One of my favourite goals on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list is this one – record a tiny video every day for one year.  I did it with the help of the 1SE app, and the finished result is something that makes me really happy.

It’s interesting to see the trends in the final compilation.  I noticed that on days when I was feeling uninspired I resorted to food, coffee and staircases.  I enjoyed capturing weather and skies, and finding clever ways to catch my reflection without making it too obviously a selfie.  There were many good dogs (they’re all good dogs) and lots of live music, and not too many of the tough moments made the cut.  I made a conscious effort to capture something lovely whenever I could.

I can’t recommend this project enough.  If you have your phone in your hand each day, you may as well make something beautiful.  You’ll be glad you did!

My last post documented a pretty big life change that happened for us in 2024, but left out a couple of others.  In the second half of 2024 we endured more than our fair share of stress – living amongst cheap and nasty renovations that we couldn’t control (followed by months of open houses as our rental was put on the market), an unplanned change of job for Steve, and a complicated health thing for me.  And amongst it all we househunted and hustled to make sure that we landed on our feet and started the new year in one piece.  We survived, but it was a lot.

There were obviously implications for my 101 Things in 1001 Days project, as all of this made it pretty much impossible to start anything new.  Having said that, I’m pretty happy with the way that I persevered with some of the longer term goals that were already underway, so this is a happy update despite the setbacks.

12 months into the project here’s where I stand:

Complete: 10
In progress: 19
Not started: 72

At first glance these numbers don’t look great, but the good news is that a bunch of ‘in progress’ goals are ticking away nicely, so there will be easy wins in 2025.

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HEALTH & FITNESS (1-25)
2 complete, 2 in progress

(This graffiti in the car park of my gym has always amused me.)

My list begins with 25 goals related to my health and fitness, and for good reason.  For the past few years I’ve been in a battle with my body, complicated by life-long chronic asthma and a newly-discovered autoimmune condition.  It’s all pretty manageable provided that I put the work in, but I simply haven’t pulled it off.

So in terms of a progress update, this is the area of my list that contains the most false-starts.  Rather than fudge it I’ve hit reset on all of the goals that I set for 2024, and consider them my top priority for 2025.

Completed

#019 – Rejoin the gym
I rejoined the gym… and then I moved away from the gym.  It was fun while it lasted but I’m once again looking for a new club.  I’m marking this as complete because I was able to make some ground at my last gym, and I am not daunted by the next one.

#020 – Distance challenge: Hume Highway (Melbourne to Sydney – 840km)
In hindsight the distance I set for this goal should have been far more challenging.  It was done quickly, but I’ll take the win and put that unused energy into the other goals on my list.

In Progress

#001 – Track my health and fitness goals for 12 months
This was going so well!  And then I ditched my paper planner altogether, so it stopped.  Starting again in 2025 with an app, because of who I am as a person (ie. awful and bad).

#023 – Weight loss goal #1
The absolute truth is that I forget what goal I had originally set for myself, but I didn’t make enough progress here to feel great about crossing this off the list regardless.  Setting new goals for 2025.

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CREATIVITY (26-50)
3 complete, 5 in progress

The most natural goals on my list are in this category so it’s a bit surprising to me that I haven’t achieved more in this area.  I feel like my creativity has happened in other places, in small bursts of energy when life provided a window.

The good news is that I have some drawing challenges underway, I’ve bashed out some questionable recordings on my piano and guitar, and the equipment and ideas I need to tackle the rest. Also, our new house is basically built for my creative projects – I even have my own music room these days. No excuse!

Completed

#044 – Record a tiny video every day for a year
I haven’t published the finished product here yet, and it deserves a post of its own.  Coming up right after this one.

#047 – Make a very fancy cake
This pistachio and lemon curd layer cake by Natalie Paull was a very, very tasty labour of love.

#050 – Build and maintain a website to document my 101 Things progress
This is she!

In Progress

#026 – Draw or paint 10 buildings (1/10)
Just one so far – an ink wash drawing of St Kilda’s Palais Theatre.

#030 – Draw or paint 10 faces (1/10)
I found myself in a terrible meeting, so I drew the portrait of the one person on the call who was being sensible.  

#035 – Finish my travel patch blanket
I’m anticipating lots of progress here when winter hits.  It’s the last thing on my mind right now, as I write from the middle of a classic Melbourne heatwave.

#036 – Record 25 piano covers (16/25)
Look, at this rate I am going to blow this goal right out of the water.  They’re not all good, and some of them are downright bad, but they are fun to make as long as I don’t overthink them or practice them first, like, at all.

01 The Day You Went Away (Wendy Matthews)
02 Zak and Sara (Ben Folds)
03 Ordinary World (Duran Duran)
04 My Tears Ricochet (Taylor Swift)
05 Theme from DuckTales (long story, don’t ask)
06 The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived (Taylor Swift)
07 The Black Dog (Taylor Swift)
08 So Long, London (Taylor Swift)
09 Love Shack (B-52’s )
10 Spiral (Pinegrove)
11 Passenger Seat (Death Cab for Cutie)
12 Don’t Look Back In Anger (Oasis)
13 Leave a Light On (Belinda Carlisle)
14 Keep the Light On (The Whitlams)
15 Light On (Maggie Rogers)
16 The Ship In Port (Radical Face)

#037 – Record 25 guitar covers (2/25)
Despite playing a fair bit of guitar last year I didn’t really record much of it.  Just two worth posting.

