For years, I’ve seen 101 in 1001 lists floating around the blogging world. A cross between a bucket list and new year’s resolutions, a 101 in 1001 list is basically a list of 101 concrete things you hope to accomplish in 1,001 days (which is approximately 2.75 years).
As I thought about setting my usual resolutions for the new year, I was stymied a bit by the fact that I felt like with such a big thing coming this year (a new baby), I wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to get accomplished. As I’ve thought more about doing a 101 in 1001, it seems to make the most sense for this stage in my life–it still makes me think long-term and set goals, but it also allows me to get those goals accomplished in the season that makes the most sense during this longer time span.
As with any long-term goal-setting, however, I know the problem tends to be that I don’t always know if these same goals will be important to me as time goes on, which is why I’m reserving the right to change any of the goals if I feel so inclined. I also assume that I’ll set additional goals to these at some point in the 2.75-year span, just because new interests or desires come up all the time for me.
If you’re wondering how I actually set the goals, I started by brainstorming possible “categories” of goals that I knew I would want to focus on over the coming years. I was shooting for around 10 categories because I originally wanted to set about 10 goals per category, but as it worked out, some categories had a lot more goals than others, which was okay. (Fun fact: I originally came up with 115 goals in my brainstorming session, but I forced myself to whittle it down to the 101 you’ll see here, though the other 14 still interest me.)
And with that introduction, here goes the list!
My 101 in 1001 List
Start Date: Thursday Jan. 11, 2018
End Date: Wednesday Oct. 7, 2020
Health + Fitness
1. Run a half marathon in under two hours
This has been a bucket list item of mine for years, and last time I ran a half, I was awfully close: I ran the whole thing in 2:02:59.
2. Go six months without drinking any Diet Dr. Pepper
Although I consider myself officially “quit” of my DP addiction (thanks to last year’s resolutions), I still indulge in it once every couple weeks. I’d like to just have a nice clean slate without any for awhile.
3. Try out a new exercise class
As of now, I’ve tried Zumba, hip hop, boxing, step, Refit, yoga, Pilates, boot camp, and a general weights class. If I can find a barre class, I think I’d like to try that one. If not, I’ll just take whatever my rec center offers.
4. Do 50 push-ups in a row
I used to be able to do around 100, but lately, the furthest I’ve gotten is about 25. This one will likely have to wait until after the pregnancy, but it’s still something I’m eager to get back to again.
5. Get back to my pre-pregnancy weight
I’m hoping this goal will be helped by the goals I outlined in my last post (on the three things I’m doing differently this pregnancy). Fingers crossed.
6. Have a sugar-free month
7. Complete a 12-week BBG (Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide)
For years, I’ve wanted to try this, but I’ve always been too intimidated (and hesitant to drop the dough on it). It’s something that really interests me, though!
8. Try 3 new hikes
9. No fast food for two months (including pizza)
Years ago, I read Fast Food Nation and went something like three or four YEARS without eating any fast food. Unfortunately, that habit didn’t stick, and it’s gotten worse since we moved right down the street from a McDonald’s (and Little Caesar’s pizza has always been a permanent standby a couple times a month for when I don’t feel like cooking).
10. Get 10,000 steps avg./day for a month
Financial
11. Complete emergency fund ($10,000)
12. Rollover Matt’s 401k to a Roth IRA
This is one that we want to do sooner rather than later, as we take a huge tax hit when we do this (which will only get worse as the money grows). I’m going to do a whole post on our reasoning behind this move, I think.
13. Pay $3000 extra on the mortgage
Because I like nice, even numbers, we already pay an extra $8.40 a month on our mortgage just because it’s easier for me to track an easy-to-remember amount, which still knocks off about 6 months worth of payments, small as that amount per month is. However, Matt and I have always intended to pay off our mortgage as early as possible, and even while these early years of our mortgage are (hopefully) going to be leaner than later years, I still want to be paying off at least $1000 extra per year.
14. Set up a sinking fund for car repairs
We’ve set up funds for things like travel and even fun money, but with the fact that we’re soon going to be accumulating a third vehicle (more on that in a different post), we really need to be setting aside money monthly for the inevitable repairs that come up regularly on one or other of the cars.
