How I use buckets to put a fence around my freedom
I left my corporate career to do an experiment. For the next six months, I’m testing whether I can build a life around creating things I genuinely enjoy. Here’s how I do it.
I left my corporate career last month, and in order to feel some level of control and not spiral into doom scrolling all day, wasting my precious freedom, I have decided to split my new venture into four buckets:
Build, Make, Fund, Play
Bucket 1: Build
This my personal brand, on multiple platforms, in different formats. Right now, my focus is Instagram, but I’m cross posting some things on TikTok
I’m also trying to get into long form on Substack (oh hi!) and YouTube.
It’s a pretty ambitious set-up, I know. Keeping up with four platforms can easily become a full-time gig on its own, and so far, there is zero income in sight on here, so we’ll see how it goes…
In essence, this bucket is all about building my audience, sharing my ideas and seeing what people connect with.
Bucket 2: Make
This is where I turn things I already know into actual products. For example, I’m creating printables for book lovers on Etsy.
I also have ten years worth of knowledge about mindset, strategy and marketing floating around in my head, so I want to experiment with turning some of that into useful resources too.
Bucket 3: Fund
This bucket has one job — to fund this experiment. That’s it. So right now, I’m teaching an e-commerce course as a freelance project. It pays for my essential living expenses, which takes a bit of pressure off the other buckets.
I want to take my time figuring out what I really enjoy and what has the best potential long term. If I chase the easiest income sources from day one, it’s too easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.
That’s why this bucket is key, but I’m not giving it any more energy than it needs to keep me afloat.
Bucket 4: Play
This is the best bucket — and it’s for creativity with no goal or target attached to it.
It’s my ADHD sandbox so to speak, where I get to try things and just have fun with them without turning them into a monetisation project.
Recording music sits in this bucket right now.
How I use the buckets
Once the buckets are in action, it’s a whole lot easier to divide my various tasks into them. I colour code them accordingly (because I love being organised) and use placeholders in my Google Calendar to make sure each bucket gets dedicated time. Otherwise, it’s very easy for one bucket to take over completely.
So for the next six months, that’s the experiment:
I build something,
I make things,
I fund the process,
and I leave enough room to play
If you work for yourself, particularly if you’ve got several ventures going on, I’d love to know how you structure your time and energy.
