Yearly To-Do List: 2011 Edition

The first Sunday of the month, the pastor at Cornerstone Church said a few things that made me think. It was about the importance of starting the new year off well, and even the importance of how that first week could set the tone for the rest of the year. While it's taken me some time to put my 2011 list together, I still think it's still a worthwhile exercise. Some nuggets of wisdom from the sermon:

  • Strive to build a house with wisdom, on foundation of understanding, and fill the rooms with knowledge.
  • How do we use our time? Are we properly assessing our options before making decisions, thinking through our commitments and priorities, and living a reflective life so that we can live our lives purposefully?
  • Do we finish what we started, or do our lives become a pattern of abandoned endeavors?
  • Does my life, as I'm living it, reflect my priorities and principles?

I dislike vague new year's resolutions like 'drink more water' because I think it's harder to keep them/easier to rationalize them. I prefer to write down very specific things I'd like to do/accomplish in a year, things I can check off.  But I also want to be sure that each thing I'm committing to paper reflects how I'd like to be living my life beyond the progress I've already made in the last few years.

Travel

  • Asia: Visit Japan and/or one other Chinese province I haven't been (SichuanXinjiang, Tibet, Fujian)
  • Exotic: The Maldives (before they disappear), Costa Rica, Spain/Morocco, OR Greece/Italy/Turkey
  • Domestic: Baltimore/DC Area, New Mexico, New York City, Austin, Los Angeles at least once/quarter (and visit Magic Mountain)
  • Local: One summer weekend in Tahoe, one camping trip to the Desolation Wilderness OR Point Reyes

Spiritual/Personal Growth

  • Start journaling again (at least 1x/week)
  • Continue to pray for others, do quiet time at least 2x/week (better than never...)
  • Find a smallgroup to attend 2x/month
  • Give 10%

Health/Wellness/Lifestyle

  • GET MORE SLEEP. Sleep less than 7 hours no more than once in any given workweek. This should force me to limit random Internet surfing and pointless online window-shopping to less than 2 hours/day.
  • Get serious exercise at least twice/week, with one outdoorsy outing per month. Strengthen my bum knee to 20 pounds resistance
  • Get a new personal computer
  • Get work e-mail inbox to 20 or less at the end of each day
  • Move to an apartment with a bigger kitchen, a dishwasher, some space to entertain, and preferably in-unit laundry.
  • Take a self defense class
  • Send out Christmas cards
  • Attend at least one concert in a large venue and one concert in a small venue
  • Learn to drive stick shift
  • Find a new doctor and schedule a physical check-up. Find a new dentist.
  • Finances: Get all accounts straightened out, learn more about investing, and INVEST!

Style

  • Limit ModCloth spending (I have a number in mind but don't want to publish it) and buy at least one non-ModCloth item per month (if buying at all).
  • Buy clothing made of at least 50% natural materials (wool, silk, cotton, tencel, hemp, linen), exceptions for manmade materials of high quality, and limited to no more than 1-2 pieces per month
  • Buy: One serious designer piece (preferably Alexander McQueen), one pair of decent sunglasses, a pair of classic black pumps, and a decent new wallet/purse for everyday
  • Do 1 major closet cleaning per season (starting with January), including clothing and shoe repairs, dry cleaning, and "re-imaginations and re-purposings"
  • Develop a more cohesive style and be brutal about what I buy/keep in rotation

Personal Projects

  • Get married without going crazy planning the event.
  • Volunteer at least once a quarter
  • Cook: French macarons (preferably chocolate), Julia Child's Beouf Bourguignon, Grant Aschatz' Black Truffle Explosion, Thai crab curry
  • Write: One short story and one script outline
  • Read: The Far Pavilions, Malcolm X, Confederacy of Dunces, BluebeardThe Master & Margarita, Into Thin Air, finish Moby Dick
  • Watch: Buffy: Season 7, Rocky, Chariots of Fire
  • Sew: Get sewing machine fixed, learn to read patterns, learn 3 new techniques, make one summer dress, and make an obi-style belt
  • Work on one project outside of work (details TBD)
  • Transfer to digital copy that play I produced in college and send it to all the cast/crew
  • Do 1 'different' activity I've never done or haven't in a while (ex. taiko drumming, dance, ceramics, Doc Wong's driving clinic) every quarter
10 responses
Martial Arts sounds fun; you should get Garry to join you on that one. Also, let us know if you want to join us for a run/jog/walk sometime. Chariots of Fire can now be found on Netflix Streaming (or whatever they call it); I plan on re-watching it but don't remember loving it when I originally saw it.
Very ambitious, as always, my friend. I am supportive of regular trips to LA! ;) And everything else, really, they all seem worthwhile and satisfying.
@Laura Indeed. I'll be lucky if I finish half of it. But I hope the LA trips comprise that half that I get to check off :) 
I think that's perfect because we have to get expectations for our new year actually one of the things I must do is avoiding buying so much Generic Viagra because that's harmful for me and my health.
haha there are a lot of reviews about this in pharmacy reviews, about me... well i quit smoking, i do exercise, i eat well (I always do), work like a chinese xD, save money, buy zelda skyward sword for wii =3, i always liked to read, I want my own little business, but my dream of all life is to visit china and japan, that's it beside this i don't have anything else that i want to do, when i reach this, i don't know what I'm gonna do xD!
My list it is pretty short.
1. to finish all games from 2010
2. to loose weight
3. to Buy cialis
I believe one and all must glance at it.
free games
So, I don't actually believe this will work.
spookyva
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