101 things in 1001 days

On Saturday 10th April 2010 I started the 101 things in 1001 days challenge.

Why that date? Because it means that I will complete the challenge on January 5th 2013 – my 42nd birthday. And given that 42 is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything, that seems quite fitting. It also gives me a couple of months to actually work out what I want to do!!

The List

Click the (more info) link after each task to find out why it is on the list, how I will judge that I’ve completed it and to read about my progress. Alternatively, visit the 101 in 1001 blog to read all the entries so far.

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Completed 23/101

In Progress 16/101

Failed 1/101

 

1 See the Northern Lights (more info)

2 Win NaNoWriMo IN PROGRESS (more info)

3 Visit a Mosque (more info)

4 Read 5 business self-help type books (3/5) (more info)

5 Send something to Postsecret (more info)

6 Join a book club (more info)

7 Relearn how to knit and make a scarf (more info)

8 Read 26 books by authors new to me, one for each letter of the alphabet (though X may require some cheating!) (15/26) (more info)

9 Join the 365 project and take a photo a day for a year (IN PROGRESS) (more info)

10 Go for a month without alcohol (COMPLETED) (more info)

11 Learn some tapdancing (more info)

12 Visit 5 new (to me) networking groups (including 4N) (5/5) (COMPLETED) (more info)

13 Grow 5 types of fruit or vegetable and eat them (4/5) (more info)

14 Write at least one entry in my blog every day for a month (more info)

15 Go for a 5 mile cycle (more info)

16 Send a letter or card to one of the PostPals every month throughout the 1001 days (FAILED) (1/33) (more info)

17 Listen to 26 new bands/singers, one for each letter of the alphabet (0/26) (more info)

18 Try food from 3 different countries/cultures that I’ve not tried before (2/3) (more info)

19 Sort out my paperwork and file away bills COMPLETED (more info)

20 Visit a food festival (more info)

21 Host a dinner party for at least 4 people (more info)

22 Be in the audience for a radio show (more info)

23 Eat an oyster COMPLETED (more info)

24 Lose at least 4 stone (IN PROGRESS) (more info)

25 Throw a message in a bottle into the sea (more info)

26 Visit three (new to me) football grounds COMPLETED (more info)

27 Take my children to an event in the 2012 Olympics IN PROGRESS (more info)

28 Go to three more places from the Bollocks to Alton Towers/Far From the Sodding Crowd books (1/3) (more info)

29 Visit and photograph the Ships’ Graveyard at Purton COMPLETED (more info)

30 Take part in the Race for Life (more info)

31 Put aside £5 for every task completed and treat myself when the 1001 days are over (more info)

32 Donate £5 to charity for every unfinished item on the list (more info)

33 Have a letter published in a national newspaper (more info)

34 Take a photo and either sell it or have it displayed in an exhibition COMPLETED (more info)

35 Write a haiku poem (more info)

36 Go to an international football match (more info)

37 Drive a car round a motor racing circuit COMPLETED (more info)

38 Paint a picture (more info)

39 Make my own pasta (more info)

40 Take a birds’ eye view of the world (but not from a commercial airliner) (more info)

41 Brew my own alcohol (more info)

42 Send someone a surprise parcel COMPLETED(more info)

43 Photograph a derelict or abandoned building (more info)

44 Visit a new country COMPLETED (more info)

45 Get a favourite photo printed on canvas (more info)

46 Go to a singalonga film (more info)

47 Write three letters of thanks/praise about a good product/service (2/3) (more info)

48 Visit an ice bar (more info)

49 Write letters to my kids of what I wish for them – put them away for their 21st birthdays (more info)

50 Sort out my debts, one way or the other COMPLETED (more info)

51 Invent a cocktail (more info)

52 Hide a geocache (more info)

53 Perform 10 random acts of kindness (2/10) (more info)

54 Give 5 “I saw this and thought of you” gifts (0/5) (more info)

55 Experience a flotation chamber (more info)

56 Learn a foreign language up to conversational level (more info)

57 Do the 31 days to build a better blog course (more info)

58 Watch all 3 Lord of the Rings films in one day (more info)

59 Watch all 5 series of Six Feet Under (more info)

60 Climb Faringdon Folly COMPLETED (more info)

61 Go to a banger racing event (more info)

62 Get new glasses COMPLETED (more info)

63 Write a new 101 in 1001 to start when this one finishes (more info)

64 Start swimming again and swim 50 lengths (IN PROGRESS) (more info)

65 Watch the sun set and rise (or rise and set) in the same 24 hours COMPLETED (more info)

66 Visit a museum I haven’t been to before COMPLETED (more info)

67 Send a shoebox to Romania (more info)

68 Go to a comedy club (more info)

69 Watch a film from the year I was born (more info)

70 Go on a brewery or distillery tour (more info)

71 Listen to thirty different radio stations for at least 1 hour each (5/30) (more info)

72 Visit three UK cities I’ve never been to before COMPLETED (more info)

73 Drink 50 different beers (50/50) COMPLETED (more info)

74 Spend a whole day in bed (more info)

75 Learn a new craft and make something with it (more info)

76 Make my own chutney (more info)

77 Donate 1,000,000 grains of rice (12,100/1,000,000) (more info)

78 Get a penpal (more info)

79 Keep a fantasy football team going for a whole season COMPLETED (more info)

80 Apply to join Mensa (more info)

81 Sleep in an unusual place (more info)

82 Drink Absinthe COMPLETED (more info)

83 Do a Xmas Day/Boxing Day/New Year’s Day swim (more info)

84 Buy something at an offline auction (more info)

85 Punt along the Thames (more info)

86 Ride in a convertible (IN PROGRESS) (more info)

87. Put my books in alphabetical (author) order (more info)

88. Read five classic novels (1/5) (more info)

89. Drink champagne from a pint glass COMPLETED (more info)

90. Do a firewalk (more info)

91. Meet someone famous (more info)

92. Discover my spiritual self (more info)

93. Do a 4sight at a 4Networking meeting COMPLETED (more info)

94. Spring clean and keep the house tidy for a month (more info)

95. Dye my hair a mad colour (more info)

96. Read the His Dark Materials trilogy (more info)

97. Make three new friends (0/3) (more info)

98. Write my family tree (more info)

99. Have a hot stone massage COMPLETED (more info)

100. Learn how to meditate (more info)

101. Make a film and put it on You Tube COMPLETED (more info)

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More about the 101 things in 1001 days Challenge:

The Mission

Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria

Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?

Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.