2010 Objective: The Great 101 in 1001 Experiment

I admit that I haven’t been as focused on my “101 Things To Do in 1001 Days” (aka, 101 in 1001 List) as I had hoped I’d be when I created it in March 2008. Granted, at the time, I didn’t expect to move from Chicago to Louisville, and then move again in Louisville after just a year, so there’s been a bit more upheaval in my life than I had predicted.

I did manage to mark a few things off the list, though:
2. Buy a car
5. Bake something from scratch
15. Take a sewing class
24. Donate books
25. Clean out closets (moving forces you to clean)
26. Clean out basement space (see above, re: moving)
27. Lose 10 pounds
36. Observation deck of the Sears Tower
39. Visit Chicago’s Chinatown
41. Attend 2009 Family Reunion
47. Purchase Laptop
48. Purchase Apple iTouch
49. Purchase digital camera with image stabilization
51. Purchase good pedometer
53. Knit myself a sweater
54. Knit Mr. Martini hat & scarf set (OK, just a scarf, he claims he doesn’t want a hat)
55. Finish or frog all current knitting WIPs
58. Sew pillows for living room
62. Make a photo light box
70. Reorganize all Flickr photos and sets
71. Organize all MP3s
73. Recycle old computers & monitors (FYI, Louisville has a FANTASTIC consumer electronics recycling program!)
78. Get a facial
83. Eat an Indian meal
86. Do a cartwheel on July 30 2009
88. Go to a concert
92. Donate knitted items to charity
97. Take a photography class
98. Cook holiday meal
100. Bet on a horse race at Churchill Downs
101.  Get married

31 out of 101. That’s it. That’s just over a quarter. That means that there are 70 items still left to be completed.

Gulp.

In reviewing the list again, there are 20 items listed that just aren’t going to happen. That I don’t even want to attempt, or completely missed the boat on, location/time-wise. Remember, I wrote this list when I lived in Chicago, so the Chicago related items especially are just not going to happen at this point. There are also some that I don’t want to move forward with, for various reasons (change in priorities, change in tastes, budgeting issues, etc.). I’m not going to fret about those.

But that does leave 50 items. Which is just about how many weeks I have left to complete this list, give or take.

That’s when I thought: I wonder if I can complete one thing a week for the rest of the year, or until my mid-December due date?

I wonder if that’s possible. It might be fun to try!

I’ve decided that this will be my focus for 2010. No major goals, no major resolutions, but a focus on the 101 in 1001 list, which is filled with a variety of activities that vary from good for me to stuff I never thought I’d do to stuff that I’ve never let myself do before.

You can check out the 101 in 1001 page to see the entire list, including the items that I have left to do. It is one varied list, and I kind of love that.

I’ll try to update my progress every Tuesday, so that gives me the weekend to start/finish/go crazy.

I already have an idea of what I want to do this weekend. This weekly challenge is going to be daunting, but just thinking about pacing myself and getting to do a lot of these things that are going to be fun is really getting me excited to get started.

It’s going to be a busy 2010! Bring it on!