"101 in 1,001" is a challenge to accomplish 101 goals of your choosing in 1,001 days, or just under three years. A site called The Day Zero Project says it's the source of the original challenge. It contains a generator that lets people create their own list, as well as sample goal ideas that people can supplement with their own.

A lot of people forego the Day Zero Project website and just keep lists of 101 goals on their personal websites or in their private documents, ticking off goals as they meet them.

The idea is to encourage people to think about their goals in a reasonable timeframe, making the proverbial "things to do before I die" list a little less daunting. The specific timespan is supposed to add a sense of urgency while also giving people enough time to getting things done.

While tidying up one of my bookshelves today I found a list I apparently made on May 18, 2011 (the listed end date is February 12, 2014). I remembered making a list but assumed I hadn't finished it, since I'd remembered having a hard time thinking of 101 things.

According to the Day Zero Project website, the 10 most common goals are:

  1. Donate blood
  2. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
  3. Get a tattoo
  4. Sleep under the stars
  5. Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find
  6. Answer the "50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind"
  7. Don't complain about anything for a week
  8. Kiss in the rain
  9. Fall in love
  10. Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day

My top 10 consisted of various running goals, reading specific books and going to Europe with my husband, but I digress. I got a lot of the running goals done while I still could. I don't think I'll be going on a cruise (#30) before February, but I figure I do have time to make lasagne for the first time (#80), go ice skating (#66) and go to my 10-year high school reunion later this year (#43).

(It can also be hard to come up with 101 unique things, which can sometimes lead to writing down outlandish things. Either that, or I really believed I was going to compose a concerto.)

It might be a bit kitsch, but if it gets people to think about the things they want to accomplish and challenges them to get them done, I'm all for it. It can't hurt.

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