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101 Things | 1001 Days
January 1, 2008
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).
This year in lieu of New Year’s resolutions, I’ve hopped on board with the 101 Things in 1001 Days project. 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’ve been working on my list for a couple of weeks now, trying to balance various interests and responsibilities, while keeping my focus on priorities. After some tweaking and swapping in and out, I’m excited about the final 101 items.
- Weight goal (specific details not disclosed)
- Weight goal (specific details not disclosed)
- Weight goal (specific details not disclosed)
- Weight goal (specific details not disclosed)
- Eliminate storage unit
- Make a will
- Renew my passport
- Visit a foreign country (not in North America)
- Go on a cruise (does not count as visit to foreign country)
- Visit the Grand Canyon
- Complete the Lake Superior circle tour w/ side routes (total 1300 miles — does not have to be done in one trip)
- Log 2000 miles walking and/or hiking
- Learn a foreign language well enough to read & conversate
- Learn to use my DSLR camera (manual settings)
- Complete Project 365 (one photo a day for a year)
- Take an overnight trip on a train
- Hike at least 30 miles of trails in the Porcupine Mountains
- Teach a class — anything, anywhere
- Visit the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans
- Visit all 5 Great Lakes
- Make a quotation book
- Redecorate the guest bedroom
- Convert the spare room to a walk-in closet
- Install bookshelves in the dining room
- Eliminate red meat almost entirely from my diet (limit to 1x /month)
- Take a college class
- Take an art workshop
- Plant 25 new letterboxes
- Take a letterboxing trip to another state
- Publish a(nother) poem
- Place (1st, 2nd or 3rd) in a photography contest
- Make 25 books with at least 5 different kinds of bindings
- Switch office space and my art room
- Make 50 ATC’s
- Carve an alphabet (upper & lower case & numbers)
- Join a health club (and go)
- Crochet Randy’s afghan
- Write something in my journal every day, even if just one word
- Crochet a set of snowflakes for each of the girls
- Complete new Stamp-in-the-Box website
- Go horsebackriding
- Go white-water rafting
- Save $1/day (total $1001)
- Call or visit with Mom at least once a week
- Remove wallpaper from front hall and paint walls
- Learn to play backgammon
- Do a reduction carving
- Do a multi-block carving
- Purchase a grave marker for my dad’s grave
- Host a letterboxing road rally
- Participate in every Swapzine
- Take a yoga class
- Finish ripping all CD’s and sell
- Go to a drive-in movie
- Learn CPR
- Send cards & gifts to all immediate family members on their birthdays & anniversaries
- Organize my recipes
- Organize my file cabinets
- Do my taxes on time
- “3-things” every morning
- Write 1 hand-written letter each month and mail in envelope that qualifies as mail art
- Visit Peter
- Contact Stacey
- Go on a weekend trip with Dawn
- Have a girl’s weekend at the cottage each spring
- Spend a long weekend or more at the cottage with Randy
- Work through “The Artists’ Way” on my own
- Read “The Creative Habit” by Twyla Tharp
- Read 10 classics & 10 other books I have not previously read
- Read 3 books I have previously read and need to revisit
- Purchase a Mac
- Participate in a collaborative journal project
- Buy and begin using re-usable shopping bags
- Drink at least 4 glasses of water each day
- Do the Mackinac Bridge walk
- Visit Mackinac Island
- Get a mammogram (each spring)
- Visit the doctor for my yearly (each spring)
- Do one R.A.K. each month
- Make and donate a blanket to Project Linus
- Eat one fresh fruit or vegetable for 30 days in a row
- Go without fast food for 30 consecutive days
- Back-up all photos to CD’s
- Get a safe-deposit box
- Go on a monthly Artist’s Date
- Hike 50 miles on the North Country Trail
- Spend an entire day doing something fun & special with each grandchild individually (1x /year)
- Take a watercolor painting class
- Listen to 200 new albums (new to me; no more than 3 /day)
- Watch 50 movies from my “Movies to Watch” list
- Ride a roller coaster
- Go kayaking
- Attend a murder-mystery weekend at a Bed & Breakfast
- At least once every quarter attend a live performance (concert, play, musical, symphony, etc.)
- Take a trip or retreat by myself (minimum 4 days)
- Rent a cabin in the Porkies and pack in for a least 2 nights
- Choose and do 1 action from ‘We are what we do” each week
- Do the Flickr monthly scavenger hunt every month for a year - try to take new photos
- Go on a hot air balloon ride
- Bike the full lengths of the Musketawa Trail, the Hart-Montague Trail and the White Pine Trail (140 miles total)
- Vacation, camp and hike at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore
Start Date: 1/1/2008
End Date: 9/27/2010
I’ve started a separate page to track my progress over the course of the next 2.75 years. I am hoping to make a 101/1001 journal that visually illustrates each of the things on my list along with journaling of details and stories of the journey. After all, it really is about the journey, not just the destination.
Posted by Deb
Topics: 101 in 1001, memes, lists, productivity
January 7th, 2008 at 10:29 am
What an awesome list. Will be a big accomplishment when it is completed.
Good Luck!