200 Lists To Make, To Boost Your Mood & Organize Life

Looking for some fun lists to make when bored, to boost your mood or to get organized? Come join me as I detail every type of list you can make in various areas of your life.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been a big fan of making lists – lists of all kinds. Like journaling, making lists is a great way to reflect on life, fill your time and get organized.

So, today I share with you a list of the very best lists to make when you’re bored, looking to daydream or want to get your life sorted out.

The Power of Creating Lists, Especially When Bored

Wonder why making lists is fun? You may love writing a good list but what are the benefits of writing lists?

1. You’ll Get Organized & Reduce Stress

Getting organized also means reducing stress. Many times we tend to ruminate when we have too many things on our minds.

It can feel overwhelming and the things you may think you need to do could seem way bigger than they actually are. 

Once you make a list though you could very well find that what you need to do is very much achievable.

2. Time for Reflection

Writing lists lets you dig into your deepest wishes, dreams and plans for the future. It provides a time to reflect on what matters most to you.

3. Get Creative

Writing lists can spark your creativity, whether it’s through creative ideas or being creative with how you write lists – think bullet journal.

4. Sense of Accomplishment

The simple act of list-making provides a sense of accomplishment.

It also sets you up with the right mindset to move forward past the list – meaning reading the book, planning that vacation or getting organized for the week.

5. It’s Better Than Mindlessly Scrolling

So often when we’re bored, we just pick up our phones and scroll. So, instead, let’s pick up a pen and write. It’s something you can do to be more productive and still unwind.

4 Tips For Making Lists

What’s the best way to get started with writing new lists? Here are a few things to consider…

1. Get Creative

• Choose a notebook you love
• Try some bullet journaling techniques to write your lists in a more visual way
• Use colourful pens that spark joy
• Add some stickers or other scrapbooking materials to get more creative

2. Do it for Enjoyment

If you start creating a ton of to-do lists, trust me, the overwhelm and stress will follow. So pace yourself. 

Start with one to-do list then make the rest fun.

3. Categorize

Whether you’re writing a standard to-do list, writing goals or creating your ultimate travel bucket list I highly recommend categorizing your ideas. 

In the to-do list example, you’ll want to list specific items in categories that make sense – i.e. home, work, kids, etc.

For the travel bucket list, you could categorize by continent.

Similarly, for a quarterly goals list (for work) you might want to categorize by project or by goal.

4. Use The Best Tool For You

You might love the idea of writing lists in a notebook, but if everything else in your life is digital, it might make more sense to use an app like Todoist to keep it online.

Here are the tools you can use to write lists:

• Bullet journal
• Notebook
• Printable list templates like this one
• Use a to-do list app like Trello or Todoist
• Use a journal like The 52 Lists Project

200 Fun Lists To Make When You’re Bored

In this article I’m breaking down the types of lists you can make into the following categories:

• Lists To Boost Your Mood
• Personal growth lists
• Favourite things lists
• Organizational lists
• Home organization lists
• Goal focused lists
• Bucket lists to make
• Lists for work
• Hobbies
• More fun lists to make

Lists To Boost Your Mood

1. Affirmation lists – get inspiration with these affirmations to get you started
2. Little things that bring you joy, focusing on your 5 senses
3. Traits you love about yourself
4. Happy memories
5. Things you’re proud of accomplishing
6. Detailed gratitude list – everything you’re thankful for in life
7. Feel good list – everything that makes you feel good, from little to big
8. Make a list of people you love and why you love them
9. Weekly self-care activities
10. List empowering words that describe you
11. Tasks you’ve completed each day – the opposite of a to-do list – more like a tada list!
12. Things you loved doing as a kid
13. Things you love doing now
14. Quirks you love about yourself
15. List your strengths
16. 10 things you’re looking forward to this year
17. Ways your younger self would be proud of who you are today
18. Things you’re passionate about
19. Your ideal bedtime routine
20. Qualities that make you unique
21. Reasons your life is beautiful

Personal Growth Lists

1. Struggles you have overcome
2. Good deeds and random acts of kindness you can do
3. List of hobbies and activities you’d like to try
4. Things you’ll start saying no to
5. Things you’ll start saying yes to (since you’ve freed up more time by saying no!)
6. Habits to track – grab my free printable habit tracker to get started.
7. Your ultimate morning routine
8. Things you can control in life – your actions, thoughts, what you eat, etc.
9. Fun things to add to your daily schedule
10. List your values and beliefs – whatever you stand for
11. List what you’d like to communicate to others but haven’t yet
12. Good habits you want to introduce into your life
13. Bad habits you want to reduce
14. Current good habits you’re proud of
15. Write a worries list – I used to do this every morning. Once I wrote the list it literally felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders
16. Things you take for granted
17. List your personal boundaries & why they matter
18. List how you can love yourself more today
19. Things you need to let go of in life 
20. Write a list of people or resources you can go to for support, if you’re having a bad day

