Monday, February 1, 2010

The List!


What's this all about, anyway?

101 things? 1001 days? What on earth am I talking about?  I'm talking about the Day Zero Project. The idea is simple: Create a list of 101 things you would like to complete in the next 1001 days. The tasks must be specific and measurable, and should require some amount of work on my part. The time frame allows for more in-depth goals, such as learning a new language or traveling abroad.

I have about 60 things on my list right now, and I've set the start date for February 2--my birthday. I'm hoping to have the list complete by Tuesday, but we'll see how that goes. If you have any suggestions to make, I'm open. I'd also like to organize it into categories before I post it here.

Coming soon: The List (complete or not)

 Edit: The list is complete!

All right, here it is. I stayed up ridiculously late finishing this, but I wanted to get it Done. I'm attempting to separate these into categories, but I don't know how successful I'll be... Here goes nothin'

Legend:
plain text--not started
red--goal changed
italics--in progress
purple bold--complete


Writing

1. Join/start a writing group
2. Spend at least 70 hours a month writing, or 60 in February (3/31)
3. Keep a writer's notebook every day for a full month (0/30)
4. Do a writing prompt from creativewritingprompts.com every day for a month (0/30)
5. Read five books on the Regency period (1/5)
6. Finish His Good Opinion
7. Begin another fiction work
8. Write 100K in NaNo 2010
9. Read a book on professional blogging
10. Start a writing blog
11. Read five books on writing/publishing (0/5)
12. Begin querying process


Health

13. Lose 25 pounds
14. No fast food for a month
15. Buy a bike--and use it
16. Walk to Rivendell
17. Exercise at least two days a week for two months (0/8)
18. Sleep eight hours minimum every night for two separate weeks (0/7)  (0/7)
19. Go to the dentist
20. Give up soda for three separate months (0/3)
21. Try pilates at least once a week for two months (0/2)
22. Use my pedometer again
23. Commute to work by bike twice a week for 36 weeks (0/36)
24. Take vitamins daily for one month six times (0/6)
25. Order something healthy 6 times (0/6)
26. Take one day off from the internet each month (3/31)

Beauty

27. Take care with my appearance every day for two separate weeks (7/7) (0/7)
28. Get a mani/pedi
29. Get a LBD

Cooking

30. Make a custom recipe book
31. Attend a cake decorating class
32. Try at least one new recipe a month (3/31)
33. Bake a loaf of bread
34. Trade out all my most used spices for Penzey's
35. Try five new dessert recipes (0/5)
36. Learn how to make a soufflé

Fun and Relaxation

37. Spend six rainy days watching films in my PJs (1/6)
38. Have one lazy Monday each month (6/31)
39. Have a traditional picnic in a park
40. Go ice skating
41. Go to the zoo
42. Buy myself flowers
43. Finish a 1000+ piece jigsaw puzzle

Arts and Crafts

44. Finish afghan
45. Finish senior year scrapbook
46. Finish baby book
47. Get my NaNo prints framed

Personal and Spiritual Development

48. Don't complain about anything for a week
49. Identify 101 things that make me happy (0/101)
50. Create a list of ten flaws I have
51. Create a list of twenty things I like about myself
52. Journal every day for a month (0/30)
53. Write down one thing I'm thankful for every day for a month (0/30)
54. Blog about something positive every Wednesday for two months (0/8)
55. Memorize 101 new Bible verses (0/101)
56. Read through the entire Bible in one year

Travel

57. Go on a random day trip to someplace I don't usually go
58. Go hiking three times each summer (0/9)
59. Spend three days in Portland as a tourist (1/3)
60. Take a road trip
61. Go to Disneyland

Financial

62. Build an emergency fund
63. Pay off my credit card
64. Pay off Mom and Dad
65. Pay off Dr. Lewis
66. Make no extraneous purchases for 31 days (0/31)
67. Shop for a week of groceries using only coupons or sales four times (0/4)
68. Save money by not going out to eat for a whole month
69. Save as much spare change as I can, not touching it until the 1001 days are complete
70. Track daily expenses for three months (0/3)

Learning

71. Learn Italian
72. Learn Elvish (Sindarin)
73. Watch ten documentaries (1/10)
74. Try something I might be terrible at

Reading

75. Read The Hobbit again
76. Complete current reading project
77. Read the entire History of Middle Earth
78. Read at least five more books from The Guardian's list of books we can't live without (0/5)

Organization

79. Get an iPhone
80. Sort through all my papers; bin/shred the ones I don't need, file the ones I do
81. Change our phone/internet service
82. Backup my computer--flash drive or external hard drive
83. Be to work early every day for two separate weeks (0/5) (0/5)
84. Throw out or donate clothes that no longer fit or are worn out
85. Set up my home office

Do unto others

86. Pay for the person in line behind me
87. Send a letter to a friend once a month (1/31)
88. Send someone a care package
89. Finish sending Christmas cards
90. Have ten dinner parties (0/10)
91. Have five tea parties (1/5)
92. Convert to entirely reusable shopping bags
93. Randomly give flowers to three people (1/3)
94. Send someone an encouragement card

England

95. Get my passport
96. Take a trip to England
97. Take high tea in England
98. Decide details regarding my move to England

Meta-tasks

99. Donate $5 to charity for every task I don't complete
100. Blog the results of this list
101. Evaluate after 1001 days are over: Was this good/fun/profitable?

Some of these are already in progress (notably #95 and #62), others are things I've thought about doing, but never gotten around to it (e.g. #34 and #45), and there are a few that I never would have contemplated if I hadn't trawled other lists for ideas (#49). If anyone has a suggestion for #74, I'm all ears.

As you can see from #100, my plan is to blog my way through this list. I'll be sharing both success stories and failures, as well as funny anecdotes that happen along the way. This is my first foray into purposeful blogging, which I hope will be helpful when I'm ready for #1.

 If you're also participating in the Day Zero Project or if I've inspired you to do so, please post a link to your blog so I can follow your progress. I think a little camaraderie would help the 1001 days pass a little more quickly.

    4 comments:

    Lissa said...

    I am going to hold you to this. Knowing you though you will do it all. Good luck.

    Mom said...

    Great list! I know you can do it :-)

    Natalie said...

    Nancy-this is am impressive list! I will totally help you locate an LBD if you want. Also mani-pedi. And I have a good beginning Pilates DVD if you want to borrow it.--Julie E.

    Nancy said...

    Julie, all three of those would be fantastic. I'll email you sometime this week about the mani-pedi. I think that's how I want to reward myself for finishing the rough draft of this story.