Ep 556 | Create a 90-Day Bucket List (Inspired by a 12-Year-Old)

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. The other day, I found a summer bucket list that Katie, my 12-year-old daughter, had created. And when I found it, you know, I didn't want to be too nosy, but I eventually kind of bumped into her and I said, hey, what's up with this bucket list? I want to hear more about this. And she was a little reluctant to share, but after I kind of coaxed her a little bit, she said, okay, I'll tell you about it. And so she takes me through this bucket list that she had created for the summer. And she had a few different items. I should actually— 50 items on there, so more than a few. But she had things like read a book, jump in the pool with all my clothes on, watch a sunrise, go mini golfing. She had all these different like simple, honest, and fun things there. And I was, I was kind of proud of her because I'm like, wow, that I'm really glad she gave it some thought. I, I think she probably also logged into ChatGPT and asked some questions, but just the simple fact that she had put together this list, and, and I knew that, you know, if she works on it this summer, as I'm sure she's going to do, it's going to not only bring her some joy, but I also think it'll bring her some order versus maybe sitting around just seeing what happens during the day, as a lot of kids do during the summer. But Now she has intention beyond just going to dance, which she's gonna be doing. I just really liked, really liked that. And it got me thinking. And it kind of made me realize, when's the last time I actually made a list like that? I think we outgrow, as adults, we outgrow summer break. But maybe we shouldn't outgrow this idea of looking forward to fun, ordinary, even memorable things. I think as adults, we, we fill our calendars. At least I know I do. And those calendars are usually filled with, with obligations, not with adventures. So, we kind of get stuck in default mode. We work, we eat, we work out, we sleep, repeat. And it's almost like we wait for permission to have fun because we got to wait for the vacation or wait for the holiday or whatever it may be. But what if we stopped waiting for the big trip and I think we started creating small memorable moments right now? Well, I've had this idea about the 90-day bucket list concept. I want to invite everybody here at the No Days Off Nation to create your own summer bucket list, your 90-day bucket list. Now, this isn't like the traditional lifetime list. This isn't like, I'm going to go skydiving or I'm going to see the Northern Lights. Or I'm gonna go visit southern Italy. Instead, I'm just thinking about the small things you've always wanted to do, maybe locally, the things that you can actually pull off in the next 90 days. And I want you to think of it at least as I'm thinking of it, which is as intentional joy. So for example, maybe it's watch a sunrise with coffee and no phone. Maybe it's take a spontaneous day trip on a Tuesday. Maybe it's try a new cuisine or, or a new restaurant. Maybe go 24 hours without your phone or technology. Take a class for fun like pottery, improv, boxing. Write a letter to someone who's impacted your life. Revisit a childhood hobby. Watch a classic movie you've never seen. Maybe plan a family no agenda afternoon. Maybe it's sleep outside or camp in your backyard. I think the list can go on and on. It's very specific to you. But all of those things I just mentioned and the ones probably rolling through your head right now, they could be done. They could certainly be done in the next 90 days. And there may be things that you've been thinking about, but you haven't actually committed to, hence why I'm challenging you to create the 90-day bucket list, and I'll be doing the same. I think with respect to this bucket list, you gotta mix it up a bit. Maybe it's one solo activity, one with a partner, one with the kids, one that stretches you. Like, I want mine to be pretty diverse, and as I'm working on it right now, I'm trying to create that diversity. But maybe just something to think around. I think this really matters though. All kidding aside, I know there's lots of joy here and it should be exciting, but I think there's actually deeper benefits, believe it or not. I think when we do this, we start to regain agency a bit over our time, and many of us may have lost control over our time. I think we, we could stop drifting a bit, maybe start directing. I also think we could create more stories, or at least stories that are worth telling. And not just tasks to check off like we oftentimes do. To me, this sort of exercise, I'm thinking about it, and I think about the 5 types of wealth. I think this builds an emotional wealth of sorts, not just financial wealth. This could build social wealth, not just financial wealth, right? Like, there's, there's other components to wealth that are created here. I think for me, as I've been writing my list and working on it, And I'll eventually publish this list just for the heck of it, but I found that it's kind of rekindled some curiosity for me. It's made me, you know, aim to be a bit more creative. As I'm writing this, I start to experience some anticipation, and that anticipation is translating into some increased happiness, which is kind of interesting. I'm starting to think, gosh, that I'm going to get to play a little bit here and not just perform as I typically look to do. I'm actually feeling, as I'm looking at this, maybe an opportunity to create a bit more presence, which is a shift in focus from my daily, you know, focus on productivity. And lastly, I think that, you know, I think I'm going to strengthen some relationships potentially, and that, that'll be a really interesting opportunity. So here's my thoughts in terms of how to create your list, right, that you need to make easy and you need to make this process actionable so you do it. So here's how I'm thinking about creating the 90-day list. Here's how I started doing it, and I want to, you know, just put that out to you. I'm sure you could figure out a great way to do it as well, but for me, uh, I set a timer. I gave myself 15 minutes with no distractions and just started writing down different thoughts that I had. I aim to kind of write down 15 things that would bring me joy and variety and meaning. And I kept reminding myself, this has to be doable in the next 90 days. So I wrote down 15 things, then I took those things, I plugged them in the ChatGPT. I gave him— I gave Chat my idea around this bucket list and said, you know, which of these, uh, could I build upon, as well as given this list And given kind of the, the themes here, knowing that I want to create more joy, variety, and meaning, what would you add? I was aiming to create a list of 50, and I'll probably pare it down to about 30. And then my intention is to pick, you know, 1 to 2 or even 3 things a week as the summer gets going and just do them. I'm not going to wait for perfect timing. I'm going to share the list with my family. You know, my wife, the kids, probably some friends, probably the entire No Days Off Nation for some accountability. And then every like few weeks, I'm going to check in and see what's left and maybe what I revise or change and what surprised me. I can't wait to do this. I really think it's going to be a blast. So my goal, my goal is again to create a bit more joy and more presence and just do something different. I don't think, you know, for me, I need a plane ticket to feel alive, and that's sort of my default, to go spend money on something. I don't think that's necessarily what we need to do here. We don't need this extravagan— you know, extravagant trip or anything like that. I think we just need intention, maybe a little courage, and a reminder that fun and meaning and magic can actually exist in the next 90 days if we design for it. So my challenge to everyone here at No Days Off Create your list this week. Create your list, then go to work. Start making it happen. For many of us, I mean, hey, it's— my kids are about to get out of school. Um, I know some of you, your kids will be getting out of school here soon, and that's kind of when we, we consider summer starting. So maybe it's not starting for you like this week, but in the coming weeks you're going to launch. So my challenge: create that list and get ready for takeoff. And if you have some kids, maybe, maybe ask them to create a list as well. You might be surprised what they teach you about joy. I was certainly surprised by, by reviewing, reviewing Katie's list with her. That's all I have for you today in the No Days Off podcast. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it. [MUSIC] [MUSIC]