101 Things in 1001 Days – an update

Inspired by The Annoyed Thyroid, in August 2018 I posted a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days.

The Challenge

For those who missed it, the challenge was to come up with 101 things that I want to achieve in the next 1001 days. So that you don’t need a calculator, that equates to about 2.75 years – which takes me through until 23 May 2021. 

This isn’t a bucket list per se – I have a separate one of those – and it contains a mix of:

• Big stuff
• Small stuff
• Small stuff that will lead to big stuff
• Completely unrealistic how fabulous would it be if it happened stuff

It also serves to replace New Years resolutions – not that these mean anything at the moment anyway!

The hardest part of this challenge was coming up with 101 things – and keeping it (reasonably) realistic. To do that I chunked it down into categories and, where appropriate, broke large long-term goals into smaller milestones that can be ticked off along the way. 

Why 1001 days? 

The theory is that for people like me with long-term dreams and a short-term focus, this sort of time period gives you a better chance of achieving the big stuff – it covers seasonal considerations and provides ample time for bookings, training etc, but also allows for lots of smaller wins along the way. Sometimes it’s those small wins that keep you going – you have no idea how stoked I was when I nailed the perfect scrambled egg!

Another advantage of having some smaller items that might otherwise be overlooked? It’s a real boost to your confidence when you look back and see how much you’ve achieved.

The fine print

Because this is my list and therefore my rules, I reserve the right to change my mind. In full disclosure, I’ve made a decision to push back from astrology writing for the time being so have dropped these items from the list and replaced them with goals more conducive to my main focus of making a living from my writing. Likewise, I’ve updated my publishing list to coincide with what I actually want to write as opposed to what I thought I might want to.

Further to that – I don’t expect that I’ll achieve everything on this list, or the next one, and nor will I beat myself up if that’s the case. There’s no harm in carrying items across to my next 101 things list. This is not a “must-do” list or even a “should do” list. It’s more of a “how cool will it be if I have a go?” list.

Anyways, we’re now 680 days into the challenge so in the interests of accountability, here’s an update. My primary long-term goals are in bold. As an aside, I’m actually going to reset at the end of July and set a whole new 101 things – largely because I’ve ticked off so many but also because I’ve changed my mind on a few items. So, without further havering, here’s the update: 

Health and Fitness 

1. Lose 5kgs. Achieved in September 2019.

2. Lose another 5kgs Achieved at the end of November 2019

3. Lose another 5kgs As at writing this I’ve lost a total of 12.3kgs from my starting point.

4. Lose another 5 kgs

5. Lose another 5 kgs

6. Take a yoga or pilates class

7. Walk the path from Pt Cartwright to Golden Beach. We’ve now walked each segment of this path.

8. Walk up the Ballinger Rd hill without stopping. I’m scoring this a 7/10 – I’ve made it to the top, but not without stopping. 

9. Do the Kondalilla Falls Circuit

10. Do the Noosa National Park Walk along the coast to Sunshine Beach

11. Average 10,000 steps a day for 30 days. Done – back in September 2018. Since July 2019 I’ve averaged almost 12,000 steps a day.

12. Get into a meditation habit – 15 minutes a day for 30 days.

13. Visit the dentist

14. Visit a GP and get a health check done

15. Convince my husband to visit a GP and get a health check done

Personal

16. Have a photoshoot – not a glamour one, but more of a headshot one, outside, casual with decent hair and maybe even make-up for social media/branding purposes

17. Buy a pair of jeans that not only fit but are actually comfortable.

18. Be an extra on Midsomer Murders (I think I’d make a fabulous dog walker in Badger’s Drift, but I’m not at all fussy…)

19. Be a guest on Desert Island Discs – which is probably about as realistic as the Midsomer Murders one.

20. Write the family history – on the Hamilton and Lyons side. Mum has done so much research that needs to be written up

21. Research the family history on my husband’s side

22. Update my will

23. Learn how to take decent food pictures and learn how to style brown food. Not sure how to measure this, but I’ve absolutely improved. I’m giving this a tick.

24. Drive on the highway without having an anxiety thing. I have ventured onto the motorway, but the Bruce Highway still makes me quite anxious. This one still needs work.

25. Go 30 days without spending money on books or music. Done – February and March 2019

26. Get our DNA analysed by Ancestry.com Done – September 2019

27. Read 10 non-fiction books As of November 2019, I’ve read 12.

28. Put our France 2018 photos into a digital photo book

29. Put our 2015 UK photos into a digital photo book 50% done

30. Put our Vietnam photos into a digital photo book. Done.

31. Make a This Is Your Life photo book for Dad’s 80^th birthday. Done.

Blogs and Writing

32. Finish writing my France blogs.

33. Transfer all France posts across to And Anyways. These are all scheduled out to be published over the next few months.

