Free · An afternoon)
• Write your name with your other hand (Free · Ongoing)
• Learn to play the drums ($50 to $500 · Ongoing)

Creative projects

Things you make with your own hands: a book, a quilt, a song, a short film. Shuffle ideas from this category.

• Write a memoir of your life so far (Free · Ongoing)
• Finish the first draft of a novel (Free · Ongoing)
• Paint a portrait of yourself (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Knit a scarf from start to finish (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Throw a pot on a pottery wheel ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Make a short film with your phone (Free · A weekend)
• Build a piece of furniture yourself ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Fill a whole sketchbook with drawings (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Record a song you wrote yourself (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Make a family cookbook of handed-down recipes (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Take one photo every day for a year (Free · Ongoing)
• Sew a quilt for your bed ($50 to $500 · Ongoing)
• Perform at an open mic night (Free · An afternoon)
• Sing a solo on stage (Free · Ongoing)
• Write a picture book for a child you love (Free · Ongoing)
• Design and print your own T-shirt (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Start a blog or newsletter about something you love (Free · Ongoing)
• Learn calligraphy and hand-letter a card (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Build a model or a miniature from a kit (Under $50 · A weekend)
• Make a stained glass panel at a weekend class ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Act in a community theater play (Free · Ongoing)
• Make a printed photo album of your best year (Under $50 · A weekend)
• Paint a mural on a wall you have permission to use ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Write and sing a song for someone's birthday (Free · A weekend)
• Make a stop-motion movie with your kids (Free · An afternoon)
• Write a short poem every day for a month (Free · Ongoing)

Food and drink

Dishes to cook, places to eat and tables to share, from your own kitchen to Tokyo. Shuffle ideas from this category.

• Cook a dish from a country you've never been to (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Bake sourdough bread from your own starter (Under $50 · A week or more)
• Eat a tasting menu at a restaurant you've dreamed about ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Pick your own strawberries at a farm (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Make fresh pasta by hand (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Eat Texas barbecue in Texas ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Take a cooking class in another country ($500+ · An afternoon)
• Host a potluck with a theme (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Make jam from fruit you picked yourself (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Try a food you've always refused to eat (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Eat a lobster roll on the coast of Maine ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Grow herbs on your windowsill and cook with them (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Make sushi at home (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Go to a crawfish boil in Louisiana ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Cook a whole meal over a fire (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Try every food truck in your town (Under $50 · A week or more)
• Visit a cider mill or a vineyard at harvest time (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Eat ramen in Tokyo ($500+ · A week or more)
• Bake a pie from scratch, crust and all (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Cook your grandmother's signature dish (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Host a dinner party for eight ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Try a dish at your state fair you've never heard of (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Taste fresh maple syrup at a sugarhouse (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Make a perfect French omelet (Free · An afternoon)
• Cook every meal at home for a whole week (Under $50 · A week or more)
• Try street food in Mexico City ($500+ · A week or more)

Health and fitness

Big physical goals and the daily practice behind them. Talk to your doctor before you train for a big one. Shuffle ideas from this category.

• Run a full marathon (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Run your first 5K (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Hold a headstand for 30 seconds (Free · Ongoing)
• Do 20 push-ups in a row (Free · Ongoing)
• Touch your toes without bending your knees (Free · Ongoing)
• Take a polar plunge (Free · Ongoing)
• Hike 100 miles in one year (Free · Ongoing)
• Do your first pull-up (Free · Ongoing)
• Ride 100 miles on a bike in one day (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Finish a sprint triathlon ($50 to $500 · Ongoing)
• Swim a mile without stopping (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Walk 10,000 steps every day for a month (Free · Ongoing)
• Do yoga every day for 30 days (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Sleep seven to nine hours a night for a month (Free · Ongoing)
• Hold a handstand away from the wall (Free · Ongoing)
• Race up the stairs of a skyscraper (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Go a whole month without alcohol (Free · Ongoing)
• Run a mile without stopping (Free · Ongoing)
• Try a sport you've never played (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Do the full splits (Free · Ongoing)
• Walk a half marathon (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Play a full season on an adult rec team ($50 to $500 · Ongoing)
• Book the health checkup you've been putting off (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Play tennis with a friend every week for a summer (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Ride a bike across your state ($50 to $500 · A week or more)
• Hike 20 miles in a single day (Free · An afternoon)

Friends and family

Time with the people you love, and a few you have not met yet. Shuffle ideas from this category.

