Between 10th April 2010 and 5th January 2013 I attempted the 101 things in 1001 days challenge. I did reasonably well – I managed almost half the things – but I decided I wanted another go – so this is it.

The new 101 things in 1001 days challenge follows on immediately from the old one, so it starts on Sunday 6th January 2013 and ends on Sunday 4th October 2015.

One of the drawbacks of the original list was the amount of admin it caused, as I created a separate page for each challenge and then had to update them all. I’m going to keep it simple here. The list is below – I’m not giving reasons for why anything is on there or how I’ll know when it’s done (if you want to know, ask!). I’ll cross off each thing, or keep a running count, as I go along on this page, and I’ll be adding posts and linking to them from here. Hopefully it’ll be easier to maintain this way!

More about the 101 things in 1001 days Challenge:

The Mission

Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria

Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?

Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks,which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

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Completed 😀 37/101

In Progress 🙂 13/101

Failed 🙁 3/101

The list

Travel

1 See the Northern Lights

2 Visit five (new to me) UK seaside resorts IN PROGRESS 4/5 Southend-on-Sea Wells-next-the-Sea Alum Bay, Isle of Wight, Shanklin, Isle of Wight

3 Go to Marrakech

4 Go to the Edinburgh Festival

5 Visit the Minack Theatre

6 Visit Epping Forest and find Rodney Smith’s stone COMPLETED Click here for details

7 Visit the Lake District

8 Go to a water park

9 Go to three more places from the Bollocks to Alton Towers/Far From the Sodding Crowd books COMPLETED Imber, The Valiant Soldier, Blackgang Chine

Reading and Writing

10 Win NaNoWriMo FAILED – never got round to it and there isn’t another opportunity before this list ends. Next time?

11 Join a book club COMPLETED Click here for details

12 Have a letter published in a national newspaper COMPLETED – actually had two articles in Bella magazine and take a Break magazine, which i reckon counts!

13 Read the His Dark Materials trilogy

14 Read 26 books by authors new to me, one for each letter of the alphabet IN PROGRESS 17/26 More details here

15 Write and publish a book COMPLETED! Click here for more details

16 Read five “classics” of literature 3/5 IN PROGRESS (The Wizard of Oz, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist, The Secret of Sleepy Hollow)

17 Write an entry in a diary/journal every day for a year COMPLETED

18 Read five books that have been banned somewhere

19 Leave a message in a book (and leave the book somewhere)

20 Write myself a letter to open in ten years’ time

21 Write five letters to five people who have made a difference to my life

22 Write a blog post that gets 20 comments COMPLETED Why Sky Sucks

Crafts and Hobbies

23 Relearn how to knit and make a scarf COMPLETED Actually still knitting the scarf but it’s the world’s largest ball of wool, it’s over three feet long already so if I stopped now it would be a scarf.

24 Post a photo to the 365 project for every day for a year FAILED – didn’t manage 12 months consistently and less than a year left! Next time … So nearly there though, started again on Jan 1st 2015 and haven’t missed a day yet.

25 Hide a geocache

26 Learn to play a recognisable song on the guitar IN PROGRESS Trying to learn with the Yousician app

27 Make all my Xmas cards one year COMPLETED! Click here for details

28 Take a photo of the same place every week for a year – and make a film of it FAILED – ditto – not enough time left to do this

