I like to make lists. To-do lists, shopping lists, wish lists. I suppose this is why I’m the proud owner of the Listography Journal (thanks Pam). Last year, I started to think about making a birthday to-do list — one big list of things that I wanted to cross off before my next birthday.
I was first inspired by fellow list lover Andrea of hula seventy. Each year, Andrea makes a list of X number of things, with the number being one less than the age she will be next. I liked the idea. A lot. But as a girl who has a hard time making a single New Year’s resolution, I wasn’t sure that upping the ante each year was the best option for me.
The next list project I heard about was the Day Zero Project, where you try to do 101 things in 1001 days (a little under three years). My friend Kristen was taking the challenge, and I liked the idea of having nearly three years to get everything done. But truth be told, I have no idea where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing in three years, and I decided I wanted my list to have more of a focus on the now.
So that brought me to making my own list, the “Twenty-five To-dos” list. I made the first one last year. Here’s how I’m doing so far, with about a month and a half to go.
Twenty-five To-dos (Year 27)
- Confront my fear of the ocean and learn how to dive. [March 2009]
- Travel to a new country. [December 2009]
- Visit Kyoto. [August 2009]
- Make a traditional Japanese dinner. [March 2010]
- Learn how to crochet. [February 2010]
- Eat taco rice in Okinawa.
- Give a professional presentation. [November 2009]
- Have a picnic during hanami. [May 2009]
- Pay off at least one student loan. [September 2009]
- Paint with oils.
- Update the content for my online portfolio and convert to WordPress. [October 2009]
- Get a Thai massage. [December 2009]
- Visit an onsen. [August 2009]
- Write a letter to my father. [July 2009]
- Climb Mt. Fuji. [August 2009]
- Grow herbs. [May 2010]
- Take a cooking class. [December 2009]
- Participate in NaNoWriMo again. [November 2009]
- Overcome my flying anxiety. [December 2009]
- Start a new physical hobby. [March 2009]
- Visit an aquarium. [November 2010]
- Watch The Seven Samurai. [January 2012]
- See a traditional music performance in Japan. [November 2009]
- Own a great pillow. [July 2009]
- Take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. [December 2009]
I didn’t have my personal blog when I started last year’s list, so I am looking forward to tracking my progress for the next list. In the meantime, I have 46 days to cross off more to-dos…and to think of what will be on the list for Year 28.