Personal Development
15. Reach 100% fluency on Duolingo (French)
It’s been a bucket list item of mine for a long time to learn French (Matt already speaks it from his mission), so about a year ago, I started learning French on Duolingo. I’m currently at 50% fluency (according to them, though I’m not even close to 50% fluency really), and I really, really want to reach 100% over the next couple years (especially as we someday want to go back and travel to Matt’s mission!)
16. Set up Facebook page for produce co-op
This is the first step in what could be quite a huge undertaking, but I talked a bit about the dream behind this idea in this post.
17. Take a cooking class
18. Type up the rest of my mission journals
I started this as a resolution years ago, but didn’t quite finish. I’d love to have these easily accessible as on online file (plus, it’s a good way to “back them up”).
19. Type up all of my personal journals
I no longer keep a pen-and-paper journal (more on that later in the post), but I did keep one regularly for YEARS (the majority of my life, really). I’d love to have all of these “backed up” as online files, too.
20. Establish a personal morning routine + stick with it for a month
I have wanted for quite a long time now to establish a morning routine where I get up before Raven and get some personal stuff done, but I’ve never followed through on it. I’m thinking this could be totally life-changing for me if I can just motivate myself to start already.
21. Cook through a whole cookbook
I’m going to count this as a success if I cook my way through at least 90% of one, which is still a hefty goal. I own several cookbooks that I love, so the tricky part about this one will probably just be choosing the one I want to focus on!
22. Try a dozen new cookie recipes
Baking cookies is one of my love languages, but I often get stuck making the same tried-and-true favorites over and over again. I’m excited to try out some new recipes for this goal!
23. Go a week with no t.v. time (including movies)
I used to watch waaaaay less t.v., but since this pregnancy started especially, I’ve gotten BAD, as I’ve felt too sick to move around and do much, and watching t.v. is a good distraction from any unpleasant symptoms I’ve been having. A good hard reset will hopefully help me get back on track with better habits.
Spiritual
24. Read the Book of Mormon in Spanish
I read through a good portion (over half, I think) of the BOM in Spanish while serving my mission in El Salvador, but I never finished. I intend to start over at the beginning and finish it for sure this time. If you want to know more about my beliefs, I’ve included links to articles answering FAQ’s about these subjects (like the one above).
25. Visit 3 new temples + do ordinances
26. Find 100 names for the temple
A few years back, I got really into searching out more about my ancestors and our genealogy (both mine and Matt’s), and it’s one of my favorite hobbies now. Finding 100 new people sounds like a hefty number, but I’m hoping that since I found over 60 last year alone that this is definitely doable.
27. Complete temple work for 15 people
28. Make family history photo flash cards
At a church activity this last summer, a woman brought in these awesome photo cards she’d made of her ancestors with their picture on one side and their life sketch or cool stories about them on the other side. She turns it into a game for her children so they know their genealogy, and I just loved the idea so much that I haven’t stopped thinking about it ever since.
Indexing means going into old records (such as census records or birth records) and typing up the information from them so they can be searchable by a search engine (for people looking to discover more about their genealogy). It’s a great service that anyone can do–just click here for more info.
30. Study all General Conference talks of 2017
Twice a year, LDS church members hear inspired messages from our leaders on gospel topics. Since there are a few dozen talks given over the span of 12 hours, it’s hard to retain and understand everything just from listening once, so I try to read over and study the messages after they’re published in the Ensign, which is a magazine put out by the church.
31. Study all GC talks of 2018
32. Study all GC talks of 2019
33. Study April GC talks of 2020
Books
34. Read 5 books off of my 100 Classics list
35. Read 2 plays
I’m notoriously awful at choosing to read plays on my own, but there are several important ones that I never was assigned to read in high school or college but that I still want to be familiar with, so this will at least be a start.
36. Read 15 books off of the Newbery list
37. Read 5 books off of the Pulitzer list
38. Read 12 books off of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list
39. Read 50 books I own
Ever since I rediscovered my love of the library (and decided that I really, REALLY needed to spend less money on books), I have been dreadful at reading the books I own already, over 500 of which I’ve never read (yep).
40. Re-read 5 books
Years ago, I published a post about why I basically decided to stop re-reading books, but in recent years, I’ve been thinking that I was maybe a bit too hasty when I decided to swear off all re-reading. This goal is largely because there are several books I read years ago that I think I would appreciate even more fully if I read them now. I also want to revisit all those titles that I gave five stars to on Goodreads years and years ago because I’m curious to see if I’d still give them 5 stars now.
