In January 2007, I started a list on my blog called 101 Things in 1001 Days. Those 1001 days ended last month on October 2nd. Many people have created their own lists, but I’d be interested to know how many of them end up completing everything. I only completed 78 of the 101 things on my list. But you know what? I’m okay with that.

The reason I’m okay with it is because it was my choice to stop making the list a priority. I did most of the things that I really wanted to do (as well as some things that were just “ehhhhh” but didn’t take a lot of time and energy to accomplish). Earlier this year, I stopped posting my regular end-of-month recaps because there were no longer any updates to make.

Am I disappointed that I didn’t complete the entire list? Yes, it would have been cool to be able to say, “Look guys, I did it!!” But no, I’m not disappointed. The reason I didn’t do most of the these tasks — with the exception of maybe two or three things that I would have liked to do — was simply because I didn’t want to. This is my life, and while of course there are some things I have to do that I’d rather not, there are also things like this that I do have control over.

Here are the 23 things that I didn’t do (the numbers designate where they’re located in the list).

1. Volunteer somewhere for at least 1 hour: I didn’t complete this before my end date of October ’09, but I have two volunteer events scheduled for this month. I was just a few weeks too late.

11. Do at least 1 unassisted pull-up: I may not be able to do a pull-up, but I’d like to note that I’ve maintained my regular weight workouts ever since I started lifting weights back in the summer of 2007. Over two years and counting. Go, me!

16. Buy a complete outfit purchased from thrift stores: I went to a few places this year, but I never found anything I wanted to buy, much less an entire outfit.

18. Plant something from seed: Instead of helping a plant grow, I killed one.

20. Host a sleepover for at least 2 females: I’ve had girls stay over at my place, but never two females at the same time.

22. Fly a kite: Lame. This was just a space-filler.

25. Compile emergency supplies for home: I guess I’ll be in big trouble if an emergency happens.

30. Attend a church service: The only time I’ve been inside a church since January ’07 was when my friend Teresa got married in a Catholic church last fall, and when my friend Eddie got married in a Baptist church a few months ago. I decided not to count these since they were special occasions and not sermon-type services.

32. Memorize something and demonstrate it for someone as proof: I asked for recommendations, but I didn’t follow through. Technically, I could have memorized a sentence or two and crossed this one off, but I didn’t think that was fair.

40. Participate in an online writing contest, or submit a piece to a printed publication: I blog, and for right now, that’s good enough for me.

42. Go to a country where I have to use my passport again: Oh, woe is me. One day I will do this.

43. Tour a vineyard/winery, or go to a wine festival: I’ve been to three beer festivals. That should totally count.

49. Stay in a haunted hotel room, or visit a place that advertises itself as being haunted: Earlier this year I was supposed to visit a haunted hotel at Fell’s Point in Baltimore, but my plans fell through and I never rescheduled.

51. Visit Lyndsey in Texas: I haven’t been to Texas, but I did see Lyndsey in Las Vegas last fall.

52. Visit Christina in Columbus: I’ve seen Christina several times in the past few years, but only when she’s come to Virginia for a visit. The last time I was in Columbus was July 2006 when I was a bridesmaid in her wedding.

54. Take a Sisters-Only Getaway with both of my two beautiful sisters: I would have liked to do this, and still hope to do so.

68. Obtain a piece of original art for the wall: I would have been more motivated to do this if I lived in a place by myself. My roommate has stuff on our walls right now.

69. Paint a picture: I didn’t have the supplies to do this, nor do I know anyone who paints.

83. Be an extra in a movie or TV show, or be part of the audience at a TV recording: This would be fun to do, but I never got the chance.

85. Learn at least 50 ASL signs: My friend Julie could have helped me out with this one.

88. Transfer 8mm camcorder tapes to digital format: I’d still like to do this at some point. It wouldn’t take very long, because I only have a few tapes. But it would be interesting to see what I looked and sounded like ten years ago when these were originally recorded.

98. Dry my own fruit using a food dehydrator: Regular fruit is pretty darn good. I don’t feel like I missed out.

101. Make a new list of 101 Things by the time my 1001 days are done: I won’t be making another list with a specific time frame. I’m thinking about doing a Life List, just to keep track of the things I’ve done and have a central place to record it, but I don’t want anything else with a deadline.

The most important thing is that there are so many things I’ve done over the past 1001 days that weren’t on the list. I’ve grown as a person, done a lot of cool things, been to new places, and met a lot of awesome people. And that’s more than enough for me.

Do you have a 101 Things list? Has anyone actually completed one?

Related Reading:

My friend Leah started her 101 Things list in March 2008, and she’s been really good about posting regular updates. (She also credits me with being the one to inspire her to start her list.)

The blogger at Cherry Blossom Adventures is an Aussie living in Japan with her Japanese husband. She just posted a 101 Things list update.