Favorite Things Lists

1. Favorite singers or bands
2. Favorite songs or albums
3. Favorite movies and documentaries
4. Countries visited
5. Travel destinations
6. Favorite books – Good Reads is great for this
7. Favorite authors
8. Wines or wineries
9. Beers or breweries
10. Recipes
11. Inspiring quotes
12. Favorite bible verses
13. Favorite winter or summer activities
14. Campsites
15. Family traditions
16. Favorite people
17. Favorite essential oils and oil blends
18. Board games
19. Summer recipes
20. Winter recipes
21. Spring recipes
22. Fall recipes
23. Favorite teas of coffee
24. Favorite websites

Organizational Lists

1. Master to-do list – a snapshot of all things from paying bills, meetings and tasks to complete
2. Project list – list every task that needs to be completed for each stage of the project
3. Due dates
4. Daily to-do list – so you can stay on track with your daily tasks
5. Birthdays
6. Important dates – family events, appointments
7. Gift ideas – shopping lists for birthdays, Christmas, etc
8. Brain dump
9. Create a monthly checklist
10. Password lists – just keep it in a safe place
11. Brilliant ideas list – these are the things that pop up when you’re doing something else. Instead of going down a rabbit hole and starting that other task, instead add the idea to your brilliant ideas list. You can keep the list nearby at your desk in hard copy or as an ongoing list in your Google Drive.
12. Calls to make
13. Packing list when travelling
14. Things you’ve been putting off
15. Things that can save you time
16. Productivity and organizational skills to learn
17. Articles or blog posts to read
18. Emails to send

Home Organization Lists

1. List of things to sell or donate
2. Weekly/monthly cleaning lists
3. Seasonal maintenance lists
4. Kids schedule
5. Chores list for the whole family
6. Grocery list
7. Favorite meals to make – or family favorites – this could help you with meal planning and dinner time.
8. Go-to snacks list
9. Pantry inventory list
10. Freezer inventory list
11. Favorite places for take-out
12. List of free family activities
13. Home renovation list
14. Declutter checklist
15. Expenses list
16. Monthly bills list with due dates
17. List of family member’s medications
18. Car maintenance log

Goal Focused Lists

1. Summer bucket list
2. Winter/Christmas bucket list
3. Family bucket list
4. Relationship bucket list
5. Date night bucket list
6. Concerts to attend
7. Travel bucket list – big list of all the places you want to go
8. Vacation bucket list – list for a specific trip
9. Hiking bucket list
10. Things to do before you die – or turn a certain age
11. Festivals and events to attend
12. Foods to try
13. Best friend bucket list – of all the things you’ll do together
14. Adventure bucket list – crazy things you want to do
15. Wild animal bucket list – of animals you want to see in the wild
16. Local bucket list – of things to do and see in your own city
17. Monthly bucket list
18. Celebrities to meet
19. Marathons to run around the world
20. List of day trips to take

Lists For Work

1. Blog post ideas
2. Project ideas
3. Meetings to book
4. Training to take
5. Daily to-do’s
6. Goal lists – see goals section above for details
7. Process list
8. List of coworkers to go to for help – great if you’re a new employee
9. Big wins list – always good to share this with the boss!
10. List of negative interactions – it’s sad to say, but always good to have a list like this to protect yourself or share with HR
11. List of tasks to complete in 10 minutes or less
12. Make a list of things you’re grateful for within your work environment
13. New skills you’d like to learn
14. Accomplishments needed to get a promotion or find a new job
15. Companies you’d like to work for
16. New job ideas
17. Jobs you’ve applied to
18. Work skills you’d like to improve
19. Goals and to-do list to start your own business
20. Entrepreneurs that inspire you
21. Networking list – list people you can network with and upcoming networking events

Hobbies Lists

1. Things to collect and items you’ve already collected
2. Plants to grow in your garden
3. Books to read
4. New hobbies to try
5. Places you’ve been scuba diving + places you’d like to scuba dive
6. Sea life you’ve seen while scuba diving or snorkelling
7. Birds you’ve seen and where
8. Wildlife you’ve seen and where
9. List your hobbies as a kid
10. List your hobbies current hobbies
11. Steps to start a blog
12. Photos to take
13. Instruments to learn
14. Crafts to make
15. List of best hiking trails
16. List of plants to forage, when they’re in season and where to find
17. Geocaching locations
18. List of antique markets
19. Sewing patterns to try
20. Genealogy – list of new family members you’ve discovered

More fun lists to make when bored

1. Ways to save money
2. New ways to make money
3. One line a day – simply write how you’re feeling or what you’re doing in just one line
4. Weekly activities list – what you did, who you saw, etc
5. Memorable things your kids do
6. Your ideal day of eating
7. Restaurants to try
8. TV series to watch
9. Podcasts to check out
10. List of daily meals
11. Things you love about your spouse
12. List something you love about each season of the year – spring, summer, fall, winter
13. People who inspire you – famous or not
14. List of funny, embarrassing moments
15. 10 things you would bring on a deserted island
16. Things to do when bored, other than writing lists!
17. Gifts you want to buy yourself
18. Things to add to your vision board
19. Life lessons
20. List of online courses to take

What are your favorite lists to make?

What type of lists do you like to make or do you have any other fun list ideas to add to this list?

Share in the comments section below!

Related List-Making Resources:

• Monthly Checklist To Simplify Life + Free Printable
• How To Create A Self-Care Checklist + Free Printables
• The 52 List Project