• Take your parents on the trip they always talk about ($500+ · A week or more)
• Throw a surprise party for someone you love (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Record an interview with your grandparents (Free · An afternoon)
• Reconnect with a friend you lost touch with (Free · An afternoon)
• Organize a family reunion ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Take a road trip with your best friends ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Teach your kid to ride a bike (Free · An afternoon)
• Plan a weekend away with just your partner ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Start a monthly game night (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Build your family tree back four generations (Free · Ongoing)
• Go on a date to the place you first met (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Make a time capsule with your family (Free · An afternoon)
• Visit a friend who lives in another state ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Have a picnic with three generations (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Celebrate a big anniversary in a way you'll remember ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Host Thanksgiving for the first time ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Teach a kid in your life something you're good at (Free · An afternoon)
• Camp out in the backyard with your kids (Free · An afternoon)
• Throw a block party for your street (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Eat dinner with no phones at the table every week (Free · Ongoing)
• Take a class together with your partner ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Plan a trip with your siblings ($500+ · A weekend)
• Show your kids the places where you grew up ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Make a new friend through a club or class (Free · Ongoing)
• Go to a concert with your teenager ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Send a handwritten card for every birthday this year (Under $50 · Ongoing)

Give back

Ways to leave your street, your town or someone else's day a little better. Shuffle ideas from this category.

• Volunteer for one Saturday (Free · An afternoon)
• Donate blood for the first time (Free · An afternoon)
• Join the bone marrow donor registry (Free · An afternoon)
• Mentor a young person for a year (Free · Ongoing)
• Plant trees with a local group (Free · An afternoon)
• Foster a shelter animal (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Run or walk a charity race (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Pay for a stranger's coffee (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Teach an adult to read (Free · Ongoing)
• Cook a meal for a neighbor who needs one (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Clean up a beach, a river or a trail (Free · An afternoon)
• Volunteer abroad with a local organization ($500+ · A week or more)
• Help build a home with a housing charity (Free · A weekend)
• Knit hats for newborns at a local hospital (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Give a talk about your job at a school (Free · An afternoon)
• Sponsor a kids' sports team or school club ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Raise money for a cause you care about (Free · A week or more)
• Volunteer at an animal shelter every week for a season (Free · Ongoing)
• Read to kids at your library's story time (Free · An afternoon)
• Write letters to residents of a nursing home (Free · An afternoon)
• Give away 100 things you don't use (Free · A weekend)
• Help someone study for their citizenship test (Free · Ongoing)
• Serve a holiday meal at a shelter (Free · An afternoon)
• Put up a book-sharing box on your street (Under $50 · A weekend)
• Register as an organ donor (Free · An afternoon)
• Coach a kids' team for a season (Free · Ongoing)

Mind and growth

Reading, quiet, journaling and the kind of growth nobody sees but you. Shuffle ideas from this category.

• Do a silent meditation retreat ($50 to $500 · A weekend)
• Read 50 classic novels (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Read one book a month for a year (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Keep a journal for a whole year (Free · Ongoing)
• Spend a whole day without screens (Free · An afternoon)
• Write a letter to your future self (Free · An afternoon)
• Spend a weekend alone with no plans at all (Under $50 · A weekend)
• Meditate every day for 30 days (Free · Ongoing)
• Take a full week off social media (Free · A week or more)
• Write down 100 things you're grateful for (Free · Ongoing)
• Talk to a therapist, even just once ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Read everything one favorite author has written (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Visit a place of worship of a faith you don't know (Free · An afternoon)
• Read the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel from the year you were born (Under $50 · A weekend)
• Take a walk without your phone every day for a month (Free · Ongoing)
• Write your own personal mission statement (Free · An afternoon)
• Go to a free public lecture at a university (Free · An afternoon)
• Start every morning with a breathing practice for a month (Free · Ongoing)
• Read a book that changes your mind about something (Under $50 · A weekend)
• Forgive someone and tell them (Free · An afternoon)
• Watch the 100 films critics call the greatest (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Wake up at sunrise for a whole week (Free · A week or more)
• Keep a dream journal for a month (Free · Ongoing)
• Live by one Stoic idea for a week (Free · A week or more)
• Memorize a poem you love (Free · Ongoing)
• Say yes to every invitation for a month (Free · Ongoing)

Money and career

Goals for your work and your wallet, each one broken into a first step you can take this week. Shuffle ideas from this category.

