Task: to complete 101 things in 1001 days
Start Date: January 2, 2010
End Date: September 28, 2012 (right before the world ends....)
Green is In Progress
Black is haven't started
Red is failed
Blue is completed
Because I’m almost a grownup
1. Buy a place to live with at least 2 bedrooms
2. Furnish said living space with NEW furniture (not Value Village used variety)
3. Buy adequate storage for my CDs/DVDs/books
4. Put at least 20% of each month’s paycheque into the bank (0/33)
5. Contribute the maximum allowable to RSP each year
6. Spend less than $100/month on entertainment (books, movies, music, concerts, etc) for 3 months
7. Contribute at least $150 per month to charities (Right to Play, Amnesty, Invisible Children)
8. Volunteer to serve a holiday dinner at a homeless shelter
9. Find an organizational system that actually works, and stick to it. (Especially in the classroom)
10. Write a will
11. Open up a trading account and invest in something
12. Contribute the maximum ($5000) to a TFSA every year (0/3)
13. Buy and actually use a planner for a year (not every day, but at least weekly)
14. Get rid of all the clothes and shoes I no longer wear; donate to charity (1x per year) (1/3)
15. Clean out closet over Spring Break every year (0/3)
16. Pay off car by April 2010
Because I like to travel
17. Take a road trip across North America (from coast to coast)
18. Visit the following states: North/South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, North/South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, California, Oregon, Hawaii, Wyoming, New Mexico (0/30)
19. See NWT, NV, Yukon, PEI, NB, NFLD (maybe not all at once) (0/6)
20. Travel to Europe
21. See the Statue of St. Kevin at Glendalough; meditate for a while
22. Travel somewhere over Spring Break each year (0/3)
23. Go to NYC; see a Broadway show
24. Vegas, baby!
25. Go to another city for a concert
26. Go to Australia again
27. Drive to the farm for a few days; take lots of pictures
28. Send mom and dad on a trip to the East Coast
Because I need to reconnect
29. Limit online “browsing” time to 1 hr per day, every day (5/1001)
30. Turn the TV off one day per week for all 143 weeks (1/143)
31. Keep the computer off one day per week at home for all 143 weeks (1/143)
32. Eat dinner with Mom and Dad one day per week, every week I’m in town (2/143)
33. Learn to play chess with Dad; play at least every 2 weeks
34. Find an activity to share with Mom; do it at least every two weeks
35. Have coffee with a friend twice per month for 8 months (1/8)
36. Read the (real) newspaper every day for 3 months (not just the sports)
37. Write 4 letters (by hand) per year to different people
38. Spend less than 2 hours per day marking; plan assignments better so that my job does not take over my life.
39. Go to Vancouver to see Kelsey (not attached to a conference)
40. Travel to Toronto for a visit with Kara (with no other reason to go)
41. Post photos of events to both Flickr and Facebook within 1 week of event
42. When living on my own, buy all produce at a Farmer’s Market for 3 months
43. See the sun rise one day per month, each month (2/33)
44. Take at least one picture of a sunrise or sunset each week (weather permitting) (1/143)
45. Camp in the mountains for a week; take no technology
Because I need to stay entertained
46. Create a list of every single book I own, and maintain as new books come in
47. Read every book I own at least once before buying new books
48. Re-read the Lord of the Rings trilogy
49. Read the WHOLE Harry Potter Series (0/7) - I'm feeling that this will be the LAST thing completed....
50. Read all of Bernard Cornwell’s books (18/49)
51. Read all of Philip Roth’s novels (4/26)
52. Read every Booker Prize Winner (10/46)
53. Read the Twilight series. Try not to laugh.
54. Keep a log of every movie I see, plus post a brief review on the blog for one year
55. Watch the top 25 films on the AFI 100 Years…100 Films list from 2007 (10/25)
56. Watch all of the Oscar “Best Picture” nominees for 2010, 2011, 2012 (6/30)
57. Watch every episode of The X-Files in order, including the movies (0/204)
58. Keep a record of every DVD I own
59. Keep a record of every CD I own
60. Watch all DVDs I currently own before buying anything new
61. See at least 5 films per year at the Princess or the Garneau
62. Buy an XBOX 360 and play the heck out of it
63. See at least 9 live theatre productions each year
64. ALWAYS see the movie first (where applicable)
Because I need to do things for my health
65. Fit into “those jeans” again
66. Swim at least 4x per week for 6 months (0/6)
67. Do a triathlon-length swim (1.5k) in less than 20 minutes
68. When living on my own, eat organic for 1 month
69. Do not eat after 8pm on weekdays for 3 months (0/3)
70. Do not eat after 8pm on any day of the week for 3 months (0/3)
71. Sleep at least 7 hours a night during the week for 6 months (0/6)
72. Be in bed with the lights out by 11 pm on weeknights for 3 months (0/3)
73. Drink nothing but milk, water, green tea and white tea for 1 month
74. Consume no more than 3 alcoholic beverages per week for 6 months
75. Floss my teeth every day for 3 months (0/3)
76. Spend no more than 9 hours at work on any weekday
77. Take a “mental health day” from work when I’m stressed to the max
78. Spend 5 minutes every day in my own quiet time (54/1001)
Because I like sports
79. Go to the Super Bowl
80. See the Packers at Lambeau; try to get in on a Lambeau Leap
81. Go to see the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal with Dad
82. See a baseball game in Fenway Park
83. See a baseball game at Wrigley Field
84. See a high school football game in West Texas
85. Go to the World Junior Hockey Championships
86. See a college football game (Div 1)
87. See a college basketball game (Div 1)
88. Watch at least one game for every team at my school in one school year
Because I like to use my brain
89. Get into graduate school (part-time)
90. Complete half of a Master of War Studies degree at the Royal Military College
91. Get published (somewhere other than my blog or in a letter to the editor)
92. Blog at least 2x per week, every week (2/143)
93. Start writing the book
94. Learn how to play the guitar (and sing at the same time)
95. Buy a telescope
96. Read each future issue of Foreign Affairs magazine from cover to cover
Miscellaneous
97. Try one new restaurant a month or a brand new dish at a favourite restaurant (1/33)
98. Say the words that have been rolling around in my head for the last 10 (!) years to JW.
99. Tweet about each of these as I complete, with the hashtag #101in1001
100. Sum up each month with a blog post (does not count towards the 2/week)
101. For every incomplete task after 1001 days, donate $10 to Right to Play
Well, I tried this last year. Then life got a little crazy.
This year I'm trying to declutter my mind, my spirit and my life. I think that if I can complete all of these, I'll feel like I've actually changed my life (and myself) for the better.
I've challenged a friend of mine to try it out too, because I think it'll be easier for me to finish if there's someone to “compete“ with. But I'm going to do this. I WILL NOT FAIL.