I found a document on my computer with the odd title “101 in 1001.” I opened it and discovered a list of 101 goals I had set back in 2007. Reading through them, I was sad to see I’d completed only four: backup my email, buy new running shoes, buy a new printer, and visit the dentist. The other 97 goals stared at me unkindly.
Something jogged my memory. Turns out I had written a column in 2007 about setting those 101 goals. The time limit for accomplishing the goals was 1,001 days, hence the document’s title, 101 in 1001. If you search for that on the Internet, you can find scores of people proudly listing their 101 goals and tracking their progress.
Why didn’t I stick with the plan back in 2007? Perhaps because instead of posting the list on the wall of my office, I kept it electronically on my computer. Being out of sight, it was soon out of mind, fading silently from my day to day awareness.
Some of the goals from 2007 are no longer on my radar, but some are. I decided to create a new list and have another go at it, folding in some of the old items and adding new ones to fill it out.
As I said in my 2007 column, it helps if the goals are specific, measurable, and clearly defined. After making my new list, I went back and sharpened some of the goals.
Instead of a vague goal like “learn to play the piano,” a better goal is “be able to play 10 songs on the piano.” Instead of learn to juggle, a better goal is be able to juggle three balls for 90 seconds. Instead of redo my wardrobe, a better goal is replace five shirts and five pants and buy all new underwear. Instead of lose weight, a better goal is lose 25 pounds. Instead of learn to read German, a better goal is read seven German comic books.
I set a start date of April first. A thousand and one days equals approximately 2.75 years. I did some calculating and determined my end date will be 27 December 2023.
There was something both inspiring and refreshing about this. Everyone has been so filled with gloom, it’s felt like by the end of 2023, life as we know it will be over. We’ll all be living in caves and foraging for berries and fiddleheads. Setting these goals helped dispel those feelings. Suddenly, the future seemed brighter.
I mentioned the idea of 101 in 1001 to my daughter, and she was excited by it. Later that day, she had her own list of goals.
“I’ve decided to start on April first because you’ve already done the math and worked out the end date,” she said. Clever girl.
I printed out my 101 list, framed it, and hung it on my office wall.
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