101 | 1001

Accomplishing 101 Things in 1001 Days…

The 1001 Day Project is a goal-setting meme that challenges you to focus on your priorities, have fun and get stuff done without being so rigid or overwhelming that failure is imminent from the start. I won’t go into the details of how it works, but if you are interested, you can get all of the info at Day Zero, home of the challenge.

I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions, I suppose because I’ve never had much success at carrying through with them. But I continue to make them anyway perhaps because I am an optimist, perhaps because I refuse to accept defeat… I set out with high hopes at the start of each new year only to watch my resolve fade within a few weeks, usually because I’m overwhelmed trying to follow through with several resolutions at the same time and then once I’ve messed up and there is no way the resolution can now be fulfilled flawlessly, my heart is no longer there (yes, I admit it, my motivation is a slave to the dastardly demon of perfection).

So in 2008, in lieu of New Year’s resolutions, I made up my list of 101 things and hopped on board with the 1001 Day Project (click here for the original blog post). I like the extended time frame, which allows opportunity to start over if I mess up on something and also working off a list, a few things at a time, rather than setting out on New Year’s Day juggling 10 major lifestyle changes at the same time. I attempted to balance various interests and responsibilities, while keeping my focus on priorities. I tried to keep “must do every day” items to a minimum and to make everything on the list quantifiable. So here is my list, in no particular order of importance or intent.

Start Date: 1/1/2008
End Date: 9/27/2010
Last Updated: 1/19/2008 (19 days; 3 weeks; 1 month)

Key:
Items actively in process are in bold
Items completed are in strikethrough
The numbers in parenthesis behind each item indicate the ongoing status

