Productivity or Fulfillment? Lists and Buckets

As an avid consumer of media, I was quite intrigued by MTV’s latest show, The Buried Life. The premise of the show is really quite simple:

Four regular guys on a mission to complete a list of ’100 things to do before you die’, and to help and encourage others to go after their own lists.

Apparently, I was not the only one at Syracuse to become interested in this show. Lauren Tousignant beat me to the punch with an opinion piece in the Daily Orange. She offers an interesting alternative to MTV’s proposition: focus on what you’ve already achieved, not an impossible-to-complete list.

I quickly realized I didn’t have the time, money or traveling companions that “The Buried Life” boys were fortunate enough to find, and I don’t know anyone who does. Actually, I think the whole idea of a bucket list is a setup for disappointment.

I’m not sure that Lauren and I agree – but I can definitely see where she’s coming from.

One problem is that today’s society, with it’s connectivity, pace, and scale, has helped to create the unrealistic expectations that Lauren points to in her article. I mean, really – want to start a company and have it be worth one billion dollars in only three years? Totally doable. Want to spend a whole summer in a huge house on the beach with your friends, and get paid to do it? Also doable (thanks, MTV!). It’s not hard to see how someone’s list could grow to an unrealistic length and scope.

But – what are we to do? Give up entirely? Rest on our laurels? No. Instead, I offer that what we should focus on is finding our own balance between going all out (i.e. The Bucket List) and simply looking at what we’ve already done.

It’s not as hard as it sounds, actually. There are two key principles that will keep you on the right track:

Decide what is the most important thing to do today. Then, make sure you get that thing done.
If you aren’t happy doing what you’re doing, either do something else, or be content in the knowledge that you’re doing it for a bigger reason.

As for Rule 1, getting the most important thing of the day done generates the needed satisfaction that has driven Lauren away from the Buried Life model. Once you get the most important thing of the day done, then everything else is a bonus.

Rule 2 is an important concession to the fact that not everything that we must do is fun, or exciting, or rewarding. Just because you have bills to pay doesn’t mean that work can’t be fun – find a new job that you enjoy more. Not the right time to change jobs? Start a side job using your skills and abilities. By empowering yourself to control your situation as much as possible, the other things (fulfillment, productivity, etc.) will begin to fall into place.

The point of these shows, movies, and blog posts are to live the life that you want to live, however that may be. Reflection is a simple, yet amazingly powerful tool, and a great place to start.

On that note, I’m happy to be joining the iSchool’s blogging team. I look forward to contributing more posts about the things that I’m interested in: information policy, productivity, information literacy, consumer advocacy, information security, and a few non-technical topics for good measure.

Have your own thoughts about Bucket Lists? Be sure to share them in the comments!

Shay Colson

Originally from Viola, Idaho, Shay Colson tells people he's from Seattle, because more people know where Seattle is than Viola, Idaho. A graduate of the University of Washington, Shay spent two years working for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office prior to enrolling at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies. While at Syracuse, Shay has grown to adopt the information field as his own. His interests include information policy, information security, and the societal implications of technological interactions. When not blogging at Information Space, Shay writes on his own blog at shaycolson.com, and tweets frequently. Shay completed his MS in Information Management, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Information Security Management, in May 2010. He is currently employed as a Cybersecurity Engineer for the United States Department of the Treasury, and now lives and works in Seattle, Washington. You can contact him directly at sccolson@syr.edu.