#37 freerice.com

Task #37 - donate a 1,000,000 at freerice.com isn't feasible. I overestimated my ability to do that one in 1001 days. It sure looked good on paper though. So, instead, I have decided to lower it to 500,000 grains of rice. That's still quite a challenge since I don't do it every day but I believe I can get this one done now. It certainly is improving my vocabulary.

#92 Clean and Organize Craft Corner

On Christmas night I started organizing my Craft Corner. This little nook is just big enough to get a desk into it, and surround said desk with lots and lots of crafty stuff. I decided the only way to clean and organize this hell hole... oops, I mean... Marcie's Glorious Art Studio, was to take every thing out of it, clean it and rearrange all my craft items, making it a place that inspires and invites "Creativity". So I took everything out of it. Holy Glue Gun. What did I do? My living room and dining room are now covered in Creativity. It's all over the couch, under the table, on the chairs, spread all over the floor, and taking up every inch of space it can find. It has now taken over my apartment. What did you say? Put it back? I can't! Not until I *organize* it. Which I have begun. I got the bright idea to get all my craft paper together and group it by colors and type so when I get inspired I can just reach up and voila! There's the color I need. You know what? I have a lot (and I mean a lot) of paper. And I have a piece of paper... for... every... color... in... the... world.

Memo to self: Do not buy any more craft paper.

All done...

What a pain, but I redid my list and categorized it. I've also tweaked it here and there cause some things were too easy. Take Task #84 - Read 20 classic books. It started out as 10, but I've already finished 2 of them, and if I had the books on hand I'd probably be done in a couple of months. Also, Task #63 - Get rid of 200 personal items. This was 100 personal items, but I'm a pack rat, and I certainly don't have any problems finding 100 things to get rid of. What I'm striving for on this one is that I don't add 201 items to my household at the same time. I really want to lighten my load, so to speak.

I think it's okay to adjust your list if need be. Some things may change making a task impossible to do, or maybe a project needs some clarification. It's good to be flexible. Flexibility makes life less stressful. I'm all for that. :)

Okay, I was wrong...

I should have categorized my list. I can't find anything without scanning it a couple times. What a waste of time. I need to organize it. I suppose I could put this on my weekly-to-do list. *sigh*

I love to read...

So I have finished the Twilight book series (Stephenie Meyer is a very good storyteller) and my first task, #81! It isn't surprising that it's one dealing with books since I spend a lot of time reading instead of doing something that would require cleaning and organizing. (blech!) I then moved on to task #84 (read 10 classic books)(edit: now 20 classic books) and read Brave New World, which was much easier to read than I thought and more interesting, too. Now I'm reading Beloved. I wish I hadn't seen the movie, but Toni Morrison is such an excellent writer, it won't matter that I already know the ending.



I've also made a "Rewards Envelope" pictured above which I have labeled (appropriately enough) "Oops! I did it again!". That's pretty much how I feel whenever I finish something - that it was by accident. Now I have to come up with $3 dollars. My first $3.00. :) If I finish the list, I should have more than $303.00 depending on how many weekly lists I finish. My weekly lists are monsters. They just keep growing and growing and growing! I need to rethink what I should be putting down on a weekly list because I would like to finish one. I'm beginning to think that I need a "202 things to do in 1001 days" list. Now I'm thinking that it would be nice if I had an assistant. :)

Task #84 - Read 10 Classic books

I've just completed book three in the series Twilight, and if Emily finishes book 4 quickly, I should be done with Task #81 soon, which means I can start either the selected classic list or maybe a nonfiction book. Here's the list for the classic book list. I don't know if I'm going to make a list for the nonfiction books. There are a few nonfiction books I want to read, but I haven't any idea what the titles are anymore. Oh well, more research.

Task #84 10 Classic Books

1. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
2. Beloved by Toni Morrison
3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
4. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
5. A Room with a View by E.M. Forrester
6. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
7. Naked Lunch by William Burroughs
8. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway
9. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
10.The Bostonians by Henry James

I own the first two so I'll probably start with them.

Day One...

This is the first day of my "101 things to do in 1001 days". It took me about 5 days to come up with the list, using my own ideas and borrowing some from fellow listers. The originator of this project is a guy named Michael Green from New Zealand, and he set-up a web site called Day Zero. Basically, here are the guidelines for the list:

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. 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 organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Green also has sections on tips to make your list, how to figure your end date, and other websites for inspiration. (A good one to look into is The Happiness Project blog.) Most of the ideas I came across were from lists of other participates. At Day Zero, on the left side, is "Recently Added Lists". Underneath that is a "View All" button which will bring up a very long list of people who have made public their lists. You can get some really great ideas from these lists and adapt them to your own. Some people like to categorize their lists to make it easier to find things, but I figure if I have to search for something I might come across a task that I have completely forgotten about and get the ball rolling again.

I plan on going into more detail on some of my tasks eventually (ha, I'm still a procrastinator at heart!) and I'll be posting my "lists" within my list. (e.g. #84) Also, where I have stated "start an envelope", it means I'm saving up for that particular item.

And while you're making *your* list, why don't you blog it? It's free here and you can make it private or public. It might be a great way to get some support.

Well, that's it for my very first blog post. I hope I can inspire other people to start their "101 things to do in 1001 days". I sure don't want to have all the "fun" doing this by myself. ;)

Starting date: Monday, November 17, 2008
Ending date: Monday, August 15, 2011