Elizabeth January 28th, 2012
Are you interested in making your own list of 101 Things in 1001 Days? I often receive comments and emails about my 101 project, and it’s always exciting to hear of people starting up lists of their own. I also know how daunting it can be to come up with such a big list of tasks that you’re still going to care about two years from now!
I thought I’d share some tips for writing a bulletproof list – little tips and tricks that I wish I’d known when I started my first 101 project.
Ready? Here we go!
01. Pick a start date for your project
I’ve always chosen 1 January because I love clean slates. You may prefer to finish at the end of a calendar year, or you might like to start or finish on your birthday. Whatever works for you.
Something to consider: what else will be going on in your life during that final month of your project? Don’t schedule your finish date during your exams or during a busy month of family birthdays. That last month is a race against the clock!
02. Start writing your list early
Nobody ever tells you how much work goes into creating a list of 101 things that represent your goals. I’m sure that all of us can think of a handful of tasks off the tops of our heads, but what then?
I recommend keeping a small notebook nearby to jot down ideas as you think of them. Try to come up 150 things if you can, that way you will have plenty of choice when it comes time to curate your best 101 goals!
It took more than a month for me to come up with a really solid list. Towards the end of this post you’ll find plenty of inspiration to use if you find that you’re getting stuck.
03. Brainstorm and categorize
As I jotted down my ideas I noticed that they formed some themes. I had written about places I wanted to visit, how I wanted to improve my health and skills I wanted to practise. There were tasks related to personal growth, and lots of experiences that I wanted to enjoy. It helped me a lot to recognise these themes and use them to create a list of big-picture categories.
From there, other goals became more obvious to me. For example, I had already listed Complete another round of Couch to 5K as a goal, and this reminded me that I’ve always wanted to sign up for a 5km fun run. Lots of things fell into place for me this way.
I know that categories don’t work for everybody. In fact, if you look around the web at other 101/1001 lists you’ll notice that most of them are just randomised, unconnected tasks. I can see how this would be an excellent approach for people who don’t have their hearts set on long-term goals.
04. Be S.M.A.R.T.
Take a look at your list. Can you define exactly when you can cross off each task?
Specific (what is it, and by when?)
Measurable (how much? how many?)
Attainable (can it be done with available time & money?)
Relevant (does it matter? will it matter later?)
Timely (how long? by when?)
Nothing kills a list of goals like ambiguity. Instead of get fit, how about these: run for 20 minutes without stopping or fit back into my wedding dress?
If you have a really big goal it can be a good idea to break it down into smaller goals that you can cross off at various milestones.
05. Review your list
1001 days is enough time to train for a marathon. It’s also plenty of time to visit every continent, start a family, write a novel or learn to dance en pointe.
However, most of us can’t do all of those things together – especially if we want to keep our jobs and partners and sanity!
It’s easy to get carried away. 1001 days seems like such a long period of time, but believe me – it can fly! Check that your list is achievable as a whole so that it doesn’t wind up ruling (or ruining) your life.
Rather than scrapping items altogether, consider setting yourself smaller versions of your goals. Don’t write a list that is destined to fail.
06. Put your list away for a week or two.
Don’t skip this step!
In my experience, most people who quit their 101 projects halfway through do so because they don’t have time, or they stop caring about the goals they picked out at the start. Both reasons boil down to the same issue: the list just wasn’t right in the first place.
When you bring your list back out of hiding ask yourself these questions.
- Is my list realistic? Can all of this be achieved in 1001 days, without sacrificing my job or relationships?
- Am I really going to care about each of those things a couple of years from now?
- Can I still finish my list if I change jobs, start a family, or move to another country?
If your answer to that last question is no, read on!
07. Set some rules
Life has an uncanny ability to get in the way of the things we set out to do. 1001 days from now you might have more children, or a high-flying job that demands more of your energy. Maybe you’ll win Idol and your manager controls your schedule now. Or – this happened to me – maybe you were relying on an online resource to complete a task, and it disappeared!
It’s good to have an idea from the outset of what you’ll do if life throws you curveballs – do you scrap your list and start again?
You haven’t signed any contracts here, and what you do next is a personal decision. If I discover that a task is unachievable or irrelevant a year from now I’ll be substituting it with something else.
OK. You’ve started to jot down some ideas, and you’re struggling to get past #32. Here are some ideas for building a great list that will stretch and inspire you.
Perhaps you’ve always wanted to travel, but other commitments have gotten in the way. Maybe you have been secretly hoping that somebody will take you skydiving for your birthday but nobody has picked up the hint! At least a couple of the tasks on your 101 list should be Big Things that put you in the driver’s seat, and they need to be achievable in the next 1001 days.
Big Things don’t have to be expensive; that’s really not the point. For example, some of us might be able to easily afford a trip to Paris in the next 1001 days but would struggle to go because of career or family commitments. What’s the biggest thing that’s stopping you from realising your big dream – work, family, money or procrastination? Is there anything you can do to break your goal down into smaller chunks that will get you closer?
Big Things are the luxuries that we would happily give to or do for a loved one on a round-number birthday to show them how much we care. Big Things are large-scale challenges that we set for ourselves. Big Things are what we dream about at 3pm on a boring workday.
Examples: visit an overseas country / go skydiving / buy a house / run a marathon / set foot in every state or continent / start a business / go back to university / move to a new town / take the kids to Disneyworld / sing in front of a crowd / start a family / get a tattoo / write a novel / make a short film / have a solo art exhibition / learn a language / pay off your credit card / raise funds for an important cause / hike the Kokoda trail / climb a mountain / quit smoking / conquer a fear
One of the best ways to write a 101 List is to think about the sorts of things you always wanted to do when you were a kid. Make sure that your list has at least a few ridiculous, frivolous tasks – and go out and do them! Most people I speak to carry some sort of regret about the things they stopped doing when they “grew up”. I think we’re always happiest when we take the time to nurture our inner child.
One of my happiest memories from my last list was building a snowman. It mightn’t seem like much, but I grew up on the beach – not the snow!
Examples: go on every ride at a theme park / wear mismatched socks for a day / lead a restaurant in singing happy birthday to your friend (especially if it’s not their birthday!) / go grocery shopping in your pajamas / dye your hair a bright colour / see 3 movies in one day / have a food fight / go skinny dipping / build a sandcastle / find a pen-pal / read a book in a day / write a letter to future-you / try a new craft / wear false lashes for a day / open a recipe book to a random page and cook / make somebody a mix tape / dress up for Halloween / write a song
One key tip for surviving the next 1001 days: ensure that your list has plenty of little tasks that can be easily crossed off! It can be very overwhelming to have a number of big challenges on the go at one time, and sometimes it helps to cross off something quick so that you can see some progress.
This might be the most important tip of all!
Examples: grow a plant from seed / rearrange your bedroom / do something nice for a stranger / try a new cake recipe / re-read a favourite book / try that food you hated as a kid / buy a set of luxurious bath towels / start a collection / fill somebody’s parking meter / kiss in the rain / no fast food for one month / alphabetise your bookshelf by author’s surname / don’t complain for one week / take a cooking class / make a playlist of your 101 favourite songs / learn to use your camera’s manual settings
Need more inspiration? Check out my list of 101 Things to do in 1001 Days (2012 – 2014) or my previous list from 2008-2010 for lots more ideas. Make sure you also visit Day Zero, the birthplace of this project, for tips and ideas.
Good luck!
