101 tasks in 1001 days

mission: complete 101 preset tasks in 1001 days
criteria: tasks must be realistic and specific, requiring actual effort and with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined

start: Saturday 1 December 2007
end: Saturday 29 August 2010

tasks completed: 028
tasks remaining: 073

technology

1. upgrade to leopard
2. get an airline adaptor for the mbp // done
3. get an iPhone // done
4. get wii fit
5. play with flash // done
6. 10 Photoshop/Illustrator/Fireworks tricks // [1] [2]
7. play with or install linux
8. understand layer tennis // done
9. 1001 posts total on entire website (including tumblr)

arts

10. visit an art exhibition
11. see Wicked in London
12. see Wicked in New York
13. go to an outdoor concert
14. 10,000 songs in my iTunes library // done
15. listen to 10 new singers / bands // [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
16. finish watching all 7 seasons of Buffy

reading

17. use my library card
18. read mythology for dummies
19. read a book of poetry
20. finish all the Harry Potter books
21. read 10 books on the bookshelf that I haven’t read before // [1] [2]
22. read 10 ebooks

writing

23. 2008: 50k words or nano // done
24. 2009: 50k words or nano
25. 101 6-word novels // [1-20]
26. write 5 short stories // [1] [2]
27. post one more story on pens

photography

28. buy a lomo
29. complete 26 things using lomo
30. complete 26 things using a colour as theme
31. photograph a sunrise // done
32. take 10 photos of people // [1] [2] [3]
33. take 10 photos of subway trains // [1] [2]
34. 10 b&w pictures // [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
35. make a panaroma // done
36. tues’ assignment: find colour in an unusual place

travel

37. 3 new countries
38. 6 new US states
39. visit a World Heritage site
40. visit San Diego zoo
41. visit India as a tourist
42. go to Hokkaido // done
43. go on a cruise
44. fly first class // done
45. get to gold status on airmiles card // done

health/sports

46. get a health check
47. reduce time to run 1 mile by 10% // done
48. 10km in under 1:20 // done
49. take a tai chi, yoga or martial arts course
50. play 18 holes of golf
51. go rock-climbing (real or wall)
52. go hiking
53. go bowling // done
54. go skiing or snowboarding
55. get a facial // done
56. lose 10 pounds // done

food

57. 10 new fruits / vegetables // [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
58. 10 new savoury dishes // [1] [2] [3] [4]
59. 10 new pasta dishes // [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
60. be vegetarian for 1 week
61. plan, make and serve a full course meal, with wine
62. make a croquembouche
63. make panna cotta
64. make an Asian or Indian meal
65. go to a wine tasting
66. 10 new dessert / pastry recipes // [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
67. 10 new restaurants in 10 cities // [paris] [tokyo] [chicago] [hong kong] [london]
68. eat at a truck stop
69. eat at a Michelin-star restaurant

home

70. buy another house / apartment, or equivalent in property funds
71. throw away 101 clutter items // done
72. clear out window-boxes
73. change foam filling for sofa cushions
74. get new pillows // done
75. get new air-conditioners // done
76. renovate bathroom
77. renovate kitchen

finance

78. make a will
79. total comp = x
80. total asset = x
81. plan a money free weekend // done
82. microfinance someone on kiva // done
83. invest in a latin american fund // done
84. sell an item on ebay

family

85. take parents to niagara falls
86. treat parents to spa
87. and sis too
88. send my niece a postcard when I’m travelling
89. visit grandparents’ and great-grandmothers’ graves // done

personal

90. complete the thing-a-day challenge // done
91. go a whole weekend without speaking // done
92. go to midnight Mass // done
93. pray the rosary
94. buy 3 items of clothing that are not black or blue
95. take pictures of all my hard rock café polo shirts
96. count how many swatches I have
97. speak french, en france
98. look into earthwatch or similar program
99. go to a baseball game
100. own / rent / drive a convertible
101. [personal] // done

There is a big master list and it’s interesting to look at other people’s tasks. Some tasks are very popular, but I can’t include them because I’ve done them. To give myself some encouragement, I’ll list them out as an achieved pre-list.

1. buy a house
2. personal finance tasks such as reduce debt, pay off mortgage, put money in a monthly savings plan, buy stock
3. learn how to drive stick — I have to put on a straight face whenever I see this one
4. get a passport — oh, Americans
5. visit New Zealand, the Smithsonian, Niagara falls, Vegas or go on a long road trip — yep, been to all these places
6. go whale watching, dolphin watching, touch a koala — yep, done these too
7. get website, re-design website, learn html, learn css — may be after 1001 days I’ll need to re-design again
8. write a book — I figured I’ve done 3 nanos, those count
9. complete 26 things — so I gave myself more specific 26 things goals instead
10. try acupuncture, reflexology, Thai massage, yoga
11. pack own lunch to work — that’s like my default
12. there’s also one popular and meaningful task I can’t do — give blood. Most countries politely refuse donors who stayed cumulatively more than 3 months in the UK between 1980 and 1996. I can only give blood in the UK, and since I’m not living there right now…