My 30 by 30: 30 Things to Accomplish Before I Turn 30

Published by Laya under 30 by 30, Projects on September 9, 2008

Last Thursday, I said that I’d be putting together a list of 30 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 30 - 30 by 30.  I’m a day late (good old life: gets in the way just when it’s supposed to), but after a good amount of thought I’ve put together my list.

I’ve also added a counter to my sidebar - I have 425 days (just over 46 weeks) until I turn 30.  I also added one for 40, but that list is going to take a whole lot more thought.

Also, I reserve the right to modify this list as I progress, within reason. I don’t want to be lazy about this, but at the same time I know that things happen and you never know how life is going to turn out.  So if there is a reason I absolutely cannot accomplish something on this list, I’ll change it to something else.

So, without further ado: 30 Things I Want to Accomplish Before I Turn 30!

Art, Music, Theater, Literature

1. Read 30 books.
2. Go to 20 plays or other theater events.
3. Go to 20 concerts.
4. Go to the opera at least once.
5. Write 10 poems.
6. Read at least 2 of those poems at an open mic.
7. Learn to play a new instrument.
8. “Win” NaNoWriMo.
9. Make one piece of original jewelry.
10. Post in my blog for 30 days straight.
11. Create a photoblog.

Leisure

12. Take a *real* vacation.
13. Go skydiving.

Home, Food

14. Create my command center.
15. Eat 20 dishes that I’ve never had.
16. Cook with 20 new foods.
17. Clean out all of my junk once and for all.
18. Donate anything I don’t need to the Baltimore Free Store.
19. Buy a split box spring.
20. Buy a new mattress.
21. Go to 10 new restaurants (including Bicycle!).
22. Cook all of my meals for 30 days straight.

Life, Money

23. Quit my current job.
24. Start working for myself - as a freelancer, or as my own microbusiness.
25. Save one month’s pay as an emergency fund.
26. Volunteer somewhere at least 20 times.

Health

27. Lose 15 pounds.
28. Take the 100 push up challenge.
29. Get my tooth fixed.
30. Exercise for 30 days straight.

A few thoughts about the list: Read the rest of this entry »

On Lists, Birthdays, and Time

Published by Laya under 30 by 30, 30 in 30, 40 by 40, Projects on September 4, 2008

My 30 in 30 project is going pretty well.  I have a lot of things to do scheduled throughout the month.  It seems like, since I’ve opened myself to trying lots of new things, opportunities have been popping up all over the place.  I believe in momentum and attraction - that when you are aligned and focused on something, the Universe starts lining up to give you what you want (positively and negatively).

So I was thinking. (I do that a lot.)  I turn 30 on July 31, 2009 - that’s 330 days from now (hee!).  What if, in addition to 30 new things in 30 days, I made a list of 30 things to do before I turn 30?  Of course, the first few things I thought of doing were of the “must do before I die” variety, or the “too big to do in such a time period” variety, or the “too expensive to raise enough capital to do” variety.  Mind you, this isn’t me limiting myself, but rather me being realistic.  (Somewhere in the world there’s a personal development blogger that just woke up in a cold sweat. “Someone’s doubting their potential!”) 

Solution!  I’m going to make two lists.  The first - 30 by 30: thirty things of a manageable size and scope (and at least a couple of the “shoot for the moon” variety) that I want to accomplish between now and my 30^th birthday.  The second - 40 by 40: forty big, huge, change-of-life type things that I want to accomplish before I turn 40.  This is where I’ll put the really big things, the do-them-before-I-die things, and the oh-my-God-I’m-terrified-of-doing-this things.

Read the rest of this entry »

30 in 30 Project

Published by Laya under 30 in 30, Projects on September 1, 2008

First, the what: In the month of September, I pledge to do 30 new things in 30 days.

Second, the why: In the last two weeks, I’ve done a lot of new things.

I’ve been to a couple of poetry open mics, to a night of live music, checked out a new coffee shop two blocks from where I live, taken a free swing dancing lesson, gone to a Madonna vs. Prince vs. Michael Jackson dance party, and gone to the IMAX at the Maryland Science Center. All are things I’ve never done before, and most are things that I normally would not have done.

Normally I probably would have done what I always do - gone to the movies, gone out to eat, done the same old thing with the same people. Or, if all of my friends were already busy I would have stayed home. Depending on the night I might have read, or slept, or watched a DVD. Or I would have sulked, and maybe cried a little, and thought about how I had nothing to do and no one to do it with.

Instead, I was invited to do something different, and I took the person up on it. That led to another and another, and suddenly I was wrapped up in a snowball of new experiences. And all this newness got me thinking: what if I just kept going? And so, the 30 in 30 Project was born.

And third, the only rule: no half stepping.