posted
I've never really been one for New Year's Resolutions, partially because I tend towards laziness, and partially because I don't like the idea of thinking "if I fix this one thing about myself, everything would be awesome" - which is the attitude I've always had about resolutions. But this year - perhaps because I'm a Real Adult now, with a Real Job and a House with a Yard and Dogs and No Time - I've really got a yearning to figure out what I want to do with the precious free time that I do have. I hate wasting the weekend or evenings playing video games or surfing the internet, but that's what I often do because it's become the default. But I also know that if I just set a couple major goals for the year, I'll either change my mind about them, cheat on them (especially if it involves exercise), or just ignore them after a month or two. I'm too all over the place for a couple major goals.
Enter the 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days Project. The idea of the project is create a list of 101 things you want to do over the next two and a half years. They don't have to be big things - it can be things that you're always putting off, like cleaning out the bathroom cabinet or sharpening all your cooking knives. The time frame is long enough that, even if you're unmotivated one month, you can still get back into the game without feeling like you've failed at your goals. And the number of items is large enough that you can work at different areas of your life, and focus on the ones that interest you at the moment.
Right now I'm working on creating my list, and I've found that the process of doing so is beneficial. I want to finish the list by the end of the year (I'll post it when I finish), with a start date of January 1st. That'll put the end date at September 29th, 2011, a nice boring date and a Thursday.
Would anyone else on Hatrack like to play? I've been with this community for long enough that I suspect I'll still be around come then.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Sounds like a great challenge! Especially because I'm not the most self-disciplined person unless I make it a competition Posts: 9538 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
You should do it, Tracy! I'm sure your list would have a lot of farm stuff, even if you don't limit to the farm, and it would be fun to compare our lists. We'll probably give each other ideas.
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Well, I've completed my list. I think it'll be pretty challenging to complete everything, but none of it is impossible.
Creative and Cultural:
Art: 1) Take an art creation (painting? photography? drawing? pottery?) class 2) Visit all of DC's museums and major art galleries (0/???) 3) Frame and display at least 5 photos I’ve taken (0/5) 4) Purchase 3 pieces of original artwork from independent artists
Literature & Writing: 5) Read all the books that we own (skimming okay for things like Norton Anthologies) or donate the ones that are deemed not worthwhile (0/???) 6) Read three novels in German, and keep a list of new-to-me vocabulary (0/3) 7) Read one book or three articles each by ten different Nobel Prize economists (0/10) 8) Read a book per week on average, alternating fiction and nonfiction (0/143) 9) Read industry publications related to work for at least one hour every week (0/143) 10) Post to blog twice a week for six months (0/52) 11) Blog every day for a month (0/30)
Crafts: 12) Knit a scarf 13) Make 5 Christmas presents (0/5)
Events: 14) Go to a Broadway show 15) Go to some sort of community activity or fair twice each year (0/6)
Household:
Kitchen: 16) Develop & implement plan for weekly menu planning & grocery shopping, including standard shopping list 17) Organize favorite recipes 18) Find 15 new delicious dishes that will work in the meal rotation 19) Take a wine tasting class
Backyard: 20) Plant an herb and vegetable garden 21) Create and maintain landscaping in back and front yards 22) Transform deck into key living area
