Dream List Template: Free, by Life Area, With a First Step

A dream list is everything you would like your life to include, written down in one place. Most people keep it in their head, where it stays vague. On paper it does two jobs: it shows you what you actually want, and it shows which dream you could start on this month.

This page has a free dream list template you can copy or download as a spreadsheet, a filled-in example, prompts for each life area if you get stuck, and a short routine for turning one dream into a goal with steps.

Dream list, bucket list, goal list: the difference

The words overlap, and that's fine. The difference is mostly how far each list is from action.

A dream list is the widest of the four. It can hold bucket list items, long-term wishes and changes to everyday life. It's where goals come from: you pick a dream, give it a date and a measure, and it becomes a goal.

The dream list template

The template has six columns. Only the first is required; fill the rest in later passes.

Download it: dream list template as a spreadsheet (CSV). It opens in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice, with the eight life areas filled in and 20 rows.

Prefer paper? The free bucket list template is a form you fill in on screen and print, sorted into categories. It works as a dream list too.

What each column is for:

• Dream. Written specifically enough to picture. "Travel" is too wide; "a month in Japan" is a dream.
• Life area. So you can see at a glance whether the list is all travel and no people, or all work and no fun.
• Why it matters to me. One line. If you can't write one, the dream may belong to someone else's list.
• When. Only three choices: this year, in one to three years, or someday. Exact dates come later, when a dream becomes a goal.
• Smallest first step. Something you could do in under an hour this week: look up a price, send one message, book one lesson.
• First step done. The date you did it. This column is how you'll know the list is moving.

How to fill it in: three passes

Don't try to fill every column at once. Three short passes work better than one long one.

1. Write fast for 15 minutes. Put down every dream you can think of, without judging. Aim for at least 20. Small ones count ("learn to make bread") as much as big ones ("start a business"). Use the prompts below if you stall.
2. Add the why and the when. Go down the list and write one line of why for each dream, then pick this year, one to three years, or someday. Cross out any dream with no honest why.
3. Write first steps for three dreams. Choose three dreams marked "this year" and write the smallest first step for each. Do one of them this week and put the date in the last column.

A filled-in example

Here is part of one person's list after all three passes.

Two things to notice. "Someday" dreams have no first step, and that's fine: they stay on the list until you're ready to move them. And the list mixes very different sizes, from a weekly phone call to moving house. A dream list should.

Prompts for each life area

If the first pass dries up, go through these questions one area at a time.

• Travel and places. Where have you wanted to go since you were young? Which place would you visit again if money didn't matter?
• Skills and learning. What do you admire in other people that you could learn? Which skill would you use every week?
• Health and body. What would you like your body to be able to do in five years? What do you avoid because you feel unfit for it?
• Work and career. What work would you do if you didn't need the pay? What would you like to be known for?
• Money and home. What would make you feel secure? Where would you like to live, and in what kind of home?
• People and relationships. Who would you like to see more? Who do you owe a thank-you, or an apology?
• Creative and fun. What did you love doing as a child and stopped? What would you make if no one would judge it?
• Giving back. Which problem would you like to help with? What do you know that someone else could use?

For more ideas to borrow, see these 100 bucket list ideas by category and 50 personal goals examples.

Turn one dream into a goal

A dream list only changes your life when a dream turns into steps. Take one dream marked "this year" and do this:

1. Make it measurable and give it a date. "Hold a conversation in Spanish" becomes "hold a 10-minute conversation in Spanish with my partner's family by August". The SMART goal generator helps you phrase it.
2. Split it into three to five steps, each with a due date. Finish a beginner course by April. Do 20 conversation sessions by July. Have the 10-minute conversation in August. How to break a big goal into subgoals covers this in detail.
3. Do the first step this week. The one in your template. Momentum is easier to keep than to start.
4. Look at it once a week. Five minutes on a Sunday is enough to see which step is next. The weekly review page asks the questions.

Do this for one to three dreams at a time, not the whole list. The rest wait on the list, which is their job.

Keep the list alive

• Read it every few months. Some dreams will have stopped mattering; cross them out without guilt. New ones will have appeared.
• Move dreams between columns. A "someday" dream becomes "this year" when life makes room for it.
• Keep finished dreams on the list, ticked. A list of things you've done is a good thing to read on a bad week.

Frequently asked questions

What is a dream list?

A written list of everything you would like your life to include, from small things like learning to bake bread to big ones like living abroad. Unlike a goal list, it doesn't need dates or measures. Those come when you choose a dream to work on.

Is a dream list the same as a bucket list?

They overlap. A bucket list is usually experiences to have once, like seeing the northern lights. A dream list is wider and can also hold lasting changes, like a different job, a habit or a place to live.

How many dreams should be on a dream list?

There's no right number. Aim for at least 20 in the first pass, so you get past the obvious ones. Work on only one to three at a time.

Is there a free dream list template?

Yes. The template on this page is free: copy the table, or download it as a CSV spreadsheet. For a printable form, use the free bucket list template.

Track the dreams you start

When a dream becomes a goal, GoalTracker can hold it. Add the goal, add each step as a subgoal with a due date, and tick them off as you go; the progress bar and the weekly view show what's next. It's free and needs no account. Your goals are kept in your own browser and are not sent anywhere.