Ch-ch-ch-changes (turn and face the strange) ch-ch-changes...

As sort of said in the introduction to this undertaking, I like lists. I make a lot of them. Many of the lists I make have to do with goals, experiences I want to have--big picture things. It is, I think, the grown up version of teenage girls writing their first names with the last name of the boy they like that week. Except that it's maybe less fantastical... if only marginally.

As far as I can tell, my parents did a lot of things right in raising me and my sister, and aside from "do unto others", "protect your family", and those sorts of things, perhaps the most important among them was that they taught me, both directly and indirectly, that there's no reason to place limits on the things I want to do. A couple of weeks ago, I summarized that idea in my status update on Facebook, which read, "James Harrington never learned to dream medium." That is a huge, huge gift my parents gave me. I hope my kids won't learn how to do that, either.

One of the unintended benefits of engaging in this little seemingly-impossible to-do list is that every so often, I get to see how my priorities have changed. It becomes clear that some things have weight and merit, and mean something deep down, while others may have been whims, or were otherwise trumped in importance by some new pursuit. I think that's a necessary and healthy part of the process. I'll write more extensively about this at the conclusion of this whole thing in Sept 2010, but I wanted to check in and give a little snapshot of where I stand, and where I'm going.

A couple bits of unsolicited advice, in case you're going to make any sort of list of goals (and I really, REALLY think you should):

1) Make sure you look at it often, and cross things off. Feeling that you've accomplished something is addictive, and gives the process momentum.

2) Make it personal. You have to include personal goals--things that will have real, life-altering meaning, that might even get you a little choked up. Ask forgiveness, repair relationships, enrich yourself through learning, re-try something you love and had given up, go someplace you never thought you'd go, re-connect with God.

3) It should go without saying, but let it be flexible. Give yourself the freedom to update the list as things grow and fade in importance. This list should drive your life forward, not bind you to the past.

4) Make a list. I mean it. There are studies that strongly suggest a positive correlation between success and writing down lists of goals. You have to see it in front of you. It has to remind you--even taunt you--about where you want to be. I don't know if it was something that my parents taught me or something I did instinctively, but when I used to make lists of goals, or job titles, or degrees, or whatever, they always had dates next to them. It forced me to take those big goals and see what the smaller steps were between me and them. I chose not to pursue most of them, but I knew how I was going to get there if I had so chosen.

5) Give yourself deadlines. Another no-brainer that gets lost in the shuffle. It's not good enough to say, "before I die." "June" is a much better--and more tangible--target. :)

6) Grow or go home. Make yourself uncomfortable. Just as a list like this should push you forward instead of binding you backward, I think it misses the point if the list only includes the sorts of things that are within one standard deviation of what you'd do anyway, given enough time and boredom. Those things have their places, especially on a list this long... but they're the low-hanging fruit. If you finish the list and have accomplished 101 things and aren't changed or challenged, or somehow improved, you've missed a huge opportunity.

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All right, that's all for now. It's time for football, and Sunday, and rest. I hope you're blessed today, and I pray that you recognize the ways in which you are.

Master List – 101 Things in 1,001 Days [Revised and Bumped]

Confession: I am a compulsive goal-setter, but only a sometimes goal-achiever. It’s not that I’m lazy, and it’s not that I don’t actually intend to meet these goals; my main problem is that I'm forever setting new goals on top of the old goals and losing sight of the old ones. That is to say, I suppose, that I've lacked a sort of connective tissue to keep them organized and trackable, and thus achievable.

I found out about 101/1001 by reading a friend's blog, and I think it sounds like just the sort of thing that might help me get many of these goals accomplished. So here, with thanks to Allison (even for her format), is my list of 101 goals to accomplish in the next 1,001 days.