• Build an emergency fund of three months' expenses (Free · Ongoing)
• Pay off your credit card debt (Free · Ongoing)
• Start a side business (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Ask for a raise (Free · An afternoon)
• Switch to a career you love (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Take a sabbatical from work ($500+ · A week or more)
• Read 12 books about money (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Speak at a conference (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Start investing for retirement (Free · Ongoing)
• Learn to read a balance sheet (Free · An afternoon)
• Save up for a trip and pay for it in cash ($50 to $500 · Ongoing)
• Get your will written and signed ($50 to $500 · An afternoon)
• Earn a professional certification in your field ($50 to $500 · Ongoing)
• Work remotely from another city for a month ($500+ · A week or more)
• Publish an article in your industry (Free · Ongoing)
• Pay off your student loans (Free · Ongoing)
• Negotiate your next job offer (Free · An afternoon)
• Make your first sale online (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Stick to a budget for three months (Free · Ongoing)
• Find a mentor in your field (Free · An afternoon)
• Lead a team for the first time (Free · Ongoing)
• Take a class on investing basics (Under $50 · A weekend)
• Build a portfolio of your best work (Free · Ongoing)
• Do your own taxes for the first time (Free · An afternoon)
• Turn a hobby into extra income (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Go to the biggest conference in your field ($50 to $500 · A weekend)

Small joys close to home

Cheap or free, close by and doable this month. They keep a list alive while the big plans wait. Shuffle ideas from this category.

• Watch the sunrise from the highest point in your town (Free · An afternoon)
• Visit every state park within an hour's drive (Under $50 · Ongoing)
• Learn the constellations of the summer sky (Free · Ongoing)
• Have a picnic in a park you've never visited (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Spend a whole day at the library (Free · An afternoon)
• Cook only what you buy at a farmers market (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Watch a movie at a drive-in theater (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Try every coffee shop in your neighborhood (Under $50 · A week or more)
• Have a lazy Sunday with no plans at all (Free · An afternoon)
• Fly a kite on a windy day (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Go stargazing in your backyard with a blanket (Free · An afternoon)
• Take a long bath with a book and no phone (Free · An afternoon)
• Walk every street in your neighborhood (Free · Ongoing)
• Bake cookies for your neighbors (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Go to a free concert in a park (Free · An afternoon)
• Visit a museum in your own town for the first time (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Host a backyard movie night (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Eat breakfast outside at sunrise (Free · An afternoon)
• Jump in a pile of leaves (Free · An afternoon)
• Swim in a lake or the ocean before breakfast (Free · An afternoon)
• Visit a botanical garden in full bloom (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Build a snowman taller than you (Free · An afternoon)
• Read a whole book in one day (Free · An afternoon)
• Watch the first snowfall with hot chocolate (Free · An afternoon)
• Play a board game you've never played before (Under $50 · An afternoon)
• Watch fireflies on a summer night (Free · An afternoon)

How we chose these ideas

The Greatr team wrote every idea for this tool. Budgets are rough US estimates (Free is $0, Under $50 is $1 to $49), checked once a year. No sponsored places, brands or affiliate links. The 15 extreme ideas carry a safety note.

A set is built from the ideas that match your filters, shuffled with your browser's cryptographic random generator and dealt one category at a time, so 10 ideas never hold more than 2 from one category. With the budget filter on Any and the place filter on Any or Near home, every set has a Quick win when one matches.

