101 in 1001

Inspired by my fellow bloggers at Sarsm’s Blog and The Laughing Housewife, who themselves were inspired by the Day Zero Project, I’m taking on 101 tasks in 1001 days.

Why am I doing this? After much soul searching these past few months, and so much going on at home every day, it’s time to bring focus into my life. There have been lots of things I’ve wanted to do, but they never seem to get done. Lots of things I’d like to start working on, but I never start. Most new year’s resolutions don’t get completed because people don’t write them down. I believe the same thing applies to anything you want to do with your life, big or small. By writing them down, they become real, touchable, and we in turn become accountable, and hopefully motivated.

So I’m taking on the day-to-day challenge with my fellow bloggers Sarah and Tilly Bud. I’m counting on their support to make it through the next 1001 days and end up proud of what I’ll have accomplished. Some things on my list may seem trivial, others out of reach or unrealistic, but they’re all on it for the same reason. I want every single task (fun or not) done.

The three of us would be very happy to have you on board with us, if you’re interested in taking on the challange. Just visit Sarsm’s Blog for more details.

Deep breath… Here are the 101 things I want to accomplish in 1001 days.

Start date: May 1, 2011
End date: January 27, 2014
1001 days equal to:
- 2 years, 8 months, 26 days
- Almost 33 months
- A little more than 143 weeks

Updated: April 1, 2012

Home & Organization

1) Grow food plants in the garden (Spring 2011) (1/1) – DONE
2) Grow food plants in the garden (Summer / Fall 2011) (1/1) – DONE
3) Grow food plants in the garden (Spring 2012) (1/1) – DONE
4) Grow food plants in the garden (Summer / Fall 2012) (0/1)
5) Grow food plants in the garden (Spring 2013) (0/1)
6) Grow food plants in the garden (Summer / Fall 2013) (0/1)
7) Plant flowers/flowering plants in the backyard (0/1)
8) Grow strawberries (0/1)
9) Decorate our living room’s bare walls (1/1) – DONE
10) Decorate our bedroom’s bare walls (0/1) – DONE
11) Make my office an organized, well-decorated, comfortable place of inspiration (1/1) – DONE
12) Buy new tools to replace those missing from my tool box (1/1) – DONE
13) Patch the numerous small holes that decorate our walls throughout the house (0/1)
14) Install the new curtains and curtain rod for our sliding window (0/1)
15) Install microwave oven over the stove or repair the current oven (0/1) – DONE
16) Get our gas stove burners fixed (0/1) – DONE
17) Sell the baby crib by end of spring 2011 (0/1) – DONE
18) Sell or donate the baby toys and clothes in the closet and garage by end of summer 2011 (0/1) – DONE
19) Clean out and organize the kids’ closets (1/1) – DONE
20) Clean out and organize the kitchen cabinets and pantry (0/1)
21) Redo the varnish on the bathroom vanity (0/1)
22) Clean out our bedroom closet (0/1)
23) Clean out the garage (0/1)
24) Repaint the walls of my dining room and kitchen in a color I like (0/1)
25) Create a kid’s art & craft box easy to access (1/1) – DONE
26) Store the kids’ artwork in storage boxes (0/1)
27) Clean out my various email inboxes and folders (0/1)
28) Unsubscribe from emails I never read (1/1) – DONE
29) Organize and clean up my internet browser bookmarks (0/1)
30) Edit and save all family / kid photos I took since the birth of my first child (0/1)
31) Upload the saved photos onto albums on the Shutterfly website to share with family and friends (0/1)
32) Print memorable photos of my oldest child for the large photo collage frame I bought and put it on the staircase wall (0/1) – DONE
33) Print memorable photos of my youngest child for the large photo collage frame I bought and put it on the staircase wall (0/1) – DONE

Writing

34) Spend 3 hours a day on writing activities (paid or not) during the week, 2 hours a day on weekends (200/1001)
35) Send 100 article queries to magazines and publications (0/100)
36) Post once a week to my Perfecting Motherhood blog (73/143)
37) Post once a week to my new freelance writing website’s blog (see task #51) (0/143)
38) Post once a day to my Every Day I See a Cow blog until December 31, 2011 (244/244) – DONE
39) NEW – Post photographs and other art for sale on Zazzle.com and a few other similar websites (0/1)
40) Attend a writers’ meeting several times a year (0/10)
41) Join a book club (1/1) – DONE
42) Write my first book (0/1)

