Daily Archive

Inspiration: MoxieLife set herself a 40/40 challenge and is also tracking her list of 40 items on 43things.com. I have put a few items on 43Things before; for the record, I’ve accomplished the biggest and most uncertain, “become a parent,” and even “empty my e-mail inbox,” but still haven’t checked off “finish knitting that sweater,” and one, “see the Northern Lights,” is a life goal that I won’t realize this year unless someone surprises me with a free trip to Alaska. Reading MoxieLife’s entry, I thought, “Hm, maybe I’ll do 43 things next year for my 43rd year.” Then I realized that I’m already a ways into my 43rd year. So I’m going to try it right now.

While I find setting goals a very useful way to get things done, I’m acutely aware that one goal I have is to be a little less driven, and having a 43-item to-do list for 11 months could undermine that meta-goal. I am therefore being careful to include plenty of things that I think are important but that aren’t terribly burdensome–that are, in fact, things I would undoubtedly do anyway (such as tell my daughter every day that I love her)–and things that are already on my schedule, like next February’s CENTER Institute.  Nothing wrong with recording those among the things I want to do this year.

I’ve left myself three blanks for ideas that arrive in the next few weeks (Edited on 7/19 to add them).   I’ll bold tasks and add italicized comments as I accomplish (or abandon, or modify) items. In no particular order:

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