Travel + Fun
41. Visit Capitol Reef
42. Visit Goblin Valley
43. Visit a new state
44. Celebrate a holiday I normally don’t
This doesn’t have to be anything big, even—I think it would just be fun to pick a random holiday and make a big deal out of it. Preferably during a month where we normally don’t celebrate anything too big (like January or August).
45. Visit the ocean
Raven’s never seen the ocean, and it’s been far too long since I’ve seen it myself (around 8 years or so, I think).
46. Go horseback riding
47. Go to the condo in St. George
Through my mom’s previous employers, we get a sweet deal on a condo down in Southern Utah. It’s been several years since we’ve been, so I’m hoping that this year or next will be the year to go again.
48. Go to a musical or play
We used to go to musicals all the time, but since having Raven, we just haven’t ventured out much (and on any dates we do go on, they’re usually the standard dinner-and-movie variety). I miss seeing shows together, so I want to make at least one happen.
49. Go fly a kite
50. Complete my Sudoku book
Doing Sudoku is enormously relaxing for me and it’s something I used to do all the time (nearly daily, when I was in college). Awhile ago, Matt bought me a whole book full of Sudoku puzzles, and I’d love to work my way through all of them.
51. Go on a picnic
This is something I intend to do every year, but that rarely ever happens. Time to add it to the list to make sure that it does!
Blogging + Writing
52. Reach 50 people on my email list
Granted, before I reach this milestone, I need to actually fix/figure out my email subscription/email list. Eventually, in addition to updating your inbox with all the latest posts, my email list will also send out exclusive newsletters, book lists, etc., but for now, I just need to figure it the heck out.
53. Reach 100 people on my email list
54. Break even with blog expenses/income
You’ll notice that a lot of these goals are in stages–a smaller goal, followed by a bigger goal. I feel like this will keep me more motivated than just doing a bunch of huge goals.
55. Make $500 in a year from blogging
56. Reach 200 followers on Bloglovin’
I’m currently at 138, for a reference point. (If you’re not following me on Bloglovin’ but want to, click here.)
57. Reach 300 followers on Bloglovin’
58. Have a post get 1,000+ views
59. Have a post get 2,000+ views
60. Optimize 20 old posts for Pinterest
I used to only get on Pinterest to look at pictures of food (mostly chocolate), but I’ve been attempting to utilize it more and more, especially as I’ve been trying to grow my blog. If you’re not following me yet, click here.
61. Finish first draft of my novel
I currently have 77 pages written, though I imagine it’s going to be close to 400 total. I have a lot to do to even get this to a first draft, but it’s something I’ve been really wanting to do my whole life.
62. Make 100 new entries in The Motherhood Diaries
Many months ago, I felt like I needed an outlet in addition to blogging to record some of my daily thoughts (esp. as this blog, like any blog, represents just a small percentage of our actual life). So I started The Motherhood Diaries, which is basically just a fancy-sounding name for an online journal I’m keeping on Google Docs. For awhile, I was really good at writing in it every day, but as of now, I haven’t written in it for months. I want to start this as a habit again because I know it’s something I’ll really value having in the future.
Photography
63. Take another photography class
64. Go to an event with the Cache Valley Photographers’ Group
I’ve been a member of this local group for years and used to go to their events frequently, but since having Raven, I just kind of stopped. I need to take advantage of this great (free!) local resource again.
65. Reach 500 Instagram followers
I’ve never been one to chase followers on social media, but I also realize as a budding photographer and as someone trying to grow my blog that social media is a great tool for helping to grow my business. (As a reference point, I currently have 341.) If you’re not following me yet on Instagram yet but want to, click here.
66. Reach 1,000 Instagram followers
67. Complete a self-portrait photo project
68. Pare down photos from 2013-2017
2013 was the year we bought our first DSLR camera, and it also marks the beginning of when I started to take a LOT more pictures. Unfortunately, I haven’t been great at going through and paring down those pictures, which means that our computer’s hard drive is starting to get awfully full. Time to do a little spring cleaning.
69. Buy a macro lens
I joke sometimes that the only reason I pursue photography as a business period is to be able to pursue photography as a hobby, which means frequently saving up to get different lenses and better equipment. I’ve had my eye on a macro lens for awhile now, and I’m thinking this year’s the year!
70. Buy a tripod
Other than a super cheap tripod we bought at Smith’s one night to do some random experimental night photography, I do not own a decent tripod, nor have I hardly ever used one. However, as I do more and more shoots as part of my business, I can see the wisdom of having a tripod, especially as I’m trying to direct the focus of a bunch of a small children to the camera.
