Listen to Yourself Churn

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Start: Sunday June 1, 2008
Finish: Sunday February 27, 2011

This means I’m working on it
This means it’s done!

Fitness & Health

1. Lose 20 pounds. [0/20]
2. Drink 8 glasses of water every day for 30 consecutive days. [0/30]
3. Exercise 3 times a week for a month. [0/12]
4. Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day for 30 days & track progress on Google Spreadsheets. [0/30]
5. Run a real 5K (not just me running through the neighborhood) without stopping, not even once.
6. Go one month without drinking soda. [0/30]

Charity/Environment

7. Give to Heifer International at least 3 times. [0/3]
8. Donate $10 for every item on this list not attempted by February 27, 2011. (Trying and failing is acceptable.)
9. Donate time to a charity.
10. Make a loan to kiva.org at least 3 times. [0/3]
11. Plant a tree.
12. Refuse all plastic grocery bags for one month. [0/30]

Financial

13. Put $5 in savings every time I check something off this list. [1/101]
    
14. Get total debt under $60,000. (Including mortgage.)
15. Build daughter’s savings account by $500.
16. See a financial planner.
17. Sell something on ebay.

Travel

18. Travel somewhere that requires a passport.
19. Go on a vacation without any family besides husband and daughter.
20. Go on a trip either by myself (no kid, no husband) or with girlfriends.
21. Swim in the ocean.
22. Travel to hubs’ family homestead.
23. Take family to Hammondsport.

Entertainment

24. Read 2 Shakespeare plays I haven’t read yet. [0/2]
25. See a play.
26. See Jay Clifford live.
27. See Violent Femmes live.
28. Go to 3 summer concerts in the garden. [0/3]
29. Read 10 New York Times bestsellers from either the hardcover non-fiction or hardcover fiction categories, while they’re still actually on the list. [0/10]
30. Watch 30 of the 100 movies on AFI’s Top 100 Movies of All Time. [2/30]
31. Read 50 books I’ve never read before. [3/50]

House

32. Keep houseplants alive for one year . [ends June 1, 2009]
33. Finish laundry room renovation.
34. Finish painting wood trim.
35. Build garage.
36. Landscape backyard.
37. Expand vegetable garden, even it’s only one extra raised bed.
38. Save $5,000 to either replace windows on current house or use towards down payment on a larger home.
39. Finish home theater coffee table & wall unit. [Coffee table paint coat 1.]
    
40. Design a dream house with Google Sketch-Up.
41. Finish kitchen remodel.

Personal

42. Win NaNoWriMo.
43. Write a romance novel and submit it to the RWA.
44. Go a whole week without swearing. [0/7]
45. Go a whole week without losing my temper. [0/7]
46. Do one soduku every night for 30 days. [0/30]
47. Win NaNoBloMo.
48. Wear makeup every day for a week. [4/7]
49. Vote in every primary and election between now and February 27, 2011. [2]
    
50. Make a will.
51. Henna my hair.
52. Go to an event where I can wear my grandmother’s fur coat, and not look out of place.

Family

53. Read to C. for 15 minutes a day for 30 consecutive days. [30/30]
54. Potty train C.
55. Go on a date with J at least once a month. [1/34]
56. Take a picture of daughter every day for a month. [0/30]
57. Print at least 50 photographs of daughter and put them in her scrapbook. [0/50]
58. Take husband on tour of breweries for one birthday.
59. Build a small garden for daughter.

Recreation

60. Go camping at least 5 times. [0/5]
61. Go sailing 3 times. [0/3]
62. Try letterboxing.
63. Go to a wine/liquor tasting.
64. Go skiing–and actually get up on top of the water!

Educational

65. Study French.
66. Take Master Gardening course.
67. Learn how to do Fair Isle knitting.
68. Learn to shag.
69. Take a knitting class.
70. Go to a writer’s guild meeting.
71. Take a photography class.
72. Learn how to spin.

Crafts/Hobbies

73. Finish all the knitting projects I’ve started.
74. Knit a cute winter hat to match new coat.
75. Complete a legacy challenge/populate a Sims 2 neighborhood from scratch.
76. Participate in knitting an Afghan for Afghans.
77. Keep gardening blog up-to-date for entire length of challenge.
78. Participate in a ghost hunt.
79. Learn how to scrapbook using the GIMP. Make and print a scrapbook of at least 10 pages.

Food

80. Learn to make true French bread.
81. Learn to make jam.
82. Eat real sushi from a restaurant at least 3 times. [1/3]
83. Go to the new-ish Indian buffet in town. (completed 6/21/0
84. Learn to make Pad See Ew.
85. Do not eat out at all for two consecutive weeks. [0/14]
86. Plant a fruit or vegetable every summer that I’ve never heard of. [1/3]
87. Learn to make sushi.

To Buy

88. Buy a chest freezer. (Can only be completed after garage is built.)
89. Buy a piece of art that I love, and hang it over the mantle.
90. Buy a pair of prescription sunglasses.
91. Buy a bicycle for self and daughter.
92. Go to estate sales at least twice a month. (2/64)
93. Buy a set of Wusthof knives.
94. Buy a new winter coat.
95. Buy a pair of crazy sexy boots.

Being Social

96. Have big football parties for the three Georgia/Carolina games. [0/3]
97. Join some kind of social club, be it outdoors-related, church, mommy group, etc.
98. Host a dinner party for adults only.
99. Join the DAR.
100. Go to a bar.
101. Make another list when I complete this one.