on trying to accomplish 101 things in 2.7 years
I love a good list. I love making plans. I love pursuing accomplishment. (Wow, that’s an awesomely dorky sentence.) So I created this back in the day.
I hadn’t realized at the time that some people are anti these sort of lists - that they smack of privilege and/or are self-indulgent and/or stifling to spontaneity. They’re probably on to something, but for me the reminder to pursue things in life aside from the day-to-day is super important. It is insanely easy to develop a routine that doesn’t extend much beyond a variation of work-eat-watch TV-sleep, and while I don’t see myself as the type to succumb to the inertia of that pattern, my love of making things happen (and compiling lists) led me to create one.
So, did I do all 101 things? God no. Did I look over this list late in the game and get mad at myself for including items that clearly weren’t a true priority for me, or that basically set myself up for failure because they were destined not to happen? Multiple times. Did I aspire to suddenly fit in as much as humanly possible as the clock ticked down over the past few weeks? Sort of, and then I realized I just didn’t care enough to freak out about finding the time to devote myself to the art of putting (#18) before my deadline just for the sake of being able to check something else off.
