National Bucket List Day
The life list. The big someday. The thing you're going to do — sometime. National Bucket List Day on April 24 is a nudge to actually write it down, and then actually do something on it.
Why it matters
WRITE IT DOWN!
It’s National Bucket List Day — April 24, every year. The day we all admit we’ve been talking about that trip, that skill, that big move for too long and not doing anything about it. Today’s the nudge. Grab a pen.
The Story
The phrase “bucket list” is so embedded in modern vocabulary that it’s easy to forget it’s younger than the iPhone.
The term entered popular usage in 2007 with the film The Bucket List, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as two terminally-ill men setting out to complete a list of things to do before they “kick the bucket.” Screenwriter Justin Zackham had been keeping a list called “Justin’s List of Things to Do Before I Kick the Bucket” — and that list became the movie’s central conceit.
The idea is older than the phrase. The Stoic philosophers wrote about memento mori — the practice of remembering you will die, as a way of living better now. Benjamin Franklin kept a list of 13 virtues to cultivate. Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks are full of “things I want to do” — learn to fly, draw the human heart, build a helicopter.
Writing down your list actually works. Research from Dominican University found people are 42% more likely to achieve goals they write down vs. goals they just think about. Sharing the list with someone pushes that number higher. Revisiting it monthly pushes it higher still.
National Bucket List Day on April 24 isn’t about mortality — it’s about permission. Permission to have desires bigger than your inbox. Permission to book the thing. Permission to admit you want more out of the next few years than you’ve been admitting out loud. Take 10 minutes. Write 10 things. Start.
In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.
Six Categories
A good list spans all of these. Try to write at least two from each:
Places
Cities, countries, natural wonders, weird roadside attractions. The list of places you want to stand on.
Skills
Things you want to learn. Language, instrument, sport, hobby. “Learn to sail” counts; “take a class” counts.
People
Who you want to meet or reconnect with. Idols, relatives, old friends, new strangers.
Experiences
Things to do, see, taste, feel. Concert, play, meal, sunrise somewhere you’ve never been.
Starter Ideas
Stuck? Six categories with one great item in each to prime the pump:
Did You Know?!
The movie was inspired by a real list.
Writer Justin Zackham’s actual bucket list included “get a film produced.” Writing The Bucket List crossed that one off.
Written goals boost achievement 42%.
Dr. Gail Matthews’ study at Dominican University of California. Sharing and weekly progress reports push compliance to 76%.
Mount Everest is a popular list item.
And a hard one. 800+ people a year attempt the summit; success rate is around 65%. The list itself is easier.
The phrase is now in the Oxford Dictionary.
Added in 2018. Listed as a noun: “a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime.”
Read & Start
1000 Places to See Before You Die
Patricia Schultz · 2003
The travel bucket-list book. Written by a journalist who actually went to most of them. 1,000 entries, indexed by region.
Atomic Habits
James Clear · 2018
Not a bucket list book per se — a habits book. But the gap between “I wrote the list” and “I did the things” is habits.
Wild
Cheryl Strayed · 2012
Memoir of one woman’s self-assigned bucket list item (hike the Pacific Crest Trail). Proof that going for it is better than planning it.
Pair It With
A cheap notebook. The act of handwriting the list is different from typing it. Use a notebook.
How I Built This — founder stories are bucket list lubricant.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) — possibly the most bucket-listy movie ever made.
Coffee. Strong. You’re about to make some decisions.
Show Us Your List!
Tag us @celebrationnation with #BucketListDay. Most inspired list gets a shout-out.
How to celebrate
This one is genuinely about you:
- 📝 Write down 10 things — no editing, no judgment, just get them on paper.
- ⭐ Pick one you can do this year. Not someday. This year. Put it on the calendar.
- 📞 Share the list with one person. Accountability multiplies follow-through.
- 🗓️ Set a date to revisit — October 24 is six months away. Check in with yourself then.
- ✅ Cross one off. If you've already done something bucket-list-worthy, put it on and strike it out. You earned the line.
Celebration ideas by audience
For families
Family bucket list dinner: everyone writes three things. Share around the table. You'll learn something about every person.
For kids
Kid bucket lists are pure gold. "Swim with a dolphin." "See real snow." "Drive a tractor." Write them down. Help them cross one off.
For couples
Separate lists, then compare. The overlap is your shared plan. The differences are how you each keep yourselves interesting.
At the office
Team bucket list exercise: everyone writes one professional goal. Post them anonymously. See what patterns emerge.
At school
Classroom list for the year ahead. Kids are startlingly good at this. Post the list. Work toward it.
In your community
Neighborhood bucket list — things to do together in your town this year. A block party, a lights tour, a dinner crawl.
On your own
This is your day. Put on music, pour coffee, write 20 things. Pick one. Book it before bedtime.
More to celebrate
National Walk Around Things Day
On National Walk Around Things Day, health is a verb: a walk, a glass of water, one good night's sleep.