A bucket list is a list of things to do before you die. Time bucketing, one of the most practical tools in Die With Zero, adds the missing piece: when. You take the experiences you want and place each one in the stretch of life when it fits best.
How to do it
- Write the list. Every experience you want to have — big or small, expensive or free, adventurous or quiet.
- Draw the buckets. Split your remaining life into five- or ten-year intervals: 30–35, 35–40, and so on.
- Place each experience. Ask when it is best done — when your body can handle it, when your kids are the right age, when you can afford it — and drop it into that bucket.
- Look at what you see. Most people discover their near-term buckets are overflowing and their later ones are thin. That is the point.
Why it changes decisions
Seen this way, waiting isn’t neutral. Skiing hard, backpacking, trips that need young knees — those cluster early. Some things that matter only exist for a few years, like the stretch when your kids still think you’re the best company in the world. Time bucketing makes those deadlines visible, so you plan for them instead of discovering them too late.
If it feels overwhelming, start with three buckets covering the next 30 years. You can always add to it.
Try a quick version
Our summers-left counter on the homepage gives you a rough count of the summers you have to work with. It’s a sobering, useful number to have in front of you when you fill the buckets.
