101 in 1001: if bucket lists and todo lists had a baby

As we start a new year, I decided to make a 101 in 1001 list instead of a new year resolution…

When I first saw a list like this one on the …And Possibly Dinosaurs blog I was enraptured. It combined my love of lists with a flexible and long term timeline. The whole premise is that you set 101 goals to accomplish in 1001 days (approximately 2.75 years). I have spent a lot of time as a recluse the past two years. A lot of the days started blurring together and I felt more anxiety building up. Before being so cooped up, I used to find excitement in meeting new people and trying new things or even just experiencing new moments with people I would meet on my commute, at work, or out and about. This is why goals are so important to me. Without them, my default is to scroll on my phone for hours on end, reach for video games or sit in front of the tv whenever work is done for the day. With goals, even if I don’t reach them, I at least shape my days to incorporate activities that help me improve my health, my mind, or my relationships.

I hope you consider making your own 101 in 1001 list! I wish I had a list like this when the pandemic began, but having it now gives me a sense of direction. Now I can take stock and notice, if I am not working towards my goals/joys then maybe I should spend my limited time in a different way.

For reference, here’s my list:

Career
1. Finish my CS degree**
2. Complete internal accessibility training
3. Get promoted to Senior Software Engineer
4. Publish technical article (on external tech publication)
5. Speak at a conference on a technical topic
6. Take a UI design course
7. Take CSS for JS course
8. Take a data visualization course
9. Take a leadership training/fellowship
10. Take a ML course
11. Take a security course
12. Participate in internal tech summit**

Chess
13. Complete lessons in chess.com
14. Enter a chess competition
15. Get an FIDE rating
16. Join corporate chess team for a season
17. Reach rating of 1300 in chess.com**
18. Reach rating of 1500 in chess.com
19. Read chess book I own
20. Travel to a chess competition

Fun/Learning
21. Complete Korean lessons in Rosetta Stone
22. Take TOPIK I & II to measure Korean mastery
23. Complete Russian lessons in Rosetta Stone
24. Test Russian mastery with in-laws and friend
25. Do boudoir photoshoot
26. Do a pole dancing photoshoot/video
27. Go busking
28. Journal (The Daily Stoic)
29. Learn up to 7th position on the violin
30. Learn a concert solo piece for the violin
31. Paint for 30 days
32. Read the Wheel of Time Series**
33. Take a chocolate making class
34. Take a class on watercolors (in-person or remote learning)
35. Take Skillshare course on embroidery
36. Take Skillshare course on Watercolor Oceans
37. Take Skillshare course on Illustration
38. Take a masseuse course (in-person)
39. Work through my Ukulele exercises book
40. Write a song**

Home
41. Buy a home
42. Move
43. Full unpack (lol, I never unpack fully when I move)
44. Make a dedicated dressing area/vanity
45. Make a hobby room/area
46. Make a home gym
47. Make a study/library

Side Hustles
48. Blog once per month for a year
49. Build an API
50. Design a calendar/planner
51. Enter a short story contest
52. Little Tech Book Club – read 1 book per quarter
53. Make a pet app with my friend
54. Make a video game
55. Make a YouTube video
56. Make an AR/VR project
57. Outline a book
58. Write a book
59. Publish a mobile app to app store
60. Start a podcast

Relationships
61. Ask my brother to move in
62. Help my brother get a job in tech
63. Get engaged**
64. Get married
65. Go on a honeymoon
66. Gift my partner an outfit
67. Go on a friend vacation
68. Send mail to extended family once per year

Travel
69. See Aurora Borealis in person (Northern Lights)
70. Visit Bora Bora
71. Travel to see a F1 race live
72. France
73. Germany
74. Japan
75. Family trip to Korea
76. Mexico (again)
77. Trip to go dog sledding
78. Spain

Volunteer
79. Build an open source project for the Adobe Digital Academy
80-82. Volunteer on 3 events for HOLA (Latinx/Hispanic ERG at Adobe)
83-85. Volunteer on 3 events for Techqueria (Latinx tech community)
86. Find an open source project to contribute to (at least once per month)

Wellness
87. Play Supernatural VR every day for 90 days in a row**
88. Beat Ringfit Adventure (Switch)**
89. Complete The Walk App
90. Complete Zwift Academy
91. Cycle 100 miles (again)
92. Cycle 200 miles
93. Enter a pole competition
94. Get a Spartan Trifecta
95. Get Invisalign (maybe?)
96. Talk to doctor about nutrition
97. Master the handstand
98. Master a headstand
99. No-kick pole invert**
100. Master the pull-up (at least 5)
101. Train and fun a half marathon with a friend (I walked the last one -_-‘)
** = In progress

You may notice some goals are related and may be completed while completing a separate goal, but also some goals may not be reached in a 2.75 year timeline. The aim is to use my list, you can use this Google Sheet template to build your own, as a tracker of what matters to me and to keep moving in that direction. When I make a new list I can transfer the items still on the list to the next one (I’m looking at you, Travel category). We can’t foresee the future, but we can adapt and give ourselves space and grace to do the best we can.