34. Revamp my blog Done. And Anyways had a facelift in 2019

35. Revamp my author website to be a “landing page” for my books. The website is being revamped as we speak.

36. Send out a monthly newsletter – every month for at least 6 months

37. Revamp cover for Baby, It’s You Done

38. Revamp cover for Big Girls Don’t Cry Done

39. Launch Baby, It’s You to print

40. Launch Big Girls Don’t Cry to print

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41. Publish Happy Ever After. Done.

42. Publish I Want You Back (Careful What You Wish For #1) Scheduled for publication September 2020

43. Finish writing Careful What You Wish For (Careful What You Wish For #2). This just requires a cover and a blurb and we’re right to go.

44. Publish Careful What You Wish For Scheduled for publication January 2021.

45. Finish It’s In The Stars (Careful What You Wish For #3) First draft is 50% complete (The draft was complete but I turfed most of it)

46. Publish It’s In The Stars I’m aiming for May 2021

47. Release the Careful What You Wish For series as a box set I’m targeting September 2021 for this

48. Write a Christmas novel

49. Publish ebook of recipes used in Wish You Were Here and Happy Ever After and use as a lead magnet for the newsletter

50. Set up kitchen diaries blog – Brookford Kitchen Diaries. Done. I’m still reviewing the future use of this

51. Set up Clancy’s Campfire website.  Done, but this project is on the back-burner

52. Publish Clancy of the Campfire – the definitive camping cookbook This project is on the back burner

53. Write The Lilac Queen – the French novel

54. Write the first book in the Alice Delaney mysteries

55. Write the first book in the Curlew Cottage series Escape to Curlew Cottage has been written – still to go through copy edit.

56. Mad About The Mac – the definitive mac cheese cookbook

57. Enter a RWA writing competition. Done – Happy Ever After came 2^nd in Romantic Book of the Year

58. Learn about Amazon and Facebook advertising – progress has been made, but still learning

59. Replace my day job income with income from writing 

Travel

60. Sleep in a tent. Done. Ok, it was a posh tent, but a tent it was. Ketchup’s Bank Glamping. We loved it so much we stayed in a tent at Agnes Water too.

61. Do a road trip to Cairns

62. Explore Stradbroke Island (Straddie)

63. Stay at the Eastern & Oriental in Penang Done

64. Walk up Queenstown Hill

65. Explore Agnes Waters and the Town of 1770 Done September 2019

66. Explore the Scenic Rim region of South East Queensland. Done. October 2018 – Camping at Ketchup’s Bank Glamping.

67. Swim with sea-turtles

68. Snorkel in the Barrier Reef Scheduled for next week…watch this space

69. Ride a horse along the beach at Noosa

70. Take a Noosa Everglades cruise

71. Fly business class on a proper international flight

72. Eat at one of the world’s top 100 restaurants

73. Eat at a restaurant in the Michelin Guide Done – Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, Singapore May 2019

74. Have Christmas in the UK Christmas 2019

75. Attend a Christmas midnight mass in a village church in the UK We could have done this, but we stayed in the warm and drank wine instead.

76. Have afternoon tea somewhere posh Ellenborough Park Hotel, Cheltenham January 2020

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77. Do a long-distance walk in the UK – eg The Cotswolds Way, The Ridgeway, Hadrian’s Wall

78. See bluebells in a bluebell wood. 

79. Take a cruise on a Cunard ship for Grant’s 60th in 2021 – one of the “Queens”

80. See the Northern lights

81. See the Edinburgh Tattoo in Edinburgh. (As a side note, I have seen this in Sydney and given that we have no inclination to travel to Scotland during the summer and the Tattoo is held in August, there are logistical issues with this one.)

Foodie Stuff

82. Grow ginger Done

83. Try making 5 new ice-creams Done – vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, yoghurt, nutella, coconut

84. Make focaccia. Done.

85. Cook steak to medium rare (hubby usually does this) Done

86. Make an omelette (he does this too) Done

87. Perfect the poached egg (he usually does this too). Done – thanks to Nigella.

88. Make decent scrambled eggs (and this – but I’m great at boiled and fried eggs) Done

89. Make a piccalilli. Done.

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90. Try 10 new meat-free dishes  Done

91. Make mayonnaise by hand Done

92. Make hollandaise by hand Done

93. Make a puff pastry Done

94. Make honeycomb Done

95. Make decent soft bread rolls Done

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96. Make lemon curd. Done.

97. Make flat bread Done

98. Make a Victoria sponge Done

99. Make a Tarte Tatin Done

100. Cook (and blog) my way through Nigella’s “How To Eat”. Underway – The Nigella Diaries

Other

101. Inspire someone else to write down 101 things to do in 1001 days. Done

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