Why Your Bucket List Should Be Your “F*ck It” List

Waiting until it’s the “right time” is for fools

Chris Mielke, PMP
6 min readJun 8, 2024

--

Photo by Usman Yousaf on Unsplash

After 30 years of teaching grade school, my mom retired at 64. Two months later, doctors diagnosed her with lymphoma.

She never saw her sixty-fifth birthday.

I remember talking with her about her “bucket list.” She would walk me through a lovingly handwritten journal. She did this while she told me about the exotic trips she would take when she left the job.

She never got an opportunity to realize those dreams, which was agonizing.

This article is a call to action so you never end up regretting a second of your life.

Waiting is a prelude to dying

The “bucket list” concept has been a catchphrase for over two decades. It needs an extensive overhaul.

It was coined in 1999. It’s been the darling of bad movies. It’s a crutch for people who need to jot down their life’s goals as if they’re going grocery shopping.

The bucket list lacks urgency.

Instead of making lists attached to the fridge with a magnet, which gathers dust, you need to focus on purposeful living.

--

--

Chris Mielke, PMP

I write about technology. I cross the streams with AI and project management in my newsletter here: bit.ly/3vTTjZl