(Note: [LINK] and [LIST] are notes to myself to post those items publicly. They go live as I post the lists or have a page to link to.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Start Date: 03-Dec-2007
End Date: 30-Aug-2010

# Complete: 48
# In Progress: 17

101 in 1001 [1/1]:
1. Complete my list of 101 specific, quantifiable, challenging-but-achievable goals. (101/101)

Health [5/11, 1]:
1. Get my cholesterol checked.
2. Make my own (not pre-packaged) meals for 14 days.
3. Set up a 5 day/week workout regimen.
4. Wake up at 6am every day for 2 weeks. (0/14)
5. Get new glasses. [LINK]
6. Give up soda for a month.
7. Complete some sort of detox fast/diet.
8. Find a PCP in Nashville.

9. Run a 5k.

10. Run a 10k.

11. Get fitted for running shoes.

Faith [3/11, 1]:
1. Keep a prayer journal for 12 consecutive weeks, to remind me of God's work in my life.
2. Read major confessions, creeds, and statements of Christian faith. [LIST and Reaction]
3. Read the whole book of Psalms. (9/150)
4. Go on a retreat at Our Lady of Gethsemani.
5. Get more involved at church.

6. Read Knowledge of the Holy

7. Read No Man Is An Island

8. Read Life Together

9. Read Surprised By Joy

10. Read Surprised By Hope

11. Read Ragamuffin Gospel

Family and Friends [5/7, 2]:
1. Email or talk to Mary every month while she's in Russia. (11/11)

2. Call mom and dad once a week for at least half a year.

3. 5 phone calls (no agenda but to talk) to friends who don't live in Nashville. (2/5)

4. Take a trip to Boston that includes firm plans for at least 3 one-on-one get-togethers with friends.

5. Complete 4 generations of genealogy research and documentation on both sides of my family, to the extent that the information is accessible without travel to Ireland, England, or Greece.

6. Make a substantial dent in the junk I've left behind at my parents' house in NH. Be ruthless.

7. Consolidate all of my contacts into Address Book.

Travel [4/13, 2]:
1. to New Orleans

2. to NYC

3. to Chicago (Kurt Elling @ Green Mill, and Wrigley Field are bonuses)

4. to Boston (non-holiday)

5. to Atlanta, GA

6. to Charleston, SC

7. to Savannah, GA

8. make plans to travel somewhere outside of the US, Canada, and Mexico. (Oct '10)

9. oh yeah, and finally get my passport

10. Visit Joe Raposo's grave in Chatham, MA, and leave something in tribute. (July/Aug '09)

11. Go to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge.

12. Check out Chatanooga (and Lookout Mountain?).

13. Drive the whole Natchez Trace.

Learn [2/10, 4]:
1. Find a voice teacher and get back in shape.

2. Take ballroom dancing lessons.

3. the difference between Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, from someone who really knows.

4. Memorize 2 German poems.

5. Take a writing class through Gotham Writer’s Workshop.

6. Take an acting class.

7. To change the oil in my car.

8. To drive stick.

9. Take a golf lesson

10. Apply to grad school for 2010-11.

Music [2/3, 1]:

1. Audition for Nashville Symphony Chorus

2. Audition for Nashville Opera Chorus

3. Have 50 songs ready for jazz jams.

Write [2/5]:
1. one poem/day for a month, even if it's crap. Even if it's a haiku. (0/30)

2. a letter to the editor of some publication. [LINK]

3. letters to Mrs. Reyer, my 4th grade teacher; Mr. O'Reilly, my high school AP Euro History teacher; Coach Murphy, my high school lacrosse coach; and David Ripley, my first voice coach.

4. the rules to Gizzo down, once and for all. And laminate them.

5. the beginnings of a history of The Hyannis Sound, to be completed (hopefully) for the 20-yr in 2014.

Try [1/2]:
1. Top 10 Bourbons by value, as determined by bluekitchen.net. [LIST]

2. Some type of foreign cuisine that I'm otherwise too scared to try.

Work [3/4, 1]:
1. Contact 10 print music publishers for 5 Scribes.

