My 101 Goals

After nearly 48 hours of consideration on this project since my original post, I have developed a list of goals for the next 2.75 years. While many people attempting the 1001 Day challenge have stated that it was difficult to narrow down their goals to only 101, I found it difficult to come up with 101 goals that are sustainable throughout upcoming changes in my life. In the end, I was able to strike a balance between the future and the present, leaving space for any future wants and deciding on goals that will stick with me for years to come.

Some of the goals I have listed have a quota I must meet - I must find 100 things that make me happy, for example. Others are less easily attainable; these goals must become a habit or be continued over a long period of time. I've decided to judge these at the end of the project. If I feel that I have used rechargeable batteries as a habit at the end of the challenge, for example, it will be successful.

All goals in progress will be italicized.
All completed goals will be struck out.

Lazlo Gearailt's 101 in 1001 List

Life Goals
1. Graduate from High School
2. Finish applying to college (1/9)
3. Get accepted to college
4. Find 100 things that make me happy (0/100)
5. Overcome one personal problem
6. Make a list of things I truly believe in

Personal
7. Keep an organizer successfully
8. Find a place for my keys and consistently leave them there at the end of the day
9. Keep track of my finances
10. Stop hating the French language
11. Go through my clothes twice (0/2)
12. Make my bedroom into a home
13. Jump a horse
14. Read one recreational book a month (0/33)
15. Get a library card
16. Put away $2 for every day of the challenge (0/1001)
17. Find 20 quotes that I love
18. Cook and eat a meal with friends
19. Get my ears double-pierced
20. Learn how to play my bass
21. Dye my hair a color that isn't my natural color
22. Get a real job for a summer
23. Put flowers on a grave that doesn't have any
24. Try Bubble Tea
25. Burn all of the old school papers I don't want

Computers
26. Write a blog entry once a week for the next 143 weeks (0/143)
27. Buy a domain
28. Participate in NaBloPoMo
29. Make a blog post for any goal I complete (0/101)
30. Make a new layout for my blog
31. Regularly back up my computer
32. Write ten book reviews in my blog (0/10)
33. Scan and display my written work and images

Geekery
34. Build something with my brother
35. Take apart an expensive gadget
36. Build a robot
37. Make a steampunk sculpture
38. Hug a windmill
39. Buy a kit and make something with LEDs
40. Only use energy-efficient light bulbs as replacements
41. Go somewhere haunted
42. Write a simple program
43. Use rechargeable batteries
44. Build something with my brother

Crossing Distances
45. Participate in Postcrossing 10 times (0/10)
46. Travel internationally in the next 365 days
47. Participate in Gimme Your Stuff twice (0/2)
48. Send a secret to PostSecret once a year (0/3)
49. Keep in contact with close friends after high school
50. Go to a second-hand store
51. Participate in 10 PaperBack Swaps (0/10)
52. Bike every road on the island where I live
53. Go to a small, independent book store
54. Visit 10 unique museums
55. Become pen pals with someone and reply to at least 3 letters (0/3)
56. Send three kids working with Post Pals a letter (0/3)
57. Go to 3 concerts (0/3)
58. Make a friend on the island
59. Buy someone I don't know a gift

Writing
60. Keep a dream journal at least once a week (0/143)
61. Complete NaNoWriMo
62. Fill in all of the blank books I have without buying any new ones
63. Admit that I am wrong and write about the experience 3 times (0/3)
64. Complete started NaNo novels in any form (0/2)
65. Write three publishing-quality short stories (0/3)

Art and Imagery
66. Take 101 pictures that I love (0/101)
67. Draw one thing every day for a year (0/365)
68. Record a song with friends
69. Build floating bookshelves for my room
70. Print a set of my own postcards
71. Continue involvement with theatre in college
72. Join an orchestra in college
73. Learn to knit
74. Arrange two songs to be sung A Capella
75. Sell things I make on Etsy or eBay
76. Learn to appreciate poetry
77. Make a photo box
78. Take a photography course

Health
79. Brush my teeth twice a day for an entire month (0/30)
80. Exercise outdoors three times a week after graduating
81. Drink 64oz. of water every day for a month (0/30)
82. Stop eating french fries for an entire year (0/365)
83. Go to sleep before midnight for a week each year of the project (0/3)

Acquisitions
84. Get an old pocket watch
85. Get a DSLR camera
86. Get a data phone
87. Get a laptop
88. Get a tea infuser
89. Buy a Deviant Art print
90. Get frames for my favorite photographs

91. Develop goals 91 through 100 after starting college career.

101. Reflect on the experience in writing after end date.

101 Things in 1001 Days

While surfing the internet late this night, in between watching The Others and WALL-E with my sister, I managed to stumble across a webpage that advertised what was called the "1001 Day Project." How nice - another unnecessarily over-thought guide to saving the planet. "Take shorter showers and in 1001 days, you will have saved $300 dollars on energy bills," I figured it preached. "Use recycled toilet paper!" I'd read lists like this before on WebEcoist and other self-proclaimed "green" blogs, and there were rarely any truly mind-blowing ideas to boost my existence's worth on this dying world. Truth is, though, I love lists - they promote thinking and brain-storming, and are easily published to present to the world. I make lists incessantly, and sometimes substitute well thought out written work with cursory lists, because of my chronic need for procrastination. In the end, it was an itch I needed to scratch, and I clicked through to the page.
It turns out that I may need to turn my skepticism level down a tick-mark or two. The project, inspired by Michael Green of Day Zero, had nothing to do with the state of the environment or how to green-ify one's life. In fact, the 1001 Day Project is a challenge aimed at goal-setters:


The Mission: Complete 101 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).

There's a whole list of criteria and helpful hints on the Getting Started section of the website. Other peoples' lists are linked on the website (over 1700!), and some of them are downright inspiring. So far, some of these have inspired me to add participating in Postcrossing, identify 100 things that make me happy, and keep a dream journal (something that I desperately need - my wacky dreams shouldn't be lost when they could be published!) to my personal, unfinished list.

I haven't got a complete list yet, but I have one in the works and a possible start and end date. I aim to start my project on January 5, 2008, which means it ends on October 3, 2011. We'll see what happens - if I can't finish everything, let's see what I can.