  1. Weight goal (specific details not disclosed) (0/1)
  2. Weight goal (specific details not disclosed) (0/1)
  3. Weight goal (specific details not disclosed) (0/1)
  4. Weight goal (specific details not disclosed) (0/1)
  5. Eliminate storage unit (0/1)
  6. Make a will (0/1)
  7. Renew my passport (0/1)
  8. Visit a foreign country (not in North America) (0/1)
  9. Go on a cruise (does not count as visit to foreign country) (0/1)
  10. Visit the Grand Canyon (0/1)
  11. Complete the Lake Superior circle tour w/ side routes (total 1300 miles — does not have to be done in one trip) (0/1300)
  12. Log 2000 miles walking and/or hiking (0/2000)
  13. Learn a foreign language well enough to read & conversate (0/1)
  14. Learn to use my DSLR camera (manual settings) (0/1)
  15. Complete Project 365 (one photo a day for a year) (18/366)
  16. Take an overnight trip on a train (0/1)
  17. Hike at least 30 miles of trails in the Porcupine Mountains (0/30)
  18. Teach a class — anything, anywhere (0/1)
  19. Visit the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans (0/2)
  20. Visit all 5 Great Lakes (0/5)
  21. Make a quotation book (0/1)
  22. Redecorate the guest bedroom (0/1)
  23. Convert the spare room to a walk-in closet (0/1)
  24. Install bookshelves in the dining room (0/1)
  25. Eliminate red meat almost entirely from my diet (limit to 1x /month) (0/1)
  26. Take a college class (0/1)
  27. Take an art workshop (0/1)
  28. Plant 25 new letterboxes (0/25)
  29. Take a letterboxing trip to a state where I have not previously letterboxed (0/1)
  30. Publish a(nother) poem (0/1)
  31. Place (1st, 2nd or 3rd) in a photography contest (0/1)
  32. Make 25 books with at least 5 different kinds of bindings (0/25; 0/5))
  33. Switch office space and my art room (0/1)
  34. Make 50 ATC’s (0/50)
  35. Carve an alphabet (upper & lower case & numbers) (0/62)
  36. Join a health club (and go) (0/1)
  37. Crochet Randy’s afghan (0/1)
  38. Write something in my journal every day, even if just one word (strive for 90%) (18/901)
  39. Crochet a set of snowflakes for each of the girls (0/4)
  40. Complete new Stamp-in-the-Box website (0/1)
  41. Go horsebackriding (0/1)
  42. Go white-water rafting (0/1)
  43. Save $1/day (total $1001) (18/1001)
  44. Call or visit with Mom at least once a week (2/144)
  45. Remove wallpaper from front hall and paint walls (0/1)
  46. Learn to play backgammon (0/1)
  47. Do a reduction carving (0/1)
  48. Do a multi-block carving (0/1)
  49. Purchase a grave marker for my dad’s grave (0/1)
  50. Host a letterboxing road rally (0/1)
  51. Participate in every Swapzine (0/11)
  52. Take a yoga class (0/1)
  53. Finish ripping all CD’s and sell (0/1)
  54. Go to a drive-in movie (0/1)
  55. Learn CPR (0/1)
  56. Send cards & gifts to friends & family on their birthdays & anniversaries (0/32)
  57. Organize my recipes (0/1)
  58. Organize my file cabinets (0/1)
  59. Do my taxes on time (0/3)
  60. “3-things” every morning (strive for 90%) (18/901)
  61. Write 1 hand-written letter each month and mail in envelope that qualifies as mail art (0/33)
  62. Visit Peter (0/1)
  63. Contact Stacey(0/1)
  64. Go on a weekend trip with Dawn (0/1)
  65. Have a girl’s weekend at the cottage each spring (0/1)
  66. Spend a long weekend or more at the cottage with Randy (0/1)
  67. Work through “The Artists’ Way” on my own (0/1)
  68. Read “The Creative Habit” by Twyla Tharp (0/1)
  69. Read 10 classics & 10 other books I have not previously read (0/20)
  70. Read 3 books I have previously read and need to revisit (0/3)
  71. Purchase a Mac (0/1)
  72. Participate in a collaborative journal project (0/1)
  73. Buy and begin using re-usable shopping bags (0/1)
  74. Drink at least 4 glasses of water each day (strive for 90%) (18/901)
  75. Do the Mackinac Bridge walk (0/1)
  76. Visit Mackinac Island (0/1)
  77. Get a mammogram (each spring) (0/3)
  78. Visit the doctor for my yearly (each spring) (0/3)
  79. Do one R.A.K. each month (0/33)
  80. Make and donate a blanket to Project Linus (0/1)
  81. Eat one fresh fruit or vegetable for 30 days in a row (0/30)
  82. Go without fast food for 30 consecutive days (0/30)
  83. Back-up all photos to CD’s (0/1)
  84. Get a safe-deposit box (0/1)
  85. Go on a monthly Artist’s Date (0/33)
  86. Hike 50 miles on the North Country Trail (0/50)
  87. Spend an entire day doing something fun & special with each grandchild individually (1x /year) (0/15)
  88. Take a watercolor painting class (0/1)
  89. Listen to 200 new-to-me albums (12/200, see the list here)
  90. Watch 50 movies from my “Movies to Watch” list (0/50)
  91. Ride a roller coaster (0/1)
  92. Go kayaking (0/1)
  93. Attend a murder-mystery weekend at a Bed & Breakfast (0/1)
  94. At least once every quarter attend a live performance (concert, play, musical, symphony, etc.) (0/11)
  95. Take a trip or retreat by myself (minimum 4 days) (0/1)
  96. Rent a cabin in the Porkies and pack in for a least 2 nights (0/1)
  97. Choose and do 1 action from We Are What We Do each week (3/144)
  98. Do the Flickr monthly scavenger hunt every month for a year (take new photos for all listed items) (0/12)
  99. Go on a hot air balloon ride (0/1)
  100. Bike the full lengths of the Musketawa Trail, the Hart-Montague Trail and the White Pine Trail (140 miles total) (0/140)
  101. Vacation, camp and hike at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore (0/1)