My Reverse Bucket List: The Writing Edition

How to feel accomplished AF

Photo by Bich Tran on Pexels

I delved into my reverse bucket list over on Medium this week. Big thanks to

Chris Guillebeau

for giving me the idea. A reverse bucket list is similar to a traditional bucket list but instead of focusing on all the awesome things you’d like to do, you recap all the awesome things you’ve already done.

It makes you feel accomplished and proud of your achievements, but also gives you a springboard for developing goals for the future. Knowing everything you’ve achieved so far helps you feel you can pursue big goals in the future. (And you’ve probably achieved more than you think already, so give it a go).

One of the great things about a reverse bucket list is that it’s all about you. It lets you look at all your milestones and achievements so far, in isolation, without feeling the need to compare yourself to those ahead of (or behind) you. It’s just a list. You don’t have to show it to anyone (unless you want to) so you can put everything on there that feels like a big deal to you, even if it wouldn’t be to someone else.

I’m not new to writing about bucket lists. I’ve already shared 100 things you might want to put on your writing bucket list. Because breaking up your bucket list into themes (like writing, travel, education, and personal growth) can bring some extra focus to the exercise, and inspire you to think about goals across the different areas of your life you care about most.

There can be some cross-over of course. If you have “attend a writing retreat” on your writing bucket list, and “visit Costa Rica” on your travel bucket list, and a writing retreat in Costa Rica just happens to fall into your news feed, that’s the Universe trying to tell you something.

Here’s some of what’s on my reverse bucket list: the writing edition (in no particular order):

• Became a published writer, online and off

• Wrote several million words

• Published most of them

• Got published in the Washington Post

• Got published in the Sydney Morning Herald, New Zealand Herald, Gulf News, Business Report, Independent Online, MSN, and many others.

• Published multiple eBooks

• Sold over 10,000 copies of them (Oops, that article says 7,000 - need to update it)

• Published a bestselling-in-category Kindle book

• Got a few short stories published, and won an award with one of them

• Developed around ten different writing related income streams

• Launched my Freelance Writer’s Success Kit and a whole storefront of other digital products

• Put my reading addiction to good use by writing book reviews, summaries and articles about books

• Started five different blogs (and just quit the last three, all at once)

• Built an email list of more than 2,000 subscribers

• Built an audience of around 25,000 followers (and made lots of writing friends) on Medium

• Featured as a top writer on Medium on multiple topics

• Had single articles on Medium earn over $2,000

• Started building a community of world-changing writers here on Substack

• Attracted around 600 Substack subscribers so far

Your action tips

• Write your own reverse bucket list focused on your writing, or your life in general if you prefer. It’s fun.

• Use that as a springboard to write your traditional bucket list (writing-focused or general).

• Feel free to tag me in your published bucket lists, or share your top five bucket list items in the comments (go here if you’re reading this in your inbox)

Some thoughts from others I’ve been enjoying this week

• Unlocking Success: How Writers Can Improve Their Social Media Strategy by BadRedheadMedia, LLC

• Your Publication Needs Work: But Where To Start? by

  Karen Cherry

• Getting paid to do the work you love is like retiring early by Alex Mathers

• Invest in your unique creative voice by Dan Blank

• 9 Things I’ve Learned About Growth & Self-Promotion (From Someone Who Would Rather Just Write) by David McIlroy

• Finding Your Target Audience and Niche by

  Susie Winfield

• 5 Ways To Consistently Promote Your Books by

  J.R. Heimbigner

What else I’ve been up to this week

Reading: Globalization and Borders: Death at the Global Frontier (this is one of my daughter’s university textbooks that was just lying around - I picked it up to have a leaf through and couldn’t put it down).

Listening to: The Martian audio book

Enjoying: Having family around two weekends in a row

Not enjoying: Getting tax paperwork prepped

This week’s Medium posts

(Friend links, of course, so you can read for free):

• I‘ve Been Writing a Reverse Bucket List

• Five of the Most Poorly Targeted Marketing Emails I’ve Received

That’s all for this week. If you’re reading this online, feel free to subscribe to get future posts straight to your inbox.

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