Cheap, quick and close to home: ideas you can start this month

The best cheap bucket list ideas are ones you can do this weekend: watch a sunrise from the highest point in your town, cook a dish from a country you've never been to, volunteer for one Saturday. Small items keep a list alive, and each one you finish makes the big ones feel more possible.

About half of the 223 cheap ideas (106) take a single afternoon. Here is where the ones near home sit:

That's 111 ideas, and all but one (a 20-mile hike, too extreme to call quick) can be the Quick win in a set. A few of them: watch a meteor shower from a dark field, hike to a waterfall and have a picnic in a park you've never visited. Small joys close to home and Give back lean this way as a whole.

Open the generator with Free, Under $50 and Near home and you get 211 ideas to shuffle through.

Why make a bucket list? What the research says

Most people in a large US survey already had a bucket list, writing goals down seems to help, and adding a plan and a friend helps more. Experiences also tend to make people happier than things. One popular "fact" about written goals, though, is a myth.

In an online survey of 3,056 adults across the US, published in 2018 by VJ Periyakoil and colleagues at Stanford, about 91% said they had a bucket list. Travel was the most common theme, on 79% of lists, with accomplishing a personal goal close behind. The survey ran in 2015 and 2016 and was not aimed at people with a serious illness.

Does writing goals down help? Psychologist Gail Matthews of Dominican University of California randomly split participants into five groups, from people who only thought about their goals to people who wrote them down, added action steps and sent a friend a weekly update. In her research summary, writing goals down beat not writing them, and the group with written goals, actions and weekly updates did best. It was one small, short study: a hint, not a law.

And the famous study where the 3% of Yale or Harvard graduates with written goals out-earned all the others combined? It never existed. Matthews calls it an "urban myth" in that same summary, and it's why she ran her own study.

Why experiences? In a 2003 paper, Leaf Van Boven and Thomas Gilovich found in surveys and lab experiments that people tend to feel happier about experiences they buy, like a trip or a concert, than about material things.

There's a quieter reason, too. The Stanford team suggests sharing your bucket list with your doctor, because it shows what matters most to you when choices about your care come up.

Why most bucket lists never get done (and how to fix it)

Most bucket lists stall for four plain reasons: the items are vague, they're all big and expensive, nothing says when to start, and the list disappears into a drawer. Each has a small fix, and the strongest is deciding when, where and how you'll take the first step.

The date matters more than it looks. Psychologists call it an implementation intention: a plan that says when, where and how you'll act. A 2006 meta-analysis by Peter Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran pooled 94 independent tests of these if-then plans and found a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals (d = 0.65) compared with simply intending to. For a bucket list goal, that sounds like: "On Saturday morning, after coffee, I'll book the guitar lesson." Use it on the first step, the one most lists skip.

1. Dream. "Learn to play the guitar."
2. First step. "Borrow or rent a guitar and learn one chord."
3. Date. "This Saturday, 10 AM."
4. Done. Tick it off, and plan the next step.

Need help picking where to start? Put your top five on the decision wheel and let it choose. Counting down to a trip you've booked? The days since calculator counts the days until the date too.

And if you don't finish the list? That's fine. A bucket list is a compass, not a scoreboard. Crossing items out and adding new ones means it's still yours.

Turn a bucket list goal into a daily habit

Some items are one-time experiences, like a trip or a concert. Others are ongoing goals, like an instrument, a marathon or 50 books, and those don't happen on a date. They happen a little every day. That's why 70 ideas in the generator come with a daily habit behind a "Make it a habit" button.

How long until the habit runs on its own? In a 2010 study of 96 volunteers by Phillippa Lally and colleagues, it took a median of 66 days for a daily behavior to become automatic, with a range from 18 to 254 days. So 66 days is a median, not a promise. If "read 50 classics" is on your list, the reading time calculator shows how many minutes a day gets you through a book by a date. For more small habits to pair with a big goal, browse these habit examples by life area.

One way to keep the habit going: put it in your morning or evening routine in Greatr, where you run the same habits in the same order each day and see your streak grow. If the goal keeps losing to busy weeks, the Eisenhower matrix helps you make room for what's important but never urgent.

Your next step: pick one goal from your list, open "Plan it" and write the first step you'll take this week.