71. Give a free photo session to someone in need
72. Launch photography webpage
This one has been in the works for awhile—I just need to sit down and devote a solid 4-5 hours to finish it off.
73. Back up all photos
Family + Relationships + Service
74. Finish reading over Matt’s book and making suggestions
Matt finished his own novel ages ago, and for awhile, I was doing an excellent job of going through it regularly and making suggestions. However, as with so many things, it seemed to slip by the wayside when I got pregnant, which has slowed up his progress. This is something that’s super important to him, so I need to make it a higher priority for me to help out where I can.
75. Complete 1,000 book challenge with Raven
As part of a challenge I heard about at our local library, Raven and I have set the goal of reading 1,000 (different) books before she enters kindergarten. We’ve currently read around 500 (at least as far as I’ve tracked), so we’re well on our way to completing this one on time.
76. Create a recent family photo album
As a photographer, you’d think I’d be better about printing out photos regularly, but I am seriously the WORST. I have actually NEVER created a recent photo album since getting married (though I did create a couple albums with lots of older pics before we got married), and since Raven adores looking at family pictures, this is long overdue.
77. Sign Raven up for preschool
78. Go on 20 dates with Matt
79. Sign Raven up for swimming lessons
80. Give/send 12 handwritten notes or letters
81. Get family pics taken twice
82. Take an overnight trip with Matt
83. Leave a 100% tip at a restaurant
84. Buy someone a just-because gift
85. Give someone flowers
Home + Organization
86. Get bed for guest room
87. Fix plumbing out back
Less than a week after moving into our new house, our downstairs office flooded, and it took us a few times before we realized that the culprit was the hose out back (which, every time we turned it on, was leaking through a busted pipe just inside the house). We haven’t priced this out, but it’s near the very top of our priority list at the moment.
88. Complete built-in bookshelves in office
We can’t do this until the above plumbing problem is fixed, which gives me even more motivation to get a move on with the plumbing because it’s driving me CRAZY not having any bookshelves for our (many) hundreds of books.
89. Plant at least two fruit trees
90. Build a sandbox out back
91. Put shiplap up in bathroom
We have the reclaimed wood for this, and I roughly know the method (or at least, I’ve pinned a decent number of tutorials, ha ha), but this one will be tricky because it also means we’ll need to replace the bathroom mirror at the same time, which could be pricey.
92. Buy curtains for downstairs family room
93. Grow pumpkins
94. Buy throw pillows for upstairs couch
We got a brand new couch for Christmas (our first piece of new furniture besides our mattress since we got married!), and now it’s needing some pops of color.
95. Do a refresh project of 50 Weeks to Organized
In 2013, I did an ambitious year-long project where (nearly) each week, I took a different area of our home/life and drastically cut down on the clutter and overall amount of stuff we had. (I estimate that that year, we roughly cut our possessions in half.)
Since then, we’ve had a kid and have moved to a house (and have had several birthdays, Christmases, and other holidays), so it’s definitely time for a little refresh project to happen. While I don’t know that I’ll go as hardcore as I did that first time around (honestly, I don’t think I’ll need to), I do know that I’ll be breaking it down room by room and area by area again and methodically going through (most) everything in our house. Luckily, I’ll have nearly three years to do it this time instead of just one, which will make it hopefully a bit less intense.
96. Plant an herb garden
97. Make a canvas print to hang in our bedroom
98. Hang pics up in downstairs family room
99. Buy fresh flowers every month for six months
Fresh flowers are one of my great pleasures in life, but I often don’t bring them home, even though I usually get a deal on a bouquet for only $4-6 at the grocery store. This little goal just makes me happy anticipating it!
100. Buy/get a grill
101. Review emergency preparedness
For our wedding, we got a lot of useful emergency preparedness stuff (water storage containers, portable gas stove, 72-hour kits), but we haven’t looked at our emergency preparedness once since then, which makes me nervous now that we’ve added Raven to our family and have her to think about (and will be adding another addition in July). Although this goal maybe doesn’t excite me like some of the others, it’s definitely needed.
And there you have it—my list of 101 things I want to accomplish before October 7th of 2020. I’m really excited to see how this new system of goal-setting works for me, and I’m excited at the progress I’ll be making over the next 1001 days!