Reading

43) Update my list of read books on Goodreads  (0/1)
44) Read one book a week (60/143)
45) Read 30 literature classics (1/30) (The Awakening)
46) Re-read all of the Harry Potter books in a row (0/7)
47) Read 5 to 7 new books with my kids every week (45/143)
48) Learn 3 to 5 new words every week and keep a log of them (20/143)
49) Put a list of my 20 favorite quotes together (0/20)

Career

50) Update my LinkedIn profile to highlight my writing skills and experience (1/1) – DONE!
51) Create a new website for my freelance writing & photography business (separate from my marketing website) (0/1)
52) Create an Excel spreadsheet for my business expenses and income for 2011 (1/1) – DONE
53) Track and document my business deductions and receipts for 2011 (1/1) – DONE

Family & Leisure

54) Spend one-on-one quality time once a week with my oldest (35/143)
55) Spend one-on-one quality time once a week with my youngest (44/143)
56) Establish 2 French-only days a week with my kids, including storytime (6/246)
57) Cook one large family dish every week (24/143)
58) Make/bake one family dessert every week (18/143)
59) Try 10 new recipes (5/10)
60) Bake Christmas cookies and share with friends and family (1/3)
61) Have 10 family picnics (3/10)
62) Try 10 new restaurants (5/10)
63) Go apple picking (0/1)
64) Shop at a farmer’s market (2/1) – DONE
65) Sing in the rain (0/1)
66) Enjoy some outdoor/indoor music (0/1)
67) Go whale watching (0/1)
68) Take two family vacations (1/2)
69) Make birthday cakes from scratch for every family birthday, including mine (2/15)
70) Make sure my oldest learns how to swim (0/1)
71) Make sure my youngest learns how to swim (0/1)
72) Watch one new movie every other week (14/72)
73) Watch 50 of IMDB’s Top 250 movies (http://www.imdb.com/chart/top) I haven’t seen yet (1/50) – DELETED
73) Email or call my sister at least once a month (5/33)
74) Pet a dolphin (1/1) – DONE
75) Pet a horse (0/1)
76) See a waterfall (0/1)
77) Walk in a forest (1/1) – DONE
78) Make a snowman (0/1)
79) Stargaze and look for shooting stars (0/1)
80) Visit a botanical garden (1/1) – DONE
81) Go to Disneyland California (0/1)
82) Go to Legoland California (0/1)

Finances

83) Rollover the 401K from my most recent job into my personal IRA (0/1)
84) Set up college savings accounts for my two kids (0/1)
85) Write a will and get life insurance (0/1)

Health & Personal Growth

86) Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night (170/1001)
87) NEW – take a relaxing bath once a week (0/93)
88) NEW – Stop biting my nails (0/1) (replaces Take my vitamins every day)
89) Eat at least one good source of protein every day (210/1001)
90) NEW – Write three things I’m grateful for every day for a month (0/30) (replaces Drink Diet Coke only twice a week)
91) Exercise (strenuously) at least 2 times a week (50/246)
92) Check my blood pressure twice a week (14/246)
93) Get 2 mammograms (1 a year) (1/2)
94) Go a whole day without saying no (0/1)
95) Not swear for a whole week (0/1)
96) Spend a whole weekend without computer or internet access (0/1)
97) Complete 5 Sudoku puzzles (0/5)
98) Get one or more massages (0/1)
99) Take a class to learn something new (1/1) – DONE
100) Do some volunteer work (0/1)
101) Develop 3 new friendships (0/3)

Now, as the Nike people say, “Just do it!”

Other 101 in 1001 Challengers:

• a gator in dc
• A matter of choice
• Adventures in Mediocrity
• Bubbablue’s Blog
• Corkscrew boo-hoo
• Dad to Liberty
• Ebony Delights
• Fi’s Mutterings and Mumblings
• Helloitsgemma
• Heroblues
• Inspiration to Dream
• Just Another Housewife
• Kiwidutch
• Mamamash
• Manchester Meanders
• Manchester’s Artistic Son
• Momof8crazymonkeys
• Mum of One
• Piglet in Portugal
• Sarsm’s Blog
• Seashell by the Seashore
• Shell Louise
• Still Wrong But Vivid Right
• The Gingerbread House
• The Laughing Housewife
• The McCaskie Clan
• The Thought Palette
• The Wonders & Scary Thoughts of a Crazy Mummy
• Thoughts From Me