Make the Most of the Rest of 2017 With This End-of-the-Year Bucket List

Can you believe it is already December? It’s crazy how fast the year has flown! We have just a few weeks left before we usher in a new year, and It is certainly tempting to just give up already. However, this is not the time for being a couch potato. There really are a number of the things you can do to enrich your life between now and December 31st. You still have time to do some of the things you wanted to do before the end of the year. You also still have the time to make a difference in your life and the life of others.

Here are 20 things you can do to maximize the end of the year:

• Visit another city or country

Travel is the best gift you can give yourself.  The experiences you gain are worth so much more than any material gift! Perhaps you have spent the whole year trying to grow a business or career,  studying or building your family and you have had very little time for a break in between. Visiting a city or country will give you a chance to get away from everything, relax, reflect and put things back in perspective

• Learn a new skill or habit

It is never too late to upgrade yourself. Use the remaining days in the year to learn something new. Challenge yourself. It could be something as easy as a DIY craft or as complicated as learning a new language. You could set a small weekly goal for the rest of the year and do it.

• Teach someone you know a new skill

You still can impact someone’s life in these remaining days. What are you most talented at? What skills do you have? You can share them with someone who is clueless or struggling in that area. It could as simple as teaching them to cook a meal, to drive a car or as complicated as teaching them how to use an app.

• Clean out your wardrobe, store or your garage

Take out time to tidy up your home and rid it of all the items you no longer need. Raid your wardrobe and clear out all the clothes that no longer fit or are no longer in vogue. Also, comb your store or garage and dig out all the old gifts you never used or items you were going to repair but never did. Doing all these will give you more room and l also bring a measure of satisfaction.

• Have a technology-free weekend

Can you remember any day in the year that passed without you using your phone, laptop or iPad? Probably not a day! Switch off your devices. Take a time –a day or two- out to unplug and focus on your emotional and mental needs. Reflect on your proudest accomplishment of the year.Think about a moment you’re least proud of and make the weekend’s focus figuring out how to improve.

• Read a book you’ve always wanted to read.

Pick up the book that has been on the shelf, flip off the dust, turn its pages and actually finally read it from start to finish. Stop putting it off. Set out a number of hours to immerse yourself in it. If you feel like you will not have the time no matter, you can download the audio version and listen to it while you commute or are engaged in little chores.

• Try a new look on your next night out.

Maybe you are not into fashion and beauty…or maybe you are. Whatever the case, dare yourself of these nights and try a completely new look. Something different from your usual. you don’t have to go as far as dying your care of shaving it off. You could just go for the kind of clothes you swore never to wear or better…steal a celebrity look. Doing this will not only be fun, it will be invigorating and boost your confidence.

• Donate money to a church or charity

It is easier to give out stuff you do not want any more, than giving out money, and that is understandable. But just because certain economic factors may have had an impact on you this year, does not mean that you should put off your own charitable efforts.  Donating money to a church or charity will make you feel better and add more meaning to your life. It also creates opportunities for you to make a real impact on those causes you believe in.

• Re-connect with an old friend

Take out time to finally go through with plans to meet with the friend you’ve been meaning to meet up with for so long it could. It could also be a friend you had a fight or misunderstanding with. Try to mend any broken relationships or friendships

• Make a new friend

If you feel like you have no old friend to reconnect with, and then make a new one! Step out of your comfort zone. Enlarge your social circle. Grab lunch with a co-worker you’ve never talked to. Invite the neighbor downstairs for movie night. Go see a movie with the friendly dude in the group chat. Interact with someone knew.

• Pay your debts

You really do not want to step into the New Year with debt hanging over your neck. Do a proper accounting, make a list of the people you owe and make a plan on how to pay them back. Even if you cannot make everything back, make an effort. In the case where you are owing something other than money: maybe a promise to your mom to lunch, or you promised to deliver a birthday gift, set out a date to fulfill that promise/debt before the new year.

• Try a new workout

Change your workout routine. If you have been focused on aerobics all year, shake things up. Give your routine a twist. Try Yoga. Try Spinning. You can hire a personal trainer for a day or resort to the so many apps available online with helpful tips. You may even find something that works better for you.

• Give someone a surprise gift

Surprise someone with a gift. Do it at a random moment, when the person is least suspecting. Surprise gifts work like magic, you could make the person’s year with that single act. You don’t have to spend a fortune on the gift. You just have to make sure that the gift is something the person would like though. This means that you will have to at least engage in subtle research, or gift something with sentimental meaning.

• Spend time with your family

Make out time to be with your family before the ends. You could visit them or invite them over to your place. Ask them about their lives. Give them the chance to share their stories with you and let them in on what you have been through all year as well, the good and the bad. You can also just have a group call with your family members and tell them you love them.

• Host a dinner party

Let you year finish with a bang. It doesn’t have to be your birthday and you do not have to be celebrating something for you to organize a nice dinner for you and your closest friends. You could cook up a storm in your kitchen and invite them over, or you could invite everyone to a favorite spot and take the bill.  The moment of fun and laughter will be one of your best memories of the year when it eventually ends.

• Eliminate one unhealthy habit for the rest of the year

This sounds very much like making a resolution, but it doesn’t have to be dramatic. It is you making a healthy decision for yourself and you do not have to wait until the next year to get on with it. Pick a habit that has been detrimental to your health all year and makes a firm decision to cut it off. It could be eating ice cream every night before you go to bed or buying food from random roadside joints.

• Find someone to mentor you

The year may be winding up, but you do not have to wait till next year to find a mentor. Finding a mentor towards the end of the year is even much better as he can see where you may have had problems all through the year and where you need to improve. He has experiences you can learn from to prevent making the same mistakes beginners make. Basically, Finding a mentor will be a great step towards stimulating your personal and professional growth.

• Write a “thank you” note

Gratitude is the attitude you should be having at this time of the year. Make a list of all the people who have added colour to your life this year and pen a heartfelt thank you note to them. Doing this will make both you and the receiver feel great about yourselves. Also, it may create new opportunities for you in the new year.

• Make or create something

It could be as simple as making a painting, sewing a hair band or creating a new recipe. Let your creative juices flow and you could end up with a winner. It is also a great chance to spend quality ‘alone’ time before you get trapped in the events of the holiday season.

• Think of how you can make 2018 your best year yet

Take some time to meditate and go over your year. Note the mistakes you may have made and why. Also, note down the ideas you have for making better moves in the new you. While you engage in these thoughts, do not forget to write them down in a journal for reference.

Bottom line: Each day you are presented with a new opportunity to make a difference in your own life and in the lives of others. The year may be almost over and some of your chances are already gone, but still can make a difference in the days left!

Would you add/remove something from this list? Tell us which of the items on the list you are going to do in the comments below!

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