Overall: 23) Paint main floor rooms 24) Paint second story rooms 25) Replace second story carpeting with hardwood floors 26) Set up a recycling system that works 27) Nice window treatment/curtains throughout (2/9) 28) Replace old ugly light fixtures (1/5) 29) Create a weekly cleaning schedule and stick to it 30) Successfully complete cleaning list at least half the time (0/36) 31) Have an energy audit done on the house and follow the recommendations made 32) Finish unfinished part of basement 33) Put photos in albums, scan the good ones & organize digital photos 34) Organize our music collection - physical & on computers 35) Make scanned copies of all important documents
Financial: 36) Create a household budget and stick to it strictly for 3 months 37) Work up to saving/investing 10% of net income each month 38) Start an investment portfolio 39) Eliminate all paper statements 40) Do a buy-nothing month
Good Deeds:
41) Work up to donating 5% of net income each month to charities (???/5%) 42) Donate at least 5 bags or boxes of unused stuff to Goodwill (0/5) 43) Find a community-level volunteer activity I enjoy, and participate at least once a month for ten months (0/10) 44) Transition to buying only humanely-raised meat
Out and About:
Local Outdoors: 45) Learn to identify 10 species of common trees native to the mid-Atlantic region 46) Go apple or berry picking 47) Go cross country skiing or snowshoeing 48) Kayak on the river 49) Get wilderness first-aid training 50) Go skinny dipping 51) Learn to use the GPS and geocache at least 20 times (0/20)
Travel: 52) Go to the beach every summer for at least a weekend (0/3) 53) Go on a backpacking trip that's longer than just a three-day weekend 54) Go to 8 wineries in Virginia and California (0/8) 55) Visit MoMA 56) Road trip to New England in the summer or fall 57) Revisit my childhood hometown with husband
Health & Beauty:
Exercise: 58) Work up to 200 ab crunches (0/200) 59) Work up to 20 push-ups (0/20) 60) Run with the dogs three times a week for three months (0/37) 61) Compete in a triathlon (shorter tri okay if leg acts up) 62) WiiFit twice a week for a month (0/8) 63) Lose 10 pounds (+- 0 pounds)
Mind/Body: 64) Practice meditation two times a week for three months (0/26) 65) Do the Sun Salutation every morning for a month (0/30) 66) Try a hatha yoga class 67) Take dancing classes
Pretty is as pretty does: 68) Pluck eyebrows at least once a week (0/143) 69) Figure out and follow a skin care routine for three months (0/3) 70) Whiten my teeth (tea habit!) 71) Get cute glasses 72) Invest in four classic, well-made outfits for work
Healthy Eating: 73) Take vitamins every day for a month (0/30) 74) Eat at least one fruit and two vegetables a day for at least half of all weeks (0/72)
Other: 75) Do a monthly breast exam (0/33) 76) Floss every other day for a month (0/30) 77) Get a tattoo or retire the idea
Interpersonal:
Get-togethers: 78) Go on couple dates with at least five new couples (0/5) 79) Host a semi-formal dinner party 80) Have a fondue dinner party 81) Host a Christmas / holiday party 82) Organize a mix-CD swap 83) Reconnect with 5 old friends (0/5)
Writing: 84) Write a letter when someone provides great customer service - three times (0/3) 85) Handwrite a letter to each set of grandparents three times a year (0/9) 86) Send at least fifty letters or cards just because (0/50) 87) Write Christmas cards every year (0/2) 88) Send postcards while on three vacations or trips (0/3) 89) Email my great elementary teachers, high school teachers, and college professors to tell them how much they rocked (0/???)
Other: 90) Put all family birthdays and anniversaries on the calendar and set-up reminders 91) Spend one solid week focusing on patience / not criticizing each year (0/3) 92) Spend one solid week focusing on not interrupting / listening each year (0/3) 93) Attend the three local UU churches once each to see if any are a good fit (0/3)
Us:
Husband: 94) Have a date with him (at least) twice a month 95) Go swing dancing with him (0/10) 96) Surprise him at least five times in creative ways, including one birthday (0/5) 97) Practice Bengali or Hindi three times a week for six months (0/64)
Dogs: 98) Intermediate obedience for both Kajol & Panda 99) Pack dog titles for both Kajol & Panda 100) Therapy dog title for Panda 101) Agility training (competing?) for Kajol
Meta: * Have a new 101 list by the end of the 1001 days * Buy a $40+ bottle of wine, and save it for the 1001st day
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I've completed my list. It's posted to my farm blog here.
