52 in 52 is back...sort of

Back in 2008 (wow) I ran across the blog of a girl who had listed 101 things she wanted to do in 1001 days.  I wrote about it at the time:

Seeing her 101 made me realize that I need some personal developmental goals. So I’ve decided to make my own “101 in 1001”, but shorten the time frame some. I’ve landed on “52 in 52”. I’m not sure if this is a lofty goal (52 things to accomplish in 52 weeks of the year), but I figured I didn’t have to go at the rate of one per week. And I’m sure I’ll have some easier things to accomplish and some more difficult things to do, so it will balance out. We’ll see. And if I don’t make this goal? The world won’t end, but I’m sure I will have bettered myself in the process! And that’s the point!

I've haphazardly kept it up through the years, being more dedicated to it a couple years more than others. But lately I've had more of a desire to reorganize my time to address things that I want to do, versus things that have to get done by me.

I'm still going to call it 52 in 52 by habit, but the list is far from 52 things, and it will not necessarily take me 52 weeks to do it. You can find my current aspirations by clicking the 52 in 52 tab at the top of the blog.

I'm starting over!

Oh my gosh! I just realized that my 52 weeks of "52 in 52" has already passed! What???

Now, while I didn't do all of my 52 things, I have accomplished a lot of great things in this last year. I also accomplished the point of the whole thing: to get myself back on track and stretching my goals with what I want to achieve for myself and my family.

So what does that mean now? I'm starting over! I'll take off the "accomplished" things, leave the undone stuff, and come up with a whole new list of 52 in 52, of course!

Wanna join me?

For Posterity's Sake

My originial list of 52 in 52 as of 5/23/09.

Start Date: 4/25/08
End Date: 4/24/09
Updated: 4/24/09

bold = completed
italics = in progress
Craft
1. Make 2nd monkey woobie for Monkey
2. Make Monkey ’s Christmas blanket
3. Make cover for heating pad4. Update Monkey'sbaby book through 12 mos
5. Update Monkey ’s scrapbook through 12 mos
6. Sew gift bags from scrap fabric
7. Make Monkey ’s picture hanger
8. Make quilt of Corey's shirts
9. Make quilt of my shirts
10. Review loom knitting website and make a project

Mind/Heart
11. Read one book (ooh! I just finished book #3, & 4 &...)
12. Locate a local women’s shelter that needs personal item donations & donate
13. Go through bins of “freebies” to donate excess to women’s shelter
14. Donate at least 25 pj's to Pajama Program through my donation drive - 28 + 16 books!
15. Focus on saying “no” as appropriate
16. Move conversations forward with “yes and”, “gut feeling”, and “including others”
17. Eat a frog for breakfast! - Developed new planning tool to help w/this!

Home
18. Buy bedroom furniture!19. Figure out what color flowers coordinate with our bricks/paint outside
20. Fix playroom closet shelf
21. Reorganize items on playroom closet shelf
22. Go through dining room and clear out/straighten up
23. Make sure hurricane kits are ready.
24. Have a garage sale - Held online!
25. Reorganize/purge Christmas ornaments
26. Get clothes/stuff from Ms Jeanne’s house
27. Go through clothes/stuff from Ms Jeanne’s house and donate what I don’t want
28. Measure Norco picture and buy glass that fits
29. Buy an external hard drive & backup computer files

Health
30. Take my vitamins every day
31. Take the stairs at work as much as possible32. Go outside with Monkey as much as weather allows & take walks when we can

Social/Family
33. Call or write my Grandma & Grandpa at least every other month (4/6)
34. Get professional pictures made of Monkey every 6 mos (Dec/Apr)35. Have a date with Corey at least once a month (9/12)
36. Minimize computer time when Monkey is awake
Financial
37. Review 2005 tax return to see if there were errors
38. Review 2006 tax return to see if there were errors
39. Fix 2005 tax return errors
40. Fix 2006 tax return errors
41. Fix 2007 tax return errors
42. Eat out only 1/week and bring lunch other days
Experiences
43. Go to the beach this summer
44. Take Monkey to the zoo
45. Take an away vacation with Corey
46. Take Monkey to the Aquarium
47. Take Monkey to the Children's Museum
48. Take Monkey to the park a couple times a month
49. Take Monkey to the library

Edibles
50. Make a home-cooked dinner at least once/week (lost tracking of this but on avg achieving)51. Limit myself to 2 caffeinated drinks a day - doing better!
52. Limit myself to 1 dessert/sweet a day - doing better but oh so hard!

52 in 52 Update & Reflection

Check out my updated 52 in 52 status in the right column. After the start of the new year I updated it to *actually* include 52 items! I am impressed with how much I have done out of that list since last April. There were so many things I'd been leaving by the wayside and this "tool" really helped me get on the roll to accomplishing a lot of personal things I'd let slide.

I've also learned a lot about personal goal making. I already knew about SMART goals, and tried to implement that in my 52 in 52. Though through this process I figured out that some goals are easier to make SMART than others. I'll take that learning with me when I do 52 in 52 part 2 this April. While a lot of people do their goal setting in January, I liked that I started this later in the year. I think the fact that so much is going on at New Year's time makes it hard for people to really set themselves up for achieving their goals. Starting mid year took some of the pressure off.

I don't need to coast through life anymore without personal goals. I plan to make this a permanent part of my life, though it might not always be 52 things!

52 in 52

Miranda was the winner of a giveaway I did on my other blog, and when I looked at her blog to contact her, I noticed her “101 in 1001” list on the side column. I really love this idea for several reasons:

1. If you know me at all, you know I love making lists!
2. I’ve spent years making lists of developmental goals at work, but my lists of goals at home have always been just to “get things done”.

Seeing her 101 made me realize that I need some personal developmental goals. So I’ve decided to make my own “101 in 1001”, but shorten the time frame some. I’ve landed on “52 in 52”. I’m not sure if this is a lofty goal (52 things to accomplish in 52 weeks of the year), but I figured I didn’t have to go at the rate of one per week. And I’m sure I’ll have some easier things to accomplish and some more difficult things to do, so it will balance out. We’ll see. And if I don’t make this goal? The world won’t end, but I’m sure I will have bettered myself in the process! And that’s the point! So keep a look out for my 52 in 52 soon.