New year, new challenges

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions. And anyway, I think more in academic years than calendar ones, so January is a third of the way in for me. I'm thinking of changing that this year though, and setting myself a few challenges. Not resolutions as such, but things to achieve during 2012. Since I've started keeping my list of 60 things and regularly writing about them (very tenuously sometimes, I know) I've realised how much more focussed I am and how I tune into things that may help me achieve my challenges. So maybe I should try a yearly list too. It might help me get more done and make me more 'micro-focussed'. In a book 'Getting Things Done', I read earlier this year it was recommended that tasks are broken down into minute stages to make them more achievable. So by creating a yearly list I'm on my way to setting step-by-step target stages for my overall challenges. I'm still at the thinking stage, but my ideas so far include:

1. Floating in a floatation tank (I'm hoping to do this in London during the February half term)
2. Reading at least 10 books from the BBC Big Read list (if I read 10 a year, I'll have the whole 200 knocked off in the next 12-13 years!)
3. Taking at least one photo every day of the year (this will improve my photography skills, be a photo-diary of 'year in my life', and help me to learn to use my new camera)
4. Coming up with a fitness plan and sticking to it (the start of my training for Kilimanjaro, though I may not actually climb it for several years yet)
5. Leading at least 4 of my own walks (good practice for my walking group leader's qualification)
6. Buying another house (need to get my finances in order first)
7. Learning to use at least 3 new pieces of technology or computer programmes (not counting my new camera)
8. Doing a writing course (depends on the length of the couse whether I'd complete it in the year or not)
9. Getting at least one piece of writing published (paid or unpaid, as long as someone else makes the decision to publish it and it's not self-published)
10. Making a start on sorting out my photos (putting the prints that are currently still stuffed in packets into albums and getting all my photos scanned into the computer - no way will this be completed in a year, but I'll feel good even if I get started on it)
11. Buying a car/van that I can sleep in (and doing any necessary conversions/adaptations)
12. Getting into cycling (even if it's just short cycles along decent paths)

That's twelve. The equivalent of one a month, which seems a good number for a yearly list.

The Bucket List

I've just watched the film 'The Bucket List' with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Feeman. The film is about two men, getting on a bit in years, who meet in hospital. They've had completely different lives, but now have both been given less than a year to live. They decide to embark on a trip around the world ticking items off a 'things to do before we kick the bucket' list. Their list contains a mix of tangible challenges such as seeing the pyramids and skydiving, and more abstract challenges such as laughing until you cry and doing a good turn for a stranger.

A search on google shows that these types of bucket lists have become quite a phenomenon. There are lots of people out there trying to complete 101 things (it often is 101) before they die. Many of the lists appear quite generic which seems a bit strange, as surely this sort of list should be really personal. There are some biggies that I can understand lots of people wanting to do, such as the skydiving and pyramids, but surely the majority of the list should reflect each person's own interests, likes and dislikes, etc. Although on my own list there are a few challenges that I seem to share with everyone, I'd like to think that most of the items on my list are a true reflection of me and what I want to achieve in my life.

But, back to the film. I spent a fairly enjoyable 93 minutes watching it. This is probably a reasonable length as I don't think the story is strong enough to hold out for much longer. But for that 93 minutes I was quite engaged and enjoyed the brief snapshots from Africa, France, India and so on. Would I recommend it? Yes, but only if you're not in the mood for anything even remotely highbrow.

Why?

A while ago, whilst on a walk, I got talking to a woman who was approaching her 60th birthday and had a made a list of 60 things she wanted to do before that birthday arrived. Her list mostly consisted of places, particularly cities, that she wanted to visit. I like lists. I like ticking off achievements and find a list a good motivational tool to help me attain those achievements. I have a lot more time than her - about 17 years from the time I first got the idea - so I decided to play around with my own list. I used to do all kinds of things and visit all kinds of places. So the sorts of things and places on many people's lists are ones I've already done. But in recent years I feel that I've got so bogged down with work and normal life that I've got into a bit of a rut. A list is exactly what I need to get me going again. I haven't filled it with all 60 things yet as I have a long time to go and there'll be plenty of other things I'll think of along the way. But over the past year or so I've been adding to it. As my list has got longer, I haven't achieved that much off it. I keep forgetting about it. So this blog is a kind of diary to help me keep track and maybe provide a bit more motivation.