Monday, May 14, 2007

101 in 1001

**Update 2/18/08--I had totally forgotten about this project, but I've accomplished a few! Yay! I've marked those very few in blue, and the ones where the deadline has passed or are dropped in red, and I'm going to pick up and try to knock out a few more!**

I guess I have fallen prey to spending too much time online, like so many people, but out of that time I have learned lots of good ideas and new things. One project I stumbled across on The Simple Dollar (but originally from Triplux) is 101 goals in 1001 days. The basic guidelines are these:


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

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

I never thought 101 goals would be so hard...it seems like I have been setting goals for years, since I learned about them in junior high. So far I only have 62. I had over 70 yesterday, but didn't open the right document when Excel recovered from an error, so those last few are gone. I'm loving the idea behind the project, though...lots of goals, so they can be short term, midterm, or long term. Plus, 1001 days is just short of 3 years...not too soon, but not too far away. If I'm ready to work on one, great. If not, there's always next week or next month or next school year. Anyway, without further ado, here is my list so far. I'll update it as I go. Bold = in progress

1. Loose an average of 1 lb. a week for 1 year. (0/52)
2. Attend Curves every weekday for a year (0/260)--I'm actually gonna cancel my membership, I think. $30 a month is a lot when I don't go!
3. Be able to touch my head to the floor.
4. Be able to do 50 sit-ups without break and in 1 minute. (0/50)
5. Be in bed before 10 p.m. every night for 1 month (1/31).
6. Walk a 1-mile Walk-a-thon (March of Dimes or such)
7. Drink nothing but water for 1 month (0/31)
8. Try one new fruit or veggie every week this summer (0/12) (next summer, ok?)
9. Buy and keep fresh carrots in fridge every week for 2 months for snacking on (2/8)
10. Wash face and moisturize every night for 1 month (0/31)
11. Discreetly contact ten separate managers about the good work a specific employee has done (0/10)
12. Read 10 National Book Award winners or nominees in Children’s Lit. (0/10)

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party (Candlewick Press) - M.T. Anderson

The Penderwicks (Alfred A. Knopf) - Jeanne Birdsall

The House of the Scorpion - Nancy Farmer

Richard Peck – A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town - Kimberly Willis Holt

A Swiftly Tilting Planet - Madeleine L'Engle

Katherine Paterson - The Great Gilly Hopkins

Lloyd Alexander - The High King

Westmark - Lloyd Alexander

One as-of-yet undetermined book
13. Read 10 biographies. (0/10)

I'm just going to have to feel these out. Just because it is popular right now doesn't mean

I'm going to automatically put it on the list…I may want to read some "classics."
14. Read 10 non-fiction books (not biographies). (0/10)

Same as # 11.
15. Watch at least 10 of the AFIs top 100 movies that I haven’t seen. (0/10).

I've only seen 20 of the top 100. Sad, but then…life is more than movies.

Singin' in the Rain

All About Eve

The Maltese Falcon

West Side Story

Tootsie


Bringing Up Baby

Citizen Kane

The Apartment

Clockwork Orange

The Manchurian Candidate
16. Write 1 post a week for blog (1/143?)
17. Complete both grocery shopping and laundry on Saturday every week for 3 months (0/9)
18. Wear make-up every school day for 1 school year (0/178)
19. Buy one really nice nightgown that is sexy and comfy…or at least that doesn’t look like a white satin sack on me.
20. Wear something other than tennis shoes or Crocs to school for 1 week. (5/5) (Got some comfy sandals! Yay!)
21. Visit local museum
22. Not play Spider Solitare at all for 1 month (0/31)
23. Make each recipe in my Recipezaar cookbook. (0/71)
24. Read all of the unread books on my bookcase.
25. Read 10 other novels I've been wanting to

California Demon

Harry Potter # 7

The Yiddish Policeman's Union

Gregory Maguire's books

Phillipa Gregory's historical novels

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

New "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" novel

Hitchhiker's Guide books
26. Read at least 1 book about the difference about Shias and Sunnis, or on Islam and the Middle East in general
27. Try at least one series that I have wondered about (Pendragon, etc.) (Pendragon...didn't like it)
28. Turn off computer by 8:00 p.m. every night for 1 month (0/31)
29. Have all debt paid off except mortgage ($0/$16,000) (cc & car payment)
30. Have a $5,000 nest egg. ($0/$5000)
31. Donate $10 to charity for each item on this list I do not complete.
32. Take care of library bill and start using library by Fall 2007
33. For 1 month, spend nothing but bills and groceries (no eating out, nothing for school, nothing for house, nothing for hubby, etc.)
34. Buy washer and dryer.
35. Spend less than $100 on a weekend visit to Dallas. (Cuz I was too broke to spend more! Hah!)
36. Complete at least 2 secret shops (if available) every time I go to Denton or Corpus to help defray the cost of gas (Quit secret shopping)
37. Pay off Mr. Electric bill. ($1800/$3,000)
38. Do 2005 taxes (sad, I know).
39. Leave 10 love notes for my husband for no reason at all. (0/10)
40. Take at least 1 impromptu trip a year (0/3)
41. Complete 1 new unit per year (1/3)--I'm working on 1 now!
42. Make my bed every night before bed for 1 month (0/31).
43. Sweep the whole house daily for 1 month (0/31)
44. Have plumber install plumbing for washer.
45. Make and put up a piece of art in living room between vases.
46. Fill vases with attractive faux floral arrangement (or anything, honestly!!)
47. Take down Christmas tree. (I did, but then we put it back up...and didn't decorate it. And now it is naked and in the dining room.)
48. Take down Christmas tree immediately after Christmas in 2007.
49. Put up curtains and tie-backs over closet in bedroom
50. Put up blinds in bathroom
51. Replace blinds in living room, dining room, office, and kitchen (0/8)
52. Choose paint colors for kitchen
53. Hire someone to paint kitchen :)
54. Choose new flooring for kitchen
55. Have new flooring laid in kitchen.
56. Have new flooring laid in bathroom
57. Digitize Mamau’s photo collection and upload for family access
58. Have a cache of 50 cards for various purposes (homemade). (0/50)
59. Fix music archiving problem
60. Buy teacher birthday presents before school begins and keep at school so I don’t have to remember to buy them or bring them from home!
61. Clean off desk and lay out lesson plans for next day every day for 2 months (0/40)
62. Have a student teacher or make 2 substantive, helpful posts a week to KinderKorner listserve for 1 school year. (I'm counting this because I am a mentor this year! A cruddy one, I think, but still...you haven't met my class. I've had other irons in the fire, trust me)
63. Learn to sew well enough to make a skirt.




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