A little over 1000 days ago, I set out to accomplish 101 tasks. Some had multiple components, like where one task was to read 54 books I hadn’t read before. Others involved baking, making, quitting – yes that was a task!, sorting through clothes, jewelry and shoes. Many of the tasks were experiences – make a fire, roast marshmallows, plant a garden.

I know this is a fad of sorts, a place between to do list and bucket list, but I thought it would be fun. And it was. I did many of the things on my list and though I did not accomplish it all, I found it interesting to see what I had said I wanted to do and why I did not do some of those things. (I didn’t finish the list by the time line I set.)

So now, looking back on it, I see it as an assessment. Here is what I thought about it in the beginning. It is amazing how fast it went.

I am keeping a list of 101 things I’d like to accomplish in the next 1001 days.

For me, 1001 days (2.75 years) is a happy medium between writing a “to-do” list and keeping a bucket list. It’s a way to dream big and make regular progress toward meeting those longer term goals.

Looking at the list of tasks, my goals are starting to emerge. Here goes!  Beginning Tuesday, January 1, 2013  – Ending Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Selections from the list:

34. Have a fondue party
35. Watch a sunset
36. Watch a sunrise
37. Go to New York City
38. Go to Chicago

I didn’t have the fondue party, but I did the other four. I have had a fondue party in the past and it was fun, but the timing never quite worked out.  I did enjoy the sunrise and sunsets, and the travel to Chicago and New York. I also tried to appreciate the little things in life a bit more conscientiously.

50. Make my own ice cream – This was fun, and I was able to try it out a few times.

There were other things on the list that I failed miserably at. I wanted to make bread from scratch, make an original painting, learn to knit, make a wreath and learn to brew a batch of beer. I did try knitting a bit and looked into brewing beer and wreath making, but I still did not accomplish these things.

I did manage to see a live theater production, and a current movie in the movie theater. Those were wonderful and I was glad I did them. I enjoy movies and theater and don’t get out enough to see them often.

Anyway as I think up a new list, I thought I would share my thoughts about this format. Go out and try new things, at least a few. Think about what you really want. What are you willing to put some effort into and really TRY?

Do I care if no one ever reads/buys my work and/or thinks it’s terrible? I might care….a bit. But it won’t stop me from writing. I have very rarely shown my work to anyone, ever, so how much different could it be? One of the people I used as a character in a story I wrote forever ago is gone, and I have only shown a few people my writing in 20 years. I think I would like people to like what I write, or to find it interesting, discover a new perspective, that sort of thing, but if they don’t love it, that will be ok. It’s not ready yet, so who knows! I think I have been dwelling on the fact that none of my writing is “Ready” yet and as I was compiling my handwritten pages into files and my typed pages into online files, it was funny to see how much I have written over the years. SO, sometime in the next 12 months I am going to publish…..something. I have some ideas; there are a few things that could be made ready sooner, so those may be first. Maybe something I write for NaNoWriMo will edge them out and that is ok too.
Really, in the long run, this is all just for fun, and to get the stories out of my head. I am also learning a lot and there is something to be said for that. Some people play softball or golf, I write.