Incoherent Scribblings

One Thousand and One Days

A few months ago, some of my fellow stitching bloggers joined the 101 Things in 1001 Days project. For those of you unfamiliar with this project, “[t]he aim is complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days. The tasks must be specific and have a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching.”

At first I had no desire to join the 101 Things Bandwagon, but with the developments in my personal life over the past few weeks I began to think about how I wanted to proceed with my life. In the past I have always accomplished the most on a personal and professional level when I made long-term goals, so I naturally began to develop goals for the next stage. As I developed the goals I realized that perhaps the 101 Things in 1001 Days (or a little less than three years) wasn’t such a bad idea after all and so my list was born.

I began by just jotting down ideas as they came to me. As I typed them up not only did I begin to categorize and somewhat prioritize them, I also removed items that were either too vague or would be better classified as additions to daily, weekly, or monthly routines. I estimate that about 90% of my goals are tangible tasks that have a definite beginning and end point and can easily be crossed off my list with a victorious cry of “Done!”

The remaining few are not as concrete, but are rather long-term changes in my life that I will have to actively work toward in order to make them happen. I debated about whether to add these to my list as they don’t precisely fit the criteria, but ultimately came to the conclusion that this list is to reflect my life’s aspirations and if at the end of 1001 days I can document how I attempted to achieve these less-than tangible goals then I am justified in adding them to my 101 Things List.

The first 30 or so goals were fairly easy because they were things I felt that I would have to do one way or the other in order to get my new life on track. The following 71 goals took some serious reflection, but I have finally completed my list and think I can say that I am satified with what I am going to try to accomplish.

I completed and posted my list today, and according to my calculations if I started the list today, the 1001st day would fall 10 days before my 35th birthday. However, as I feel that my 35th birthday is a significant milestone in my life I have made an executive decision to postpone the “official” start date until August 25, 2006, or exactly 1001 days before my 35th birthday.

As I work in the direction of fulfilling My 101 Things in 1001 Days I will record my accomplishments, set-backs, experiences, etc. here in addition to my regular blog entries, so I hope that you travel with me to the finish line.