Scratch that itch off your bucket list

Breaking routine

Most of us have a “things to do list” which comprises adventure activities or places to visit. However, owing to the humdrum of our daily lives, majority of these things remain ‘unchecked’ on the list. Describing such lists as “itch lists”, Smriti Modi, who confesses to being driven about knocking things off her own list, started The Itch List, a platform that “pokes, nudges, pricks you to get going on the things you’re itching to do”.

“After I started earning enough I naturally got more active about pursuing my wishes. I travelled to many states and countries, did a course in paragliding, jumped off a plane, climbed some mountains, jumped off some, took up cycling, started my own blog and did a lot of things that I longed for. Somehow I did most of this alone and definitely none of this with my closest friends. I could see that everyone was itching to do a lot beyond their nine to five jobs, but more often than not, those ‘things’ remained as unfulfilled dreams which they would hopefully pursue ‘someday’,” she says.

Soon she began nagging her friends to do the stuff on their ‘someday-list’, and it was while doing the same that the seed for The Itch List germinated. Started in September 2014, the platform goes beyond a website — it is a concerted effort to motivate like-minded people to take control of their lives.

“The Itch List works in a multidimensional manner. The website works as a community of supporters (buddies) who ‘cheer’ for your dreams, can add valuable information about how to scratch it if they have already done it, and inspire each other to add more dreams and help achieve them. Setting a deadline is a way to remind yourself of the pending goals and add urgency. The blog (Stories of Us) is a place where we curate content that is relevant to our users — stories of inspiring adventurers, tips on how to get over the fear of leaving your comfort zone and even information regarding popular itches that are trending on the site and even prompts offbeat ideas,” she tells Metrolife.

The initiative, which won the Courtyard by Marriot’s ‘Young Entrepreneur Challenge’ in December 2014, has over 9,000 likes on its Facebook page and 288 followers on Twitter. On being asked if her project can be called a social network for those who believe in fulfilling their dreams, she answered with a definitive yes.

“It is a place to meet and discuss with like-minded people to share ideas and adventures. No more complacency or excuses — this is a network of people who are actively taking their destiny into their own hands and are living under the plague of wanderlust and new adventures,” says Modi, adding that some of the interesting “itches” she has come across includes ‘bungee jump over an active volcano’ and ‘polar plunge’ which involves dipping into frigid waters in the middle of winter.