01 Hairpin (Pinegrove)
02 The Prophecy (Taylor Swift)

Sorry about all the Taylor, I have the brain worm.

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SELF DEVELOPMENT (51-70)
2 complete, 7 in progress

Self-Development (51-70)
2 complete, 8 in progress

Most of the reading I’ve done in the past year hasn’t counted towards the categories I set for myself in this challenge, but the to-read pile is enormous and specifically tailored to my 101 List. Expect progress in this area next time I write.

The big achievements were early in the year when I rewrote my CV and landed a new job, and there’s also been a LOT of French learning. I know that Duolingo is a game first and a learning tool second, but I’m doing it every day and supplementing it with reference books, French language novels and YouTube clips. Sometimes I change the language on my phone to French and let me tell you, that’s one way to learn through fear.

The next 12 months will be heavily focused on my reading goals and my own professional development, as I try to extend myself in this not-so-new-anymore job.

Completed

#069 – Rewrite my resume
First thing crossed off my list!  Nice.

#070 – Find a fulltime job that I love
I’m almost a year into the new job now, and although it’s extremely challenging in many ways I still love it.  Learning a lot, including how to let go.

In Progress

#055 – Cook a recipe from 10 different cookbooks from my bookshelf (1/10)
#057 – Maintain my Duolingo streak
#059 – Read 5 childrens books in French
#060 – Read 5 young adult fiction books in French
#061 – Read 10 books by indigenous Australian authors
#063 – Read 10 biographies of people I admire
#064 – Read 10 books by investigative journalists
#068 – Read 5 career related books

 

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EXPERIENCES (71-101)
3 complete, 4 in progress

In 2024 so many of my favourite artists toured, and they pretty much ALL played at The Forum. And okay, in terms of medium to large sized venues it’s probably my favourite but it didn’t help me to see gigs in 20 different venues. I’ll have to make a conscious effort to branch out this year.

The music was truly excellent in 2024, and so were the art exhibitions I managed to get to. This year there will be a greater focus on getting out of the house and putting myself amongst creators. It rubs off on me every time.

Completed

#081 – Rewatch a favourite TV series with somebody who hasn’t seen it
Steve and I watched Broadchurch from start to finish in just a couple of weeks.  It was so great to see it through his eyes for the first time, after loving it so much a decade ago.

#090 – Move house
You can read all about it here.

#100 – Volunteer
Completed a website redesign project for a fantastic NFP organisation, Story Dogs.

In Progress

#071 – See live music in 20 different venues
#072 – Eat at 20 restaurants
#091 – Visit 10 different art galleries
#101 – Donate $x for every item I complete

Hello, from the other side of an intensely chaotic 6 months.

It’s a few days into 2025 now, and I’m writing to you from our brand new beautiful home.  After twelve months of diabolical slumlord behaviour we managed to escape to someplace wonderful, leaving behind a home that I have loved and cared for for 15 years.  It was absolutely time, but unfortunately it all unfurled in an unnecessarily sad and stressful way in the second half of last year

Even so, it’s hard to be too sad about that door closing when we have landed in a house and neighbourhood that’s so bloody wonderful.  We have space – lots of bedrooms and living spaces, a private and beautifully landscaped backyard, and neighbours who have gradually introduced themselves without intruding.  In the few short weeks that we’ve lived here we’ve managed to host Christmas and 3 BBQ gatherings, and take in a friendly old black lab who needed puppysitting for a while.  We’ve both had some time off work to unpack and settle in, and I can barely remember life before this house now because it already contains so many memories.  Only a few more boxes to unpack and we’ll be free of the cardboard too.

We are so much healthier for the change of house.  No more rising damp, black mould, peeling paint or windows painted shut.  But I will always be grateful for the era of my life spent in the old house, that 104 year old grand dame whose last custodians failed her so terribly.

I’ll miss my magpies.  Despite being close by, our new house is governed by crows.

 

All of these changes meant that ‘real life’ got put on hold for the second half of last year, including aspects of my 101 Things in 1001 Days project.  It’s been almost impossible to tackle anything new while our life was undergoing so much upheaval, so I’m running behind but somehow not too worried about it.  I still have 21 months to work with and I feel good about my chances.

The 12 month mark is also a great time to review the list and make sure that I still care about everything on it – especially as I consider it from this new vantage point.  I can already see a couple of items that I want to tinker with and even replace.  If you ever decide to write a list like this I recommend that you don’t stubbornly cling to the goals that no longer speak to you.  You’re in charge!

I’ll be back very soon with a 12 month progress check-in, and updates on the stuff that I did manage to conquer in the background last year.