Sarah is a newbie, having just started her list last month. (Good luck!)

46. Go on a hike

I went hiking at Great Falls on a beautiful Sunday afternoon early in the month. Not too long after that, a guy I dated for a few weeks last year emailed me and asked if I’d been there — he had seen me, but wasn’t positive if it was me so he didn’t approach. (I had my hair pulled back and I was wearing large, dark sunglasses. Also, I’m sure I was walking pretty fast — the only time I slowed down was the few minutes I spent looking at the falls.)

Then he asked if I wanted to get together again sometime. Darn my 101 Things list, putting me in these types of situations!

101 Things: Original List

75. See an author read from his or her work

We went to the National Museum of the American Indian to see William Iggiagruk Hensley, a former Senator from Alaska. He wrote an autobiography called Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People.

90. Post a video on the internet that has me in it

It can be viewed on this post.

101 Things: Original List

75. See an author read from his or her work

We went to the National Museum of the American Indian to see William Iggiagruk Hensley, a former Senator from Alaska. He wrote an autobiography called Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People. I haven’t read the book yet, but I plan to — it sounds really interesting.

90. Post a video on the internet that has me in it

Leah and I were determined to record a video. You see, she’s done a few of them herself and she knew I’d been putting off this particular task. So we recorded one. I’m posting it below, but I’d like to pre-warn you about a few things:

1) There was a glitch in the recording, so after a few minutes our conversation doesn’t match up with the picture. That’s annoying.

2) There’s a lot of laughing. And near the end, I punch her in the arm. And she punches me back.

3) I put on chapstick right before we started recording, which is why I kept pressing my lips together.

But I was too lazy to record another one. This will have to do.

(Since Leah likes to call me out on my slight southern accent, feel free to leave a comment and weigh in.)

[Note: This video is no longer available.]

I’m a big believer in having goals, doing things that challenge us, and trying new things. What I don’t like is waiting for a particular date, like making resolutions on January 1st, before I get started. All the major things I’ve done in my life were due to making a decision and going from there — not because it was a Monday, or the first day of a month, or a milestone day like a birthday.

Some people use January 1st as a good time to do an assessment of where they are, and that’s great. I, too, like to look back at the past year — the good times and the bad, what I didn’t accomplish that I really wanted to do or should have done. But I’ve made a commitment to myself to try new things on a regular basis, so I don’t feel like I need to start one particular thing on one particular date. I know they’ll be happening throughout the year.

Having said that, I made a 101 Things in 1001 Days list in January of 2007. Yes, technically this is a list of things I told myself I’d do within a certain time frame. But the good thing is, they don’t have to be done in any particular order — I do them when I want to do them.

So far, I’ve completed 74 tasks from my list. I still have 27 things to do, and about nine months remaining (my end date is October 2nd, 2009). Most of them won’t be too difficult to cross off, it’s just a matter of taking the time to do them.

The only negative I’ve found to completing this list is that sometimes the things you put down when you first start aren’t as applicable to your life a few years down the road. There are a number of things I put down two years ago that just don’t appeal to me as much anymore. (A good example is #85: Learn at least 50 signs in American Sign Language. I was working for a closed-captioning organization when I first started this list, so I thought it would be nice to learn more about the people we were providing this service for. I think sign language is cool, but I don’t know any deaf people and I have a short memory. So even if I learned 50 signs just to be able to cross this off my list, I doubt I’d retain many of them since I wouldn’t be using them on a regular basis.)

The thing I like best about my 101 Things list is that it’s challenged me to do a lot of things that I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise (I tried to choose a variety: some easy, some difficult, some that involved travel, some that were fitness-related, etc). On top of that, though, a number of people have told me over the past few years that my list inspired them to start one of their own — and I never get tired of hearing that. It’s an awesome feeling.

Since I’ve been doing this for a few years, I’ve identified several things that might help people who are thinking about starting their own list:

What kinds of things should you choose? I spent several weeks preparing my list before I finally published it on my blog. After I sat down and listed everything I had in mind that I’d like to do, I used other people’s lists for ideas (just do an internet search for “101 Things in 1001 Days”). I skimmed through dozens, if not hundreds, of lists, and copied down anything that seemed interesting. Once I identified 101, I separated them into categories (they’re a lot easier to keep track of that way).

Another way to go about it (and this is most likely what I’d do if I decided to undertake a second list) is to fill in only 50 or 75 things in the beginning, and leave a certain number of things to fill in within a year, or two, or whatever time period you decide. Like I said, the only downside to my list are the things I no longer feel strongly about completing. If I’d left those things blank to begin with, I’d feel much better about filling them in once my interests changed.

