Off and Running!

I did it. I came up with 101 things I want to do. This is the list, and I reserve the right to revise it at any time. I have it organized according to category, and I'm amazed at how many goals refer to "Household." I have a theory about this; more later.

TARGET DATE: 4/30/2011

UPDATE: Goals currently underway are in red. Goals accomplished are in green!

(Also Goal 19 got moved down the page to Personal, in case you wondered.)

ART
1 Finish Housatonic River picture
2 Draw 10 pictures 6 down, 4 to go!
3 Paint 5 pictures
4 Buy three pictures

ENTERTAINMENT/TRAVEL
5 See the Nutcracker
6 Attend an opera at the Met
7 Visit the Cloisters
8 Go to the Bronx Zoo
9 Attend the Daily Show
10 Attend a Broadway play
11 Visit Boston
12 Go to the shore
13 Go overseas on a trip
55 Visit MOMA

FINANCIAL/HOUSEHOLD
14 Complete home inventory
15 Calculate net worth
16 Get rid of credit card debt
17 Save an additional 1 months expenses
18 Reupholster something
20 Get Roomba issue resolved
21 Dispose of all old electronic equipment responsibly
22 Clean out underneath bathroom sink
23 Clean out underneath kitchen sink
24 Catalog books
25 Catalog recordings
26 Clean out coat closet
27 Clean out middle closet
28 Clean out linen closet
29 Clean out foyer closet
30 Maximize mac.com experience
31 Get all papers filed
32 Make a scrapbook of keepsakes
33 Get rid of excess furniture
34 Get apartment painted
35 Find a "home" for everything in the house
36 Reorganize and rehang all the pictures
37 Get tugboat picture framed
38 Get Sylvia's St. Paul ink drawing framed
39 Purge book collection
40 Purge CD collection
41 Purge cassette tapes
42 Organize sewing area and supplies
43 Get crystal/china/silver appraised
44 Sort out and maximize electronic hookups for greenest outcome

FITNESS/HEALTH
45 Weigh ≤ 130
46 Walk across the GWB and back
47 Go one week drinking ≤ 2 glasses of wine a day
48 Go one month drinking ≤ 2 glasses of wine a day
49 Take Pilates classes
50 Try pomegranate juice
51 Try green tea
52 Walk home from the Library every work day for a week Get off at the Library bus stop instead of at home (habit)
53 Walk to and from the Bridge Plaza to work every day for one week
54 Go to the dentist
56 Exercise three times a week
57 Get right hand back into shape

MISCELLANEOUS
58 Get Mac G3 hard drive transferred
59 Write a blog
60 Replace work pictures with new ones
61 Read all the books on my reading list
62 Fix up blog site (redecorate)
63 Swim in the pool every summer
64 Get up at 6:30 on workdays (habit)
65 Make Christmas presents for each immediate family member

MUSIC
66 Do a 30 minute show at Sunrise
67 Get someone else to perform for Sunrise
68 Write 5 songs
69 Write 3 anthems
70 Write 10 descants
71 Write a congregational mass setting
72 Compile SILC descant book
73 Write 5 responsorial psalms
74 Listen to a CD every week
75 Buy 10 new recordings (not counting my own)
76 Return borrowed music

PERSONAL
19 Sew 6 outfits
77 Organize wardrobe
78 Go clothes shopping with someone knowledgeable and come back with at least two good outfits

SPIRITUAL/MENTAL HEALTH
79 Drive out into the country on a clear night and look at the stars
80 Develop 5 virtuous habits
81 Get rid of one bad habit (not otherwise covered)
82 Eat at dining table at least once a week
83 Visit family in KY three times
84 Write 10 snail mail letters (not business related or thank-yous)
85 Have a date with Scott once a month
86 Throw a big party
87 Develop meditation habit
88 Talk to 20 people in KY on the phone not counting immediate family or business
89 Have a one-week computer blackout

VOICE
90 Compile Young Singers' Classical Edition
91 Have a student recital
92 Get 5 new students
93 Compile vocal sample CD
94 Give a voice recital
95 Catalog music
96 Practice 5 times in one week
97 Practice 5 times a week for two weeks
98 Practice 5 times a week for one month
99 Make a new concert outfit
100 Go on six auditions
101 Send five resume packages

87 Goals and Counting....

It's harder than you might think to come up with 101 things you want to do. I'm surprised I've gotten to 87 already.

I have some slight concern that my list is way too heavy on the self-improvement side, rather than the side of doing fun things I’ve always wanted to do. I can imagine getting all my fun and easy stuff done, and then in the last months having to whack my way through the hard part.

Something else I’m thinking about is my upcoming surgery (hand is still not right—I mean it IS my right hand, but it’s all crooked). I will be pretty much incapacitated for at least a couple of months, so I need to have plenty of things to do that don’t require elbow grease. I can always work on my reading list, I suppose! (I think I need to put some more entertaining stuff on it….recovery last time was pretty miserable.)

I've actually considered making a goal out of regaining the full use of my hand, or at least a better percentage of partial use. The handwriting in my little green "Goal Book" is all over the place! :-P

ONE OF THESE DAYS

I knew I’d have to do this sooner or later. After all, on a sudden impulse I set up my blog a year ago; but I had only an incoherent idea of what I wanted to write, so it’s been blank all this time.

After considering various self-improvement projects and sort of kind of deciding I’d just gas away instead (and getting totally sidetracked for several months by breaking my right hand), I happened up on a Project Idea in The Simple Dollar: to wit, “101 Goals in 1001 Days.” It is a winner. You can read about it here: 101 goals in 1001 days

I’m not really a terrible procrastinator any more (though I used to be), but I do have trouble NOT thinking along the “one of these days” line when I look at a pile of stuff to be dealt with, or a sudden urge to do something interesting that I don’t have time for. What days do I think I’m talking about exactly? The really, really neat thing about the 1001 days idea is that you can get the answer to that question! It is: “One of THESE days!”

I think I’m up to 50+ goals now, and I thought of several more on the subway today, so maybe I’ll have my whole list by the end of the week.

Here is a short explanation of the project, excerpted from its origin on the site triplux. There are some good tips for choosing goals and for pursuing them as well. It is apparently okay to fail at reaching a goal, because you might learn something.

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

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. 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 organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

I am whaling away at my 101 goals list right now—it takes a considerable amount of effort, actually. It is, however, extremely energizing! I’ve thought of a number of things that aren’t so obvious, like: “On a clear night drive out into the country where it’s dark and look at the stars.” (I live in the NYC area, so I never get to see them, and I suddenly realized that it’s important.) Then there’s stuff like: “Clean out the coat closet.” “Take a language class.” “Take a yoga class.” I even put in “Acquire a virtuous habit, TBD”—I realize that’s kind of ambiguous, but I’d like to leave it up to my aspiring self later on, when I might have a sudden motivation. (My definition of “habit” is: something you do way more often than not.)

I really am going to post my entire list, even though it’s rather personal. And I really am going to post updates about how it goes. (“Write a blog” is one of the goals—I’m getting a head start on it.)

Cheers, and wish me luck!