Thursday, January 24, 2013

40 Months To 40.


In 40 months, I'll turn 40.  In honor of the big event, I've created a list of things I'd like to accomplish by then.  I only have 34 items on the list so far, leaving room for goals to develop since admittedly there is still quite a bit of time.  I've added two more items since the last time I posted it.

1.  Run a 5k.
2.  Run a 10k.
3.  Run a half marathon.
4.  Lose 40 pounds.
5.  Make significant steps toward reducing animal products in my diet.
6.  Finish my memoir.
7.  Publish my memoir.
8.  Buy Long Term Care insurance.
9.  Visit with a financial planner and map out a goal for retirement.
10.  Create and utilize a budget.
11.  Read 50 books.
12.  Redesign my blog under my own domain name.
13.  Sort and organize my mother's belongings.
14.  Live a more minimalist lifestyle.
15.  Save enough money to purchase our next vehicle in cash.
16.  Attend another blogging conference.
17.  Eliminate my dependence on caffeine.
18.  Unplug for one full week.
19.  Get a paid writing job.
20.  Create a usable space in the home office.
21.  Bag, Board and Catalog comic/magazine collection.
22.  Organize CD collection.
23.  Organize DVD collection.
24.  Create usable living space in attic.
25.  Create usable living space in basement.
26.  Organize (digitize?) all old writings.
27.  Make go-bags for all family members.
28.  Create an emergency bin with supplies.
29.  Buy a really awesome, unnecessarily expensive pair of jeans that make my ass look amazing.
30.  Buy a killer dress - cocktail? ball gown?  I don't know.
31.  Go to some event that requires me to wear the aforementioned dress.
32.  Go zip-lining.
33.  Get third tattoo.
34.  Climb a rock wall.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.

I've spent considerable time and energy on #4 (reduce animal products in diet) and #5 (lose 40 pounds).  I've lost 11 pounds since the new year and I have not had meat in 3 weeks.  I'm well aware that my weight loss is too rapid and I am working on slowing things down a bit.  And I won't pretend that I'll never eat meat again, but it's been a good month so far and overall I'm happy.

For #21 (comic book collection), I've made significant progress.  Almost all the books are bagged and boarded - nearly 10 long boxes worth.  We will hit 11 boxes before I'm done.  I had to get them boxed before I could start working on #20 (creating a usable space in the home office ).  Speaking of which, the ceiling is painted and the walls are edged.  My new desk is sitting in my hallway and as soon as the painting is done I'll be building it.  

#16 (attend another blogging conference) is planned:  Type A Parent in September is booked!  I'm really excited about going.  On the one hand I wish it was sooner because, seriously, I cannot wait to go, but on the other I'm glad there's some time so I can get in the right mental space by then. Right now my head is way too clouded to really get what I want out of it.

#10 (budget), #6 (memoir), #11 (read 50 books), #15 (saving for a car) have all been worked on.  Nothing reportable, but I've made steps in the direction of all of them this month.

When I put it all down like that, I realize I've been doing quite well actually.  The act of writing isn't happening as much as I'd like, but much thought has gone into it.  Once the office is usable again, I hope to be able to have the physical space for working on the memoir and some other writing projects in a more serious fashion.

I'll keep plugging away and I'll be back on February 24th to up date again.  Thanks to everyone who even remotely cares about this list of mine!

13 comments:

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    1. The dates clash with our family vacation which can't be moved because we tack it on to the end of San Diego Comic Con. If they hadn't made it earlier this year I'd probably have gone.

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  2. Keep pushing, sounds like you are making great progress.

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    1. I'm so tempted to work on them all at once, but then I'll make myself nuts and never cross anything off. Going for slow and steady!

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  3. You have such great goals. I'd create a 50 before 50 list but I'm intimidated b/c I'd have less than a year! I've never been to a blog conference. Something to put on the fun list!

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    1. Honestly, if I had less than a year, it would either be a very different list or there wouldn't be a list at all. I have more than enough time to do what I want to do, so there's no reason I can't get it all done. It was my way of setting 40 attainable goals!

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  4. I love this list! There are quite a number of them I'd like to do myself. I suppose #1 should be to start my own list. O_o
    Congrats on the 11lbs!! Woot!

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    1. You could put Start List as number one and then by the time you finish, you'll already be crossing something off! That's totally something I would do. (OK, I actually do this on my daily to do lists all the time).

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. I love following this journey! Can't wait to see what develops over the next few years and look forward to every update. I am rooting for you all the way.

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    1. Carinn I have no idea how I missed reply to this comment! Sorry, and thank you!

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  7. I'm 42. And a half. I'm pretty doggone proud of myself that I haven't hauled off and killed somebody. I've encountered a LOT of stupid people. On both coasts.

    I won't make a list of goals or a bucket list because I would be too hard on myself for not achieving the things I put in writing. Instead, I silently applaud myself each day that I get out of bed, shower, wear decent clothes, and get my ass to work. And I help a lot of people. Really, I do.

    So that's gonna have to do.

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    1. Some days I kind of curse the list and the fact that I ever wrote it. But I've been quietly (and not so quietly) been working on a lot of these things and with just under 3 years to go, I think I'm doing OK. Not great though, there's going to be a massive freak out in early 2016, I'm sure.

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