29 Hand craft five Xmas presents COMPLETED … blog post and photos to follow after Xmas!

30 Take a photograph for every letter of the alphabet and create a photo book with the pictures

31 Visit Buscot House and photograph the gardens COMPLETED! Click here for details

32 Get prints of 101 of my favourite photos and make an album

33 Paint a picture and hang it on the wall COMPLETED Click here for details

34 Paint a plate ( or mug or bowl )

Sport / Physical Activities

35 Go for a 5 mile cycle

36 Take part in the Race for Life

37 Go to an international football match

38 Go to a banger racing event

39 Swim 50 lengths in one go

40 Have a go at a new sport or physical activity COMPLETED BodyPump

41 Go white water rafting

42 Go to a Zumba class

Food and Drink

43 Visit a food festival

44 Host a dinner party for at least 4 people COMPLETED Curry night for Mark, Albania, Clare and John

45 Brew my own alcohol

46 Eat in a Michelin starred restaurant COMPLETED Amazing meal at The Wateside Inn, thanks to my lovely mum!

47 Eat foods from three cultures/countries new to me COMPLETED Lebanese Brazilian (Las Iguanas) Canarian

48 Make my own ice cream

49 Visit the Pudding Club

50 Go on a proper picnic with a hamper and champagne

51 Drink ten different types of gin IN PROGRESS (3/10) Tanqueray, Hendricks, Brockmans

52 Go for a month without eating any fast food or takeaways

53 Bake an unusually flavoured cake or a gingerbread house

54 Make my own preserved lemons COMPLETED – photos to follow after Xmas!

55 Make my own hummous COMPLETED

56 Bake a soufflé, a fondant and beef wellington IN PROGRESS 2/3

Experiences

57 Be in the audience for a radio show

58 Experience a flotation chamber

59 Go to a comedy club

60 Go on a brewery or distillery tour COMPLETED Hook Norton Brewery … Blog post to follow

61 Ride in a convertible COMPLETED Click here for details

62 Punt down the Thames

63 See a sea turtle

64 Watch a meteor shower COMPLETED Watched the Perseids in August 2013 and saw three shooting stars!

65 Go swimming in the sea at night

66 Go to a murder mystery event

Lifestyle

67 Lose at least 3 stone IN PROGRESS

68 Get another tattoo COMPLETED Click here for details

69 Get my colours analysed COMPLETED Click here for details

70 Have a fish pedicure COMPLETED! Click here for details

71 Dye my hair (or part of it) a mad colour

72 Buy and wear a pair of size 14 jeans

73 Stay away from Facebook for a whole week

Sound and Vision

74 Watch all 3 Lord of the Rings films in one day

75 Watch films from ten different countries

76 Listen to The Observer’s 50 Albums that Changed Music IN PROGRESS

77 Watch ten films on TED IN PROGRESS 7/10 See TED playlist here

78 Make a podcast and get someone to download it COMPLETED Conversations with Authors series – the first one was with Peter Jones of “How to Do Everything and Be Happy” fame.

79 Make an iTunes playlist of 101 of my favourite songs COMPLETED September 2013. In fact there are now 197 on the list .. and it’s growing all the time!

80 Watch ten classic films that I really should have seen already

81 Upload all my CDs to iTunes COMPLETED October 2013: 493 albums (and counting! Just need to add all Steve’s CDs to my iTunes now!)

Things for other people

82 Invest money in someone on Kiva COMPLETED! Click here for details

83 Do five random acts of kindness COMPLETED

84 Do some regular voluntary work for at least 6 months COMPLETED (ADHD Oxfordshire – regular monthly volunteer from March 2014 onwards)

85 Do something that raises at least £100 for charity COMPLETED – crowdfunding project for my ADHD Inspiration Day, to enble 50 parets to attend free of charge, raised over £2000

86 Give someone a surprise present COMPLETED

Random Things

87 Write a new 101 in 1001 to do when this one finishes

88 Build an affiliate site that earns at least £50 for three consecutive months COMPLETED www.furbeanbags.co.uk – did very well Oct-Dec 2014

89 Grow (and eat) some fruit COMPLETED Click here for details

90 Work on the garden so I’m proud of the results COMPLETED new house, new garden, but kept it looking lovely all summer, lots of pots, grew veg

91 Make a list of 25 things I like about myself COMPLETED

92 Build an iPhone or ipad app

93 Save £500 in an emergency fund

94 Host a board games party

95 Attend three different ethnic/cultural festivals

96 Learn and identify ten constellations

97 Comment on 50 random blogs

98 Study and complete an online course COMPLETED Click here for details

99 Organise a workshop COMPLETED (ADHD Inspiration Day – full dy conference, including a workshop I delivered)

100 Write my family tree IN PROGRESS should have set some parameter about how many generations back!

101 Change my surname IN PROGRESS just NHS and passport to go!