128 Goals to Put On Your Deployment Bucket List

Alright… so you’re ready to create your deployment bucket list! You know why it’s important (and if you don’t, here’s a quick reminder), and you know how to make a series of goals for yourself. Now, you just need to do it!

But that blank piece of paper is awfully intimidating, huh?

I get it. I was there, too.

But believe it or now, during John’s deployment, I was able to come up with 100 bucket list items. Each one was something I wanted to do. Some of them would take just a few minutes or hours to do. Others were deployment-long challenges to myself. But I was excited for the challenge of doing each thing and the reward of checking it off my list.

These deployment bucket list goals will give you a jumping off point. After all, the more personal you make your list, the more excited you will be to try some of the items on it. Don’t copy and paste this list. Instead, use it as a way to think of your own more personal goals. What excites you? What gives you joy? What are you curious about?

Think about those questions, look through this list, and then begin writing your own amazingly awesome deployment bucket list!

Creative

• Read [book title].
• Read all of [chosen author’s] books.
• Make a Christmas ornament.
• Make a birthday present for your deployed loved one.
• Go to a live concert.
• Go to a local art museum.
• See a traveling art exhibit.
• Go on a photo safari.
• Attend live theater.
• Sign up for an open mic night.
• Write a poem.
• Write a short story.
• Write a song.
• Draw something every day for a week.
• Make an herb garden.
• Get a tattoo.
• Complete a puzzle.
• Create a recipe binder.
• Watch [your choice of movie].
• Make a scrapbook.
• Try a new recipe.
• Create a flower arrangement.
• Write a book.
• Attend a gallery opening.
• Enter a contest.
• Attend a murder mystery dinner.
• Go to the movies by yourself.

Career and Finances

• Update your resume.
• Create a LinkedIn profile.
• Update your LinkedIn profile
• Find a career mentor.
• Apply for a dream job.
• Create a professional website for yourself.
• Find and subscribe to a professional newsletter or journal in your career field.
• Write a business plan.
• Apply for an LLC.
• Apply for a speaking engagement in your field.
• Apply for an award in your field.
• Write and submit an article to a publication in your field.
• Inventory your finances.
• Save [choose amount] every month.
• Challenge yourself to a no-buy month.
• Challenge yourself to a no-eating-out month.
• Cut cable.
• Cut unnecessary bills.
• Begin saving for retirement (if you haven’t yet).
• Plan and save for an after-deployment vacation.
• Begin college funds for your kids.
• Start a change jar and plan to do something fun with it when it’s full.
• Donate to charity.
• Find and join a cash mob.
• Call companies you purchase services from (insurance, entertainment, etc.) and negotiate lower rates.
• Begin saving for your forever home.
• Pay off a credit card bill.
• Pay off a portion (or all) of a student loan debt.
• Complete a certification that will advance you professionally.
• Add a Google alert for your name.
• Apply to college.

Health and Fitness

• Run a 5K.
• Run a half-marathon.
• Run a marathon.
• Try zumba.
• Exercise every day for a month.
• Try Whole 30.
• Try Crossfit.
• Try [fitness regimen].
• Try [diet regimen].
• Learn how to deadlift.
• Learn how to [fitness skill].
• Make a completely carb-less meal.
• Go vegetarian for a week.
• Go vegan for a week.
• Cut all red meats from your diet for one month.
• Go ice-skating.
• Go inline skating.
• Go skiing.
• Go surfing.
• Go wakeboarding.
• Hike a trail.
• Hike [chosen number of trails].
• Run/walk [chosen number of miles].
• Spend 10 minutes outside a day for a month.
• Go ziplining.
• Go rock-climbing.
• Go indoor sky-diving.
• Go paintballing.

Relationships

• Write your loved one a letter every day for one month.
• Write your loved one a letter every day for the entire deployment.
• Make one themed care package a month.
• Write each of your children a letter.
• Write a note to someone in your life once a month.
• Send a postcard to a friend.
• Make a phone date with someone you haven’t had a chance to connect with in a long time.
• Host a family reunion.
• Plan a girls’ night with friends.
• Start a new holiday tradition with your family.
• Create and send Open When letters.

Skills

• Brush up on a language you took in high school or college.
• Learn how to sew.
• Learn how to code.
• Learn how to bake.
• Try your hand at origami.
• Learn how to cook.
• Learn how to change a tire.
• Learn how to play guitar.
• Take vocal lessons.
• Take an art class.
• Enroll in a community college course.
• Attend a lecture at a local college, bookstore, or library.
• Teach someone else how to [insert skill]
• Learn how to [insert skill].
• Learn metalsmithing.
• Learn how to garden.
• Learn how to perform a magic trick.
• Take an improv class.
• Learn how to make your signature cocktail.
• Learn how to make ice cream.
• Learn how to make a dish from another culture.

Experiences

• Visit a new restaurant in your town.
• Visit a veteran-owned small business you’ve never been to.
• Hold a snake.
• Go to a community event you normally wouldn’t attend.
• Get a massage.
• Take a mud bath.
• Order room service.
• Do the Polar Bear Plunge.
• Recreate a childhood picture.
• Do some genealogical research on your family.

More Bucket List Help:

• Here’s Why Milspouses Need a Deployment Bucket List
• How to Write a Deployment Bucket List That Doesn’t Suck
• 60 Holiday-Inspired Deployment Bucket List Goals