It’s ALL over the internet.

Everyone’s New Year resolutions and goals for the year. People RUN out of the gate and then end up tired and exhausted by mid January, throwing in the towel until next year (myself included).

For many years, Steve and I wrote out our resolutions for the year on New Year’s Eve – just after midnight. We never looked at each other’s lists.  EVER.  I guess we were thinking they should be *secret* goals!  We put them in an envelope and sealed them, and placed them in our Christmas stockings. Then…forgot all about them.

Fast-forward a year. And now, right before midnight, we would open our envelope from last year. Surprised and proud of ourselves when we realized we had actually accomplished something on the list. Then beat ourselves up about the other things that were just completely ignored and never thought of since the last year, completely failing at doing this or that task.

So, we dusted ourselves off and mustered up some excitement and created a NEW *secret* list that we can in turn totally ignore for coming year. <=== See why this didn’t work?  Funny thing is – I think we did this for about 6 or 7 straight years! lol

FINALLY I realized this never worked because it had nothing to do with goal setting, planning or working towards achieving specific goals.  It was mere coincidence that we happened to be successful in accomplishing anything that we wrote down on New Year’s Eve.

Enter the Day Zero Project.  Recommended by my smart friend, Karen Stott, it’s an exercise that modifies the typical resolution list and in turn helps you to create an attainable list of 101 things to do… in 1001 days.

During a recent road trip, Steve and I were chatting and decided to define OUR vocabulary for tasks, goals, dreams and fantasies so that we can be on a better track for our lives, together.

So the definitions we came up with are:

Task = Something attainable that needs to be done is a short period of time: usually a day, week, or month.

Goals = Something that you WILL accomplish in a reasonable time frame, but are still figuring out the HOW part. (Once you figure out the HOW – it becomes a TASK)

Dreams = Something you would LOVE to accomplish, but it’s too big and scary to break it down into goals.  (YET – but it will hopefully be a GOAL when the timing is right).

Fantasy = Something you would only do with no consequence to ANY other part of your life.

Example:  “I want to be an astronaut.” for ME is just a 

fantasy.

I have no plans to change any part of my life to make that happen.  BUT if I happen to visit Space Camp the day that I happened to be picked to sit inside the bridge of a live space shuttle during a testing, and a malfunction occurs that forces me to launch into a short, non life threatening space trip, thereby making me an astronaut, will probably be the only way I will EVER be an astronaut.  And that’s fine by me.  I would also LOVE to live in Paris or have a pet dolphin. It’s a fun to think about, but that’s about it. I’m not willing to compromise anything in my life to make those things happen.

So here is my list of Tasks, Goals, and Dreams of 101 Things I’d like to do in 1001 days. I have no Fantasies on this list, and by definition I plan on actively trying to accomplish these items in this specific time frame.

By publishing this online, and not in an envelope in my Christmas stocking, makes me accountable and will allow me to stay focused and hopefully on task.

I will be updating as I go, so check back and yell at me if I’m slacking!

If YOU have your own 101 Things list, please list your link in the comments below.  I would LOVE to read it!

