101 things in 1001 days

 Self-motivation is hard. Like, super hard. Just in case you were wondering. It's right up there with doing real pullups or finding a unicorn.

In the past 18 months I've tried many approaches - daily to do lists, laying out weekly schedules, weekly to do lists, project breakdowns, monthly to do lists, joining groups. Some of them work well, some worked for a time, some of them simply served to make me feel incompetent. B pointed out that I seem to do better with setting goals to work towards rather than simply saying "I will work on this thing every day" (doesn't everyone?).

Then in the midst of twitter meandering, I found this woman's blog and saw her list of goals to accomplish - 101 things in 1001 days. Apparently this meme has been going around the blogosphere for quite some time and I am several years behind. But I am a total sucker for a 'to do' list, so I made one. And I like the timeline of it - 2.74 years is a nice time frame to work in; short enough to feel motivated, long enough that even some of the bigger goals seem doable.

Of course, it's taken me 3 weeks to come up with 101 things, and during this time I've already started - even finished - a few. Perhaps it's cheating, but I think I'll need the head start.

Disclaimer: In no way do I think I will actually accomplish all of these - some of them are realistic, some of them are pipe dreams. But it's been a fun exercise simply to make the list - I encourage you to give it a try, see what comes up for you (then let me know if any of yours overlap and we can do them together!)

Part of the ongoing #73 - simple photo manipulations for the win!

Start date: 1 July 2014

End date: 28 March 2017

My 101 goals:

Italics indicate a goal in progress

Bold goals have been completed

Travel/Exploration:

1.     Visit six new (to me) European countries (3/6: July 2014: the Netherlands, August 2014: Austria, October 2014: Hungary)

2.     Set foot in Asia

3.     Visit Peru

4.     Take a girls’ only vacation

5.     Hike a Swiss Alp (August 8 2014, Mt. Rigi)

6.     Visit 5 new (to me) Swiss towns or cities

7.     Go on a trip with B – minimum 1 week

8.     See a show in London

9.     Go snorkeling

10. Go boating on Lake Zurich

11. Go to a professional sporting event

12. Visit the Basel Zoo (October 2014)

13. Take a solo day trip in Switzerland

14. Watch a sunrise

15. Watch a sunset

16. Visit a chocolate factory

17. Take a chocolate-making class

18. Go ziplining

19. Go to a Zurich museum (Kunsthaus, August 2014)

20. Go berry picking (http://www.riedenholzhof.ch)

21. Eat at a Michelin star restaurant

22.  Visit a farmers market 5 times (3/5)

23.  Try 5 new coffee shops in Zurich (4/5 –My Place, Conditerei Schober, Schwarzenbach, Käfi fur Dich)

Friends/Social:

24. Host a Thanksgiving in Switzerland

25.  Send five care packages to friends/family in the US (3/5)

26.  Have a 5 minute conversation in German

27. Go to 5 German conversation group meetings

28. Have a picnic

29. Host 5 friends from abroad at our apartment (2/5)

30. Email/write 10 different friends in the US (2/10)

31.  Go to 5 Meetup gatherings (4/5)

32.  Host friends for dinner 5 times (2/5)

Leisure/Hobbies:

33. Learn to sew (on a sewing machine) – complete one piece

34. Learn to embroider

35. Finish a cross-stitch piece

36. Attempt 5 crafts off Pinterest (1/5: December 2014, homemade cards)

37. Get yarn stash up to date (7 July 2014)

38.  Crochet a major project that should ‘fit’ – e.g., jacket, sweater, etc.

39. Learn to knit – finish one piece

40. Attend course at London College of Fashion

41. Beat a computer game (Tomb Raider, 15 July 2014)

42. Crochet a full-size afghan

43. Join a Zurich library (13 August 2014)

44. Complete a >2000 piece puzzle

45. Go to paint your own pottery (13 July 2014)

46.  Read 100 books (20/100 - goodreads list here)

47. Do 30 day photography challenge

48. Make 10 homemade cards (4/10)

49. Make wedding scrapbook

50. Watch 10 movies off my Netflix queue

In the kitchen:

51. Bake a 2-layer cake, decorate using fondant

52. Make macarons

53. Create my own cookie recipe (2 attempts so far)

54. Try recipes out of 5 different cookbooks (1/5: bread)

55. Follow a German recipe (no translating!)

56. Find 5 new one-pot meals

57. Make homemade jam again - or pickles

58. Try 5 new bread recipes (3/5: biovette, brioche, cheese rolls)

60. Make crème brulée (August 2014)

61. Make a 3 course Peruvian meal

62.  Make 5 homemade mixes (1/5: 13 July 2014 - chai masala mix)

Professional/personal development:

63. Finish writing/take pictures for Zurich expat guide book (15/20 chapters complete)

64. Collect 6 interviews for guide book

65. Hit my goal for a NaNoWriMo (or Camp) (November 2014)

66. Learn photography editing software

67. Read a book in German

68. Get a 40 day streak on DuoLingo

69. Finish the draft of a (fiction) book

70. Get professional (quality) photos done (September 2014)

71. Send inquiry letters to publishers/agents

72. Update Managing Editor info for Round Robin magazine (August 2014)

73. Design and plan ESL course curricula (2/4)

74. Take a course on Coursera for certification

75.  Learn how to manipulate pictures for blog (www.snapmonkey.com)

76. Do a guest blog post

77. Have a guest blogger post

78.  Finish expat blog interview and get it published (You can read it here)

79. Write a blog post 2x/week for one month.

Health/Lifestyle:

80. Run a 10k

81.  Work out 4x/week for 2 months minimum (8/8 weeks complete)

82. Unplug (no tv/internet/phone) for a weekend

83. Watch no television/movies for a week

84. Go swimming in the lake

85. Get annual swimming pool/Bad pass for Zurich

86. Go to a spa (December 2014)

87. Laugh until it hurts

88. Hang diplomas, pictures, etc. on walls

89. Go paragliding

90. Have a child

91. Learn a new hairdo (13 August 2014: French roll)

92. Get a hair cut in Switzerland

93. Wear a stylin' hat (not because it’s cold)

Other:

94. Organize photos on computer and hard copy

95.  Organize spare room and kellar area

96. Put up wall map, note places I’ve been

97. Donate to a Brockihaus (30 July 2014)

98. Get totally gussied up for a date night

99. Repair jackets and coats (2/6)

100.  Perform 5 small acts of kindness (2/5)

101. Volunteer at Tischlein Deck Dich with the Women’s Club