100 Small Things 2017

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

This is my third year of creating a list of 100 small things I hope to accomplish in the year.  I wrote one in 2015 and finished 48 of 100 tasks.  And did it again last year, in 2016, and finished 38 tasks entirely for the year.  

The point is to be intentional about my daily life.  The point is to make my daily life feel, look, and inspire the kind of whole life I hope to live - that I hope to build around this family of ours. 


It takes me a few days to brainstorm and reflect about the kind of life I hope to live this year.  The kinds of things that will help me be the type of person I hope to be.  This year, I categorized my list to try to stay focused on certain areas of my life.   Plus, it kind of feels more do-able all broken down in these ten categories (with about ten tasks each). 

Some of them aren't small tasks at all actually (1000 hours outdoor attempt #2, Completing my first ever half marathon!, getting our The Hunting Daddies books into our local Gander Mountain store for next Christmas!) but many of them are minor tweaks to our daily lives that I hope will help me grow and improve into the kind of person I want to be. 

I keep the list in my catch-all notebook that sits on my desk year-round and here (obviously) and I check in frequently and re-read it about a bajil times over the course of the year.  Having these goals help me stay focused even when life gets me all frazzled and pulled in twenty directions....or has me down because sometimes the world can do that to ya, amirite?


and so, for accountability's sake...here's my 
100 Small Things: 2017

Mind
1. Read at least 12 new-to-me books (read 11/12 new to me books)
2. Lead Inspired Readers book club at least three times (created the summer checklist!)
3. watch fifteen TED talks (watched 5/15 TED talks)
4. watch a manual settings camera tutorial
5. write 100 blog posts (wrote 77/100 posts)
6. participate in a writing challenge of any kind
7. replace "sorry" with "thank you"
8. practice/learn calligraphy
9. do at least three reviews for Blogging for Books
10. take a continuing education class at Penn Highlands
11. watch three documentaries

Bonus: 
new soul mantra
started and finished the Serial Podcast and S-Town podcast
joined up with a local book club: Books & Brews!
followed Spanish teacher blogs and instagrams

re-read The Handmaid's Tale

Body
1. finish the Pittsburgh half marathon
2. buy running shoes (and socks)
3. run/walk the Jim Mayer trail
4. Get bikes and/or bike ridealong seats for each person in our family
5. bike the Ohiopyle trail
6. take care of my heels at least once a week
7. get a haircut
8. put on my wedding dress and zip it up!
9. increase my jogging time to 12 minute/mile
10. try a local class (kickboxing/yoga)

Bonus: 
made the switch to the Diva Cup

Soul
1. 1000 hours outdoors (completed 523/1000 hours)
2. create a cellphone 'holding dock' and use it
3. screen free wednesdays
4. afternoon hot tea daily
5. monthly library trips
6. go to a Stations of the Cross for Lent
7. Do something special for my goddaughter Mallory's first holy communion
8. weekly gratitude journaling
9. Read Buddhism for Mothers of Young Children
10. no social media until after 11am

Motherhood
1. get mother's ring updated with all birthstones
2. go on an individual date with each child and both parents
3. finish the 2015-2016 yearbook
4. finish the 2016-2017 yearbook (!)
5. monthly family game nights
6. add child security settings to the iPad
7. celebrate the small holidays (Lunar New Year, Groundhogs Day, Mardi Gras, our pets' birthdays, half birthdays, etc)
8. eat outside in the summer
9. make seasonal fun to do lists
10. read aloud Charlotte's web
11. chore charts to make a comeback!

Bonus: 
Started Yes Day! (we celebrate ours on June 30)

Romance
1. watch House of Cards together
2. nsfw ;)
3. buy new sheets & a quilt 
4. monthly 'just for parents' dinner with grown-up delicious food that the kids would complain about (seafood/too spicy/asapargus/etc) while the kids eat mac&cheese or something equally boring
5. play on a co-ed volleyball team together
6. complete our Last Wills & Testaments
7. help Bud with a project I hate doing without sighing (like cleaning the garage or picking up branches when he's trimming the flowerbeds)
8. go on an actual dressed up -overnight (!) date
9. March Madness couple bracket competition
10. keep the Scrabble board game in our room for impromptu matches (like the 'ole days when it was just the two of us)

Relationships
1. learn to make nut roll from Mimi
2. AKT playdate with all the kids
3. email my Costa Rica host mom
4. send five care packages to friends
5. start to plan the AKT 35 year girls only trip (!!)
6. SCF and girls sleepover
7. grandma and kids trip
8. get teens to babysit our kids
9. host two big family dinners at our house (Christmas eve & Cookie baking day..?)
10. designate a day of the week to respond and comment on blogs I love

Kindness
1. start blood donation happy hour dates with Uch and Dad -epic fail! (hah Uch), but we did try!!
2. surprise our mail carrier Karen with thank you treats
3. give breakfast goodies to the bus driver
4. help B thank his secretaries on secretary's day (April 26)
5. surprise five friends with dinner (1/5 done)
6. organize & plan service project for my CCD class:  collect gently used stuffed animals for first responders.
7. post at least monthly on the 12 Months of Kindness facebook page
8. CVAA intramural league:  at least three seasons
9. volunteer in Greyson and Gemma's classrooms
10. send at least 4 care packages to Raph (Worldvision) (2/4 done)

Bonus: 
Dad Bod event with YIFC
Anonymous letter drop box in my classroom for students who need to get something off their chest
Donated 0-12mo baby clothes to the Women's Help Center for Giving Tuesday

Travel
1. visit Flight 93 memorial
2. visit Ligonier Beach
3. Family trip to Idlewild
4. Rec the Alleghenies Expo with Uch
5. Save money for Montana 2018 trip
6. plan getaway weekend with Dad for Adams family - Camp Tap Run
7. take big kids snow tubing
8. finish Mum in Costa Rica photo book for the kids
9. Presque Isle long weekend family trip
10. write a kids/family visit Johnstown to do/see blog post (you can read it here)

Home
1. 'finish' basement bathroom
2. KonMari the heck out of the linen closet
3. get house appraised - even if only for shits
4. grow a veggie garden
5. learn how to Can veggies (and deer meat)
6. meal plan with at least one meatless day
7. create a home emergency kit
8. move the kegarater downstairs
9. paint the upstairs hallway and toy room
10. get every room "staged" ready

Bonus: 
re-painted the retaining wall

Business
1. create The Hunting Daddies youtube channel
2. use the GoPro for the THD youtube channel
3. update sponsor tab on Studerteam blog
4. Get THD books into the local section at Gander mountain for Christmas
5. take professional pictures for THD with all the kids
6. create Beer Olympics planning toolkit to sell
7. stick to our family budget! Get monthly credit card spending to zero (with the exception of kindness tasks)
8. add at least one new product to THD

Bonus: 
opened an etsy shop for Grey's fly tys
got a full time teaching job (!!)
opened a credit card that earns airline miles

4 comments:

  1. LOVE your list! Cheering you on and wishing you a full and fun year :) xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is probably my fave post of the year. I wrote a much smaller than 100 things list, but it was inspired by yours! Can't wait to see the updates!

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  3. Also DYING at your NSFW thing, hahahaha! Get it, girl!

    ReplyDelete