The past three years I have taken the time to write a list of goals for the upcoming year. (See 2008, 2009, 2010 was never completely scanned in.) It has been a great way to live intentionally and make positive changes in my life. My favorite part about making a list of goals is going back and reviewing them at the end of the year. While doing that for 2010, I peeked over to my 2008 and 2009 goals and I realized a few things. I learned that while there were a few things on my lists that weren't completed in their specified year, they did stay with me and I truly am completing them one-by-one. But I also realized, the goals that are not task related (new habits, new mindsets) are consistently taking longer than a year to really find a solid place in my life.
That said, this year I decided to do something different.
One of my favorite photographers/bloggers, Melissa Jill has been working on a 101 in 1001 list. That is a list of 101 goals to complete in 1001 days. I have seen lists like these floating around the web for years and I never really thought it was a realistic way to set goals. However, watching Melissa set her goals andcomplete them one-by-one has been super inspiring. Cap that with my tendency to take a little longer than a year to make changes and reach goals in my personal life and I think I have discovered something that might just work for me. :)
My friend Kate and I came together and started building 101 in 1001 lists back in November. I think we both still only have half of our lists completed. I do have enough to share with you all, at least for now. Here's a peak:
Start date: December 30, 2010 End date: September 26, 2013
- Complete this list by Feb 28, 2010.
- Blog every day for a month
- Blog three times a week for a year on my SLP blog
- Build a welcome (& thank you) packet to send to couples who book with me
- Buy a year’s worth of birthday cards, address and stamp them all at once
- Buy/make/give Tommy 5 "just because" gifts
- Change portfolio site to no longer be flash based
- Complete 12 consecutive months of a monthly photo theme or blog meme
- Complete 52 consecutive weeks of Gratituesday blog posts
- Do something extra special for Tommy's 30th Birthday
- Document life more on my blog, even if some entries need to be private
- Donate $5 for each goal I do not complete
- Enter some of my work into a photography competition
- Give a gift of something hand-made
- Go on a ski trip with Tommy
- Go to DC during a Cherry Blossom peak weekend
- Have a book printed of 1 year of Gratituesday's
- Have all Christmas gifts purchased/wrapped by Dec 1.
- Improve my business website search optimization
- Learn Yoga poses/flow I can do on my own without direction
- Make an album of our wedding pictures
- Meet Kate Nesi, finally! :)
- Obtain copies of our parents’ wedding portraits, frame them, and hang them in our home
- Participate in another triathlon
- Participate in the creation of a style-shoot for a blog or magazine
- Read one book per month for 3 months to better my business
- Refine workflow to have wedding galleries online within 2 weeks of the event
- Return to Nepal (with Tommy?)
- Run a Holiday Giveaway Series on my blog
- Run in 2 races > 5k
- See Third Day in concert
- Travel to the West Coast
- Simplify my internet presence
- Spend a day hiking
- Spend more time outside
- Submit a wedding for publication in a magazine
- Take a cruise with Tommy
- Take a dance class (at least 6 weeks)
- Take a trip on a train
- Try 5 foods I have never tried before
- Visit New England in the fall/winter
- Watch 5 I’ve-always-wanted-to-see-but-just-never-got-around-to-it-movies
- Write a Will
- Make the switch from PC to Mac
- Make my office as mobile as possible so that I can travel often without it interrupting my work
- Learn how to make sushi at home
- Attend a (at least 2-day) photography workshop
- Become a mother
- Tap into commercial photography (to be published)
- Train our dogs
- Take a cooking class
- Try geocaching
- Spend a whole week without using the computer
- Go on a picnic with Tommy
- Trade in my 4-door sedan for a small SUV
- Go to a roller derby match (again)
- Complete a 5-day juice fast
- Create something hand-made for a baby (mine or a close friend/family member's)
- Shoot 20 weddings in one year
- Learn how to use a grill
- Give up caffeine for one month
- Learn more about nutrition and begin cooking healthier meals
- Write and submit a guest blog entry for 5 different blogs.
- Buy a new house
- Participate in the Ragnar Relay
I'll be adding to this list and blogging about my goals as I reach them. I am very excited about this journey and also excited to be documenting it! Here's to 2011... and 2012... and 2013. :)
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
