It's that time of year again. The diary is filling up with Christmas parties, the year-end review is looming, and somewhere on your to-do list is "set goals for 2027".
If you're like most business owners I work with, those goals will be all about the business. Revenue targets. New hires. That service you've been meaning to launch. All important, of course. But here's the question I want you to ask yourself before you open that spreadsheet: what are you going to do with your life next year?
Not your business. Your life.
Because the end of the year is the perfect moment to plan the adventures, experiences and personal milestones that will make next year one to remember. And the best tool I know for doing that is a bucket list.
Why now is the perfect time
We all carry around a collection of "one days". One day I'll explore the wilds of Borneo. One day I'll climb Kilimanjaro. One day I'll sail the Caribbean.
The trouble is, "one day" has a habit of never arriving. Vague dreams rarely materialise on their own. They need to be defined, written down and given a place in the calendar, exactly like any business goal.
The weeks before the new year give you something you don't get at any other time: a natural pause, a clean slate and the headspace to think about the bigger picture. If you plan your personal goals now, alongside your business goals, they stop being wishes and start being commitments. Leave them until February and the year will already have filled itself up with other people's priorities.
Don't leave it until it's too late
Palliative care nurse Bronnie Ware spent years with people in the final weeks of their lives, and she noticed the same regrets coming up again and again. People wished they had:
- Lived a life true to themselves, rather than the life others expected of them
- Not worked so hard
- Had the courage to express their feelings
- Stayed in touch with their friends
- Let themselves be happier
Read that list again. Not one person wished they'd spent more time in the office.
A bucket list is your insurance policy against those regrets. It's a constant reminder to prioritise what truly matters, and a prompt to act on it while you still can.
Inspiration from a purple bus
A few years back I heard a story that lit a fire in me. Four college friends decided to write a bucket list for the summer, and it was anything but a typical travel itinerary.
One item was to be a knight for a day. So they hired the costumes, walked the streets in full armour and ended up on the front page of the local newspaper.
But they also included something truly audacious: play basketball with President Obama. They wrote letters. They were turned down. They kept going. And eventually they found themselves shooting hoops on the White House court with the President himself.
That's the power of writing something down and refusing to let it go.
The secret sauce of a life-changing bucket list
Over the years I've found that the bucket lists that actually get ticked off share five things in common.
Write it down. Putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) turns a fuzzy wish into something real. If it only lives in your head, it's far too easy to ignore.
Talk about it. Share your list with your partner, your friends, your colleagues. You'll be amazed how often someone says "I know someone who can help with that". Saying it out loud creates opportunities you'd never find on your own.
Be persistent. The college friends were rejected before they got to the White House. Some goals take years. Keep pushing and keep believing.
Step outside your comfort zone. The most rewarding experiences almost always sit just beyond the point where you feel safe. If nothing on your list makes you slightly nervous, you're not thinking big enough.
Help others. Some of the most meaningful items on any list are the ones that benefit someone else. Adding them enriches your list and your life.
How I use my bucket list to plan the year ahead
I've been building my own bucket list for years, and it's always evolving. Every year, as December approaches, I sit down with it and do two things:
- Celebrate what I've achieved. Ticking something off is a wonderful feeling, and it's worth pausing to enjoy it.
- Add new dreams. As life changes, so do the things I want to experience.
Then I use it to fuel my goal setting for the coming year. I pick out the items I want to make happen in the next twelve months and give them the same attention I'd give a business objective: a date, a plan and a first step.
It's also brilliantly practical. Stuck on where to go for your next holiday? Look at your bucket list. The answer is usually sitting right there.
Start your list before the year is out
Here's a simple way to get going in the next few weeks:
- Block out an hour in your diary. Treat it like an important client meeting, because it is one.
- Look back before you look forward. What were the highlights of this year outside work? What did you keep putting off?
- Brainstorm without limits. Travel, adventures, skills to learn, challenges to take on, people to see, ways to give back. Write down everything, however ambitious.
- Choose two or three for 2027. Pick the items you're going to make happen next year.
- Take the first step. Book the flight, enter the event, send the email. Momentum beats intention every time.
To help you get started, I've included a copy of my own bucket list, with plenty of space for you to steal ideas and add your own.
Your business goals will shape what you achieve next year. Your bucket list will shape how you live it. Don't let 2027 be another year of "one days". Design a life that makes you say "heck yes", and start today.