1.  Take the kids skiing
2. Write a book (finish it)
3. See Wonderfully Made: Strong come to life
4. Blog 2 times a week for one month
5. Switch kids rooms/guest room   Done YAY February 2013
6. Redecorate studio area   Done YAY Sept 2012 LOVING the results
7. Redo kitchen
8. Go back to Disney for Greyson’s Birthday Just about to book our tickets…..so excited!
9. Have our family portraits taken DONE Yay! March 2013 Thank you Tiffany Farley!
10. Have a “no spend” month
11. Write a personal blog post once a month
12. Create journals for each child and use them
13. Go back to Montreal
14. Go back to Costa Rica
15. Make a family tree
16. Create a publish a family recipe book
17. Knit a new stocking for each kid & Steve
18. Master homemade sauce
19. Pack a permanent emergency bag Done YAY August 2012 Thank you Hurricane Irene – we were totally prepared when Hurricane Sandy Hit
20. Take the kids to Niagara Falls
21. Make a quilt
22. Print and hang personal pictures around the house
23. Make more quiet time to read Working on it – Trying to spend an hour each morning – so far so good since January of 2012
24. Write a children’s book
25. Run, not walk in a 5k
26. Eat only whole unprocessed foods for 1 month
27. Take the CPP certification test
28. Learn to make healthier/fun options for kid’s lunches
29. Create a packaging station DONE with Studio remodel YAY Sept 2012
30. Establish a daily (personal) routine that doesn’t interfere with family and work time
31. Create a “freebie” section on website
32. Take a ballroom class with Steve
33. Take Penny on 3 walks a week for a month
34. Re-establish weekly date night
35. Help Harmony create a cooking show
36. Go to bed early for 14 days in a row
37. Let the kids plan a weekend getaway and do it
38. Take a cooking class with Steve
39. Cancel home phone line  DONE ALREADY! YAY  January 9th, 2012
40. Cancel cable BEST decision ever September 2012
41. Teach the kids about goal setting and financial planning
42. Get published somewhere cool – Bravo TV? Sure that totally counts
43. Buy an investment property
44. Create a photo album for each of the kids
45. Write a fictional short story
46. Organize the basement, permanently
47. Get a new tattoo
48. Have a girls night once a month with Harmony – Working on it and loving these times together
49. Go to New Orleans
50. Go to 3 town council meetings – AYE
51. Get a mentor   <== January 15th THANK YOU Lydia!
52. Be a mentor to someone  <== January 15th THANK YOU Alicia! 
53. Move forward with speaking engagements <– Aaaak…Super scary! Actually forgot this was on the list and had the opportunity to speak publicly several times since then. Still super scary but I’ m getting there. 
54. Exercise 3 times a week HA!
55. Maintain a prayer journal – Best thing I ever started. Ever. 
56. Take Rachelle to New York City
57. FINALLY finish my website and don’t change it for 6 months – Well, it was redone in January 2013 – I think we’ll finally make it. 
58. Take a new class
59. Take my vitamins – EVERY day
60. Formalize the non-profit “project” into an actual non-profit
61. Let go of the things that are not a positive influence in my life – for real    DONE and DONE. and exhale…
62. Redecorate my bedroom
63. Write more letters to Rorisang
64. Organize the icons on my desktop –    Done, and done again, and messed up again. But my new desktop organizer helps!
65. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge –     DONE YAY December 2012
66. Shoot a gun <–eeek  scary!
67. Expand Urban Resource Group, LLC –         Always working on this, but expanded again in January 2013
68. Shoot a destination wedding in a foreign country
69. Finally watch the Godfather Trilogy (in one day)
70. Try eating Vegan for 7 day
71. Go to a new museum         Done YAY Philadelphia Art Museum February 2012
72. Grow everything I need for a salad, in the garden
73. Build out the fireplace in the family room
74. Use my real estate license to broker commercial investments
75. Purge my closet and donate
76. Give blood consistently again
77. Write a letter to a friend and MAIL it
78. Edit our wedding video (FROM VHS) while VCRs are still alive
79. Frame out the basement
80. Send out birthday cards….on time
81. Spend a major holiday on vacation somewhere
82. Go on a missions trip
83. Ride a big roller coaster with Harmony
84. Go to Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market –              YES! Done (several times) and it’s amazing!
85. Drink the “recommended” amount of water everyday for 30 days
86. Get a new car  (Sad to let go of my current one, but she’s getting old)
87. Simplify my procedures for backup           DONE Spring of 2013 and what a project that was. Thank you Crashplan.
88. Simplify my procedures for mobile working and location projects         Done for Chicago trip August 2012 
89. GO seven three ok maybe TWO days with no technology/internet/phone.
90. Get another stamp in my passport before it expires Too late. 🙁 Boo. 
91. Shoot an entire project with my medium format film camera and develop the prints myself
92. Give away a wedding photography package
93. Give away a portrait package
94. Rework our 401k plan and college savings plans
95. Take the kids camping working on it for Summer 2013
96. Release a message in a bottle at the ocean
97. Find the tree Steve carved our initials in 15 years ago
98. See a drive in movie
99. Stop “junk” reading – inconsequential things YES – Always working on it, but reduced significantly 
100. Go to the Pursuit 31 National Women’s Conference in Georgia DONE YAY October 2012 and it was amazing! Going back again 2013
101. Answer the “50 Questions that will free your mind”