Avoid: adding a lot of things to your list that may be out of your control to accomplish. If you really like to travel, for instance, you may feel inclined to add fifty destinations that you’d really like to visit. But is that really realistic? What if you lose your job, or have a baby, or break your leg? There are a lot of things on my list that don’t cost a lot of money to do.

Be specific: Some people say that they’d like to “Learn Spanish” or “Look into getting a new job.” How well do you want to learn Spanish? Enough to carry on a conversation with a native speaker, or just well enough to ask for the location of a bathroom? Along the same lines, “looking into a new job” could mean perusing the classified ads for five minutes.

Make modifications: Some people feel like you shouldn’t do this (switch out certain things on the list for something else), but I’ve done it a few times. It’s only been 2 or 3 things, though, not a lot. And when I look at the 27 things I have remaining, even though I’m not wild about some of them, I’m not planning to replace them with something I’d rather do. I guess I feel like I’m too close to the end now; when I made the earlier changes I was only about halfway through (or less). For anything I don’t end up finishing, my final post this October will just have to be an explanation of why I wasn’t able to do it.

Important: hold yourself accountable. At the end of each month, I recap anything I’ve crossed off from my list (and I make sure to cross it off from the master list as well). I’ve done this every month, without fail, except last month — December ’08. It was the first month since I started that I didn’t cross off at least one thing. However, I’m feeling re-energized now (could it possibly be a New Year’s kick-in-the-pants?). Hands-down, though, writing a monthly update has been the best way to hold myself accountable — not to mention, it gives me a feeling of accomplishment knowing I’m that much closer to my goal.

Even though I’m planning to cross off as much as I can from my list, I’ll be perfectly happy if I don’t do all 101 of them. The thing is, if I look back at everything I’ve done in the past few years, I know these 101 things aren’t anywhere close to the number of things I’ve done that weren’t on this list. And that’s a pretty awesome realization. So, in that light, I guess I’d like to add a suggestion (something I haven’t done myself, but I could go back and do it if I wanted to read through the past few years of my blog archives).

Keep a separate list of accomplishments: places you visit, new things you try, anything you do that makes you happy and/or challenges you. I think you might be surprised at how many things you can do in 1001 days.

Do you have a 101 Things list? (Feel free to leave a link in the comments below so we can check it out.) If so, how do you keep on track? How do you hold yourself accountable? If you don’t have a list, would you be interested in trying it?

Related Reading:

These are the 101 Things in 1001 Days project guidelines.

My friend Leah (she’s coming to visit me in a few weeks! yay!) is the one who gave me the idea of not filling out the entire list at once. She started her 101 Things list last March, but she knew she’d be making a move to a different part of the country in August, so she waited until later in the year to finish filling it out. It’s a great idea, especially if you want to include a number of local destinations on your list.

Katherine is realistic about the probability of completing her New Year’s resolutions.

Svetlana Gladkova at Profy discusses a Study [That] Shows Women Make New Year Resolutions While Men Keep Them, and follows that up with suggestions about Places [on the internet] to Work on Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions.

CaraBee and Gipsy’s Musings have both started their 101 Things lists in the past few days.

These are the project guidelines and this is why I decided to participate.

I’ll be referring back to this master list, crossing things off as they’re completed, and linking to posts or photos as appropriate.

Official Start Date: January 5, 2007
End Date: October 2, 2009

Benefits myself and others:
1. Volunteer somewhere for at least 1 hour
2. Give $10 to a homeless person or a stranger in need (12/07)
3. Donate blood at least 3 times (6/29/07, 1/23/08, 3/24/08)
4. Make a donation to a worthy cause (10/31/07/)
5. Participate in a large support event (11/22/08)
6. Watch a child for free, for at least 2 hours, so the parent(s) can have a break (5/08)
7. Send a “just because” care package to a friend (7/08)
8. Send a “just because” letter to my grandmother (7/07)
9. Give a sincere compliment to 1 person a day for 5 days (10/07)
10. Work out 3 times a week for 1 month (Bought an elliptical machine; completed task in 2/07)
11. Do at least 1 unassisted pull-up

General:
12. Get a promotion at work that results in a raise (5/14/08)
13. Move to a better neighborhood (9/29/07)
14. Write a letter to apartment complex at the end of my lease, letting them know what I think about their property (9/07)
15. Do not go online for 3 consecutive days (4/08)
16. Buy a complete outfit purchased from thrift stores
17. Record total amount of money spent on food for a month (1/29/07)
18. Plant something from seed
19. Smile at everyone I see for an entire day (10/07)
20. Host a sleepover for at least 2 females
21. Dress in costume for Halloween (10/31/08)
22. Fly a kite
23. Use all 3 of the unused gift cards in my wallet, all in 1 day or weekend
24. Put together an emergency kit for the workplace (8/08)
25. Compile emergency supplies for home
26. Call someone I haven’t talked to in at least six months (11/07)
27. Watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy (6/07-8/07)
28. Watch 10 documentaries (Reviews)
29. Read at least 4 books on my personal bookshelf (#1, #2, #3 #4)
30. Attend a church service
31. Research how to be more ecologically conscious and put 3 new ideas into practice (12/07)
32. Memorize something and demonstrate it for someone as proof