2. Contact 50 bands and offer to write their bios.

3. Get paid for something I wrote.

4. Create and launch my own website from scratch.

Nashville [9/19, 2]:
1. See a show at 20 different Nashville venues. [LIST]

2. Go to the Symphony.

3. Go to Nashville Opera.

4. See show @ TPAC. (MND @ Nashville Ballet April '10)

5. Go to Bachanalia. (Mar '10)

6. Go to the Frist.

7. Season tix @ Nashville Symphony.

8. Member @ Frist/Cheekwood.

9. Member WPLN.

10. Arrington Vineyards

11. Gallery Crawl

12. Pick fruit at a TN farm/orchard.

13. Play 3 Nashville golf courses. (2/3)

14. Go to the Musicians Hall of Fame.

15. Go to a Nashville Sounds game.

16. Go to a Vanderbilt football, basketball, or baseball game.

17. Go to a Predators or Titans game.

18. Go to a Friday night high school football game.

19. Hike all 4 trails at Radnor Lake State Park.

Do [3/5, 1]:
1. Finish researching SEC schools so I can confidently choose my team. [LINK]

2. Watch 50 of the AFI’s 100 Best Movies of All-Time. (16/50) [LIST]

3. Watch a presidential debate before the primary.

4. Get my digital camera fixed.

5. Create a comprehensive and up--to-date log of all service done to my car since I've owned it.

Get [2/3, 1]:
1. my license plates changed over to TN.

2. another tattoo.

3. pictures taken. Pictures I like, and can give to family, use on websites, or in publications.

Simplify [5/5]:
1. Get rid of books that I haven't thought about in a year.

2. Finish scanning my magazines so I can recycle them and reduce clutter.

3. Get rid of clothes I don't wear.

4. Sell or give away a pile of CDs I don't care about.

5. Sell or give away a pile of DVDs/VHS that I don't care about.

Loose Ends [1/2, 1]:
1. Complete remaining Gen Eds

2. Schedule and take remaining CBXs at Berklee

To Ditch, Or Not To Ditch?

I've got some thinking to do, with regard to my 101.

One of my pet goals has been the reading of all of the Pulitzer Prize winners in the "novel" category. I have noticed, though, that in the last year or so, while I've enjoyed reading fiction (mostly short, but a couple of notable novels), my priority has clearly been theology. It's likely because I'm a limping, bumbling mess of a spiritual being, and I like reading what other, smarter messes have written before me.

I think that this priority is well-placed; I am a 28 year old man, trying to form and reform his character into the likeness of Christ, knowing full well the work will never be done--not by him, not in his lifetime. I got a late start, and I feel like it's worth the effort to commit as much of my energy as possible to getting up to speed.

I want my walk with God to be a lifelong one... I want to explore every doubt I have in exhaustive detail... In my old age, I want to know God as my Creator, my Savior, and my old friend--with whom I've been speaking, battling, and alongside whom I've been ambling for my whole adult life.

I don't want to do the fully-blind trust thing ever again. I believe that God appreciates my doubts and my shortcomings, because it means that I'm working it through, and really thinking. I may well be wrong. I want to give God my mind... I wish that He'd give it back to me full of answers to questions, but that would obviate the living process.

So I read. And I think the priority in that area falls to theological works, not the award-winning canon of literary fiction since the mid-20th century, deserving as that canon is of my attention.

I suppose this means some re-working is in order. I like that this project can be fluid.

Progress Report: Jan 2, 2009

Just ran some numbers on this list here, and accounting for the percentage complete on partially complete tasks, here's what I've got:


34 items complete
+ 5.37 items worth of partially completed tasks
_________________________________
39.37/101 items = 38.9% complete

28 days in 2007
+ 366 days in 2008
+ 2 days in 2009
________________
396/1001 days = 39.5% of time elapsed


Which means that, after having neglected my list for a good chunk of the last 6 months, I'm still more or less keeping pace here. That's really exciting. 2009 should be a really good year for this list, too. I can feel it.