101 Goals in 1001 Days

Several photographers I know have started or completed a 101 Goals in 1001 Days Project, including my dear friend RJ Kern. In fact, RJ and I started working together because of his list– I offered to help with a couple of the goals listed on his blog, and we started chatting about projects we’d like to do. It’s funny how life works like that sometimes.

I’ve been kicking around the idea of putting together my own list for awhile now. I tend to do better with goals- I was that obnoxious kid at school who always completed every assignment. My parents grounded me once from my homework. A list like this is a bit like creating a Life Syllabus for myself- I am who I am, what can I say?

Recently, I read Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project. It solidified for me how a project like this can be useful. She talks about happiness and unhappiness and how they’re not really polarized, “they aren’t opposite sides of the same emotion- they’re distinct and rise and fall independently.” Doing some things can help you feel good (traveling),  and decreasing the things that make you feel bad can add happiness (cutting crap food or getting rid of clutter.) Completing necessary or “right” tasks (her word) like taking care of medical check-ups and volunteering can increase happiness, but the most important factor she mentions is growth. As she says, “… it isn’t goal attainment but the process of striving after goals- that is, growth- that brings happiness.”

So with growth in mind, and a desire to revel in the process, I start my 101 in 1001 project. If you have your own goal project, I’d love to see them and see what I can help with, and if you see any goals you can help with, I’d appreciate that too. After all, you never know where collaboration might lead.

• 1. Renew my Passport
  2. Have a Reason to Renew my Passport
  3. Girls Weekend in Manitou Springs
  4. Visit 3 Places I’ve Never Been in Colorado (1/3- Calhan)
  5. Financial Goal #1 (3/1/12)
  6. Financial Goal #2 (3/28/12)
  7. Financial Goal #3
  8. Create $0 Sum Monthly Budget
  9. Have a Garage Sale
  10. Have a No Spend Month
  11. Tailor Good Clothing
  12. Go to a Tasting Event
  13. Attend Cirque du Soleil
  14. Buy a New (to me) Car, Preferably Outright
  15. Take Advantage of Denver Restaurant Week
  16. Attend a Movie at Red Rocks
  17. Find 10 New Musicians I Enjoy  (3/10 The Lumineers, Of Monsters and Men, and The Black Keys)
  18. Wander through new places on South Broadway
  19. Complete Photo Essay of South Broadway
  20. Complete a Photo Essay of Museum Taxidermy
  21. Shoot @ BNC (for myself) for Movement
  22. Confirm my Blood Type (3/2/12)
  23. One Month without Crap Food
  24. Get Skin Screening 2 More Times
  25. Go to the Dentist 6 Times
  26. Legitimately Move up to 5 lbs Weights (I’m little, shush)
  27. Cook with 5 Fruits or Veggies I’ve Never Cooked (1/5 Artichoke)
  28. Actually Keep up with Quantum Faith Reading for 1 Book
  29. Do Dishes After Dinner Every Night for 1 Month (4/15/12)
  30. Create 50 Different Homemade Ice Creams (6/50)
  31. Create an Ice Cream Album
  32. Complete one “Let’s Do 52”- abandoned, I need a new goal!
  33. Perfect High Altitude Biscuits
  34. Finish My Chairs
  35. Finish my T-Shirt Quilt
  36. Finish Second Scotland Trip Album
  37. Finish year in Japan Album
  38. Take a Class Through SSPRD
  39. Sercret Goal #1
  40. Save over 50% with Coupons (5/1/12)
  41. Save over 75% with Coupons 4/13/12)
  42. Roast Drinkable Coffee
  43. Roast Delicious Coffee
  44. Say “Yes” to 10 Things I Normally Wouldn’t Do
  45. Accept
  46. Teach InDesign Class
  47. Take a Risk on Something Scary
  48. Secret Goal #2
  49. Secret Goal #3
  50. Secret Goal #4
  51. Support the Endeavors of 10 Friends (2/10)
  52. Host 3 Parties- Not Mother’s Day
  53. Meet Elowen Before her 1st Birthday (3/30/12)
  54. Use my Great-Grandmother and Great-Great-Grandmother’s Dishes
  55. Organize a Picture Day for Friends’ Kids
  56. Give BNC a 10 year Anniversary Present (4/12/12)
  57. Help AfterHours in the Park on Average Twice a Month (10/67)
  58. Complete our Website Redesign (3/29/12)
  59. Complete a Pricing Redesign
  60. Complete a Business Cards and Collateral Redesign
  61. Be Published in a National Blog or Magazine
  62. Complete the Transition to a Paperless Office
  63. Complete Flatland Test Shoot (4/5/12)
  64. Complete ### Test Shoot
  65. Complete ### Test Shoot
  66. Study 5 Photojournalistic Photographers for Depth and Dimension
  67. Finish Couture Book Portfolio Album
  68. Organize my Office
  69. Redecorate my Office (4/29/12)
  70. Go Through my Books 94/29/12)
  71. Go Through my Media
  72. Go Through my Clothing
  73. Go Through my Toiletries
  74. Clean out the Hutch and Kitchen
  75. Replace the Kitchen Sink (4/29/12)
  76. Redo the Downstairs Floor
  77. Fix the Living Room Ceiling
  78. Create a Reading Area
  79. Redo Downstairs Bathroom
  80. Paint Upstairs Bathroom Moulding and Doors
  81. Redo the Backyard
  82. Make an Inviting Patio Space
  83. Clean out the Linen Closet (4/29/12)
  84. Paint the Banisters and Railings
  85. Paint the Fireplace
  86. Paint and Replace Window Sills
  87. Organize the Basement
  88. Organize the Garage
  89. Be Able to Park in the Garage
  90. Complete Paleontology 101 (5/14/12)
  91. Complete Intro to Geology
  92. Complete Curation of Fossils
  93. Complete Paleontology of the Western Interior
  94. Complete Evolution
  95. Complete Lecture and Lab Course #1
  96. Complete Lecture and Lab Course #2
  97. Complete Writing and Research Course
  98. Complete the Schnozosaurus Book
  99. Secret Goal #6
  100. Review Goals at Halfway Point
  101. Make a new 101 in 1001 List

Anything in bold is completed, with the date I  completed it attached. My 1001 days will end on Thanksgiving  of 2014- kinda perfect, I thought.

-Amanda