Building Projects 1. Build pickup truck crate. 2. Build up driveway. 3. Put gravel on driveway. 4. Build hoop house for poultry. 5. Build hay feeder for goats. 6. Build second hay stack. 7. Make a hay rake from on-farm wood. 8. Make a snath from on-farm wood. 9. Put water tank up on blocks. 10. Insulate goat water trough. 11. Build insulated battery box. 12. Build rabbit pen. 13. Harness water power from creek for something. 14. Build a barn. 15. Build a sledge. 16. Build a hay wagon. 17. Build a bridge over drainage ditch. 18. Build a monkey bridge over the creek.
Crafts 19. Spin a fleece of wool into yarn. 20. Process flax into fibers. 21. Complete a woven project. 22. Shear a sheep.
Crops 23. Grow open pollinated corn. 24. Grow flax. 25. Plant oats for winter forage. 26. Start apple seedlings. 27. Plant bramble fruits. 28. Produce all necessary hay. 29. Produce half of animals' grain on farm. 30. Plant at least two paw paw trees. 31. Plant three varieties of eating apples. 32. Plant three peach trees. 33. Establish feasibility of planting blueberries. 34. Plant at least 16 different herbs/spices in front yard.
Culinary 35. Eat a goose. 36. Eat a capon. 37. Bake every bread in The Bread Baker's Apprentice at least once. 38. Eat a paw paw.
Education 39. Take a welding class. 40. Become certified to compost dead livestock. 41. Visit Polyface Farm. 42. Visit Malabar Farm. 43. Visit The Land Institute. 44. Read Malabar Farm. 45. Read Agriculture Yearbook from 1924. 46. Read Agriculture Yearbook from 1935. 47. Read Agriculture Yearbook from 1936. 48. Acquire at least five more pre-1940 Agriculture Yearbooks. 49. Read Pork Production. 50. Research Jersey cattle lineage. 51. Buy box of Jersey cattle registry books, if still available. 52. Read The New Agriculture and answer chapter questions. 53. Read Horticulture Enterprises and answer chapter questions. 54. Complete ten field exercises from Horticulture Enterprises. 55. Read a book on chicken genetics. 56. Establish a breeding plan for free range broilers. 57. Research sheep breeds and choose best. 58. Attend a sustainable farming class or conference.
Fencing 59. Stretch back fence in main pasture. 60. Hang forest gate. 61. Hang water gate. 62. Plant hedge around pond pasture. 63. Plant hedge in forest along road.
Foraging 64. Pick five gallons of blueberries at Dolly Sods. 65. Pick cranberries at Dolly Sods. 66. Pick 30 gallons of black raspberries. 67. Pick 10 gallons of wild blackberries.
Livestock 68. Buy a milk cow. 69. Buy at least ten female runner ducks. 70. Buy a pair of geese. 71. Fill our freezer with homegrown beef. 72. Successfully caponize a rooster. 73. Buy rabbits. 74. Buy turkeys. 75. Buy a sheep flock. 76. Acquire at least one potential ox. 77. Successfully incubate duck eggs. 78. Breed at least two generations towards free range broilers.
Marketing 79. Find five regular customers for bread. 80. Find ten regular customers for eggs. 81. Get retail license. 82. Sell a fattened pig. 83. Sell produce at a farmer's market. 84. Update farm blog 300 times. 85. Write three newsletters for our customers. 86. Build a farm website with our own domain. 87. Have an online order form for our customers. 88. Sell 200 broilers.
Pasture Management 89. Graze upstream field. 90. Within a growing season, mow entire main pasture at least once. 91. Get scythe for Paul. 92. Clear undergrowth from forest.
Processing 93. Make five gallons of maple syrup. 94. Butcher a deer. 95. Buy a meat grinder. 96. Make butter. 97. Make apple cider.
Water Management 98. Dig pond. 99. Install water system in upstream field. 100. Expand drainage ditch to one foot wide entire length. 101. Expand drainage ditch to one foot deep entire length.
posted
So, Jhai (and anyone else who made a list but didn't post), how are things going? I've accomplished quite a few things. When I get a chance, I'll put up an updated list.
posted
I think this is a great idea! I just made my list today, and plan to start pretty soon. Haven't figured out what dates to go to and from, but thanks for the motivation!
Posts: 1261 | Registered: Jun 2002
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