Writing:
33. Post at least 3 book reviews (3/20/07, 2/29/08)
34. Submit at least 2 posts that appear on a website other than my own (1/23/08, 3/19/08)
35. Compose a “If something dire ever happens to me” letter and give it to a family member (1/08)
36. Participate in 3 consecutive Sunday Scribblings writing prompts (2/12/07, 2/18/07, 2/25/07)
37. Send at least 10 Christmas cards and write a personal note in each (12/26/07)
38. Post an entry about “My personal feelings about weight” (1/8/07)
39. Post an entry about my childhood (11/15/07)
40. Participate in an online writing contest/newsletter OR submit a piece to a printed publication
41. Post an example of 55-Fiction (9/08)

Travel and Destinations:
42. Go to a country where I have to use my passport again
43. Tour a vineyard/winery OR go to a wine festival
44. Ride on a train in the U.S. (9/19/08)
45. Sleep outside (in a tent or under the stars) (6/07)
46. Go on a hike (2/8/09)
47. Eat a picnic lunch in a park or by a body of water (3/1/08)
48. Ride on the back of a motorcycle (6/7/08)
49. Stay in a haunted hotel room OR visit a place that advertises itself as being haunted
50. Visit Denise in Tampa (4/08)
51. Visit Lyndsey in Texas
52. Visit Christina in Columbus
53. Visit Aunt Cathy and Uncle Jeff at one of their two homes (10/08)
54. Take a Sisters-Only Getaway with both of my two beautiful sisters
55. Go to a parade or street fair (2/18/08)
56. Attend a comedy show (9/1/07)
57. Attend a non-mandatory lecture or seminar (3/1/08)
58. Attend a sporting event (2/6/08)

Local:
59. Visit every exhibit at the National Zoo in one day (1/15/07)
60. Ride the DC metro (4/28/07)
61. Visit 5 of the Smithsonian museums (2/24/07, 5/20/07, 3/1/08)
62. Visit Arlington National Cemetery (5/4/07)
63. Visit 1 vegan bakery and 1 vegan/vegetarian restaurant (2/5/07, 7/07)
64. Visit the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens (3/1/08)
65. Purchase a bicycle (6/25/08)
66. Visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum (2/24/07)
67. Visit the National Geographic Museum (3/23/08)

Arts and Culture:
68. Obtain a piece of original art for the wall
69. Paint a picture
70. Do something crafty (9/07)
71. Support a craftsperson — buy something handmade (6/30/08)
72. Attend a dance performance (12/7/07)
73. Attend a concert (9/2/07)
74. See a play (7/31/08)
75. See an author read from his or her work (1/17/09)

Things I wouldn’t normally do:
76. Attend a local blogger meet-up OR a blogging conference (BlogHer 2007)
77. Meet at least 2 new bloggers in person, not part of a large group gathering (2/5/07, 4/29/07)
78. Wink at someone I find attractive
79. Kiss someone who I just met for the first time that day (7/18/08)
80. Sit in a bookstore for at least half an hour, by myself (10/5/07)
81. Go to the movies alone (1/6/08)
82. Dress in a way I normally wouldn’t and observe people’s reactions (10/25/08)
83. Be an extra in a movie or TV show OR Be part of the audience at a TV recording
84. Start a conversation with a stranger (4/6/07)

Learning:
85. Learn at least 50 ASL signs
86. Learn the correct way to hold and shoot a gun (9/07)
87. Take a class that features something I’ve never done before (4/08)

Technology and Photo:
88. Transfer 8mm camcorder tapes to digital format
89. Scan and upload photos from when I was ages 15-21 (pre-digital) (8/09)
90. Post a video on the internet that has me in it (1/18/09)
91. Document a “day in my life” with photos (2/29/08)
92. Complete a 26-Things Photo Scavenger Hunt (5/08)
93. Upgrade and redesign my website (1/22/07)

Food:
94. Eat 2 things I’ve never tried before (9/07)
95. Cook at least 1 dish I’ve never made before, at least once a week, for 4 consecutive weeks (9/07)
96. Make my own jelly/preserves (8/13/08)
97. Make a vegan dessert that is so yummy and delectable that those who eat it can’t tell it doesn’t contain dairy (6/30/07)
98. Dry my own fruit using a food dehydrator
99. Eat only raw foods for an entire day (1/20/08)
100. Visit a Farmer’s Market and make something out of at least 1 of the things I purchase (5/24/08)

Near the end:
101. Make a new list of 101 Things by the time my 1001 days are done