So my birthday was a couple of days ago, and I’ve been slowly reworking various goal and bucket lists.
Reworking the bucket lists—because I need to be totally honest about how much travel I will probably be doing over the next few decades (especially international).
Reworking the 101 goals in 1001-days list—because there are few things that just haven’t happened and I’m not sure if they’re goals I was putting down for myself or things I thought were needed.
But, one thing I’ve done—I’ve created a list of 43 things I want to do before I turn 43. Some of things I’m already doing (such as meditating, daily oracle cards, and monthly new/full moon goals), but there are others that I attempt and never make that much traction with—I’m hoping that this is the extra little push I need to accomplish those items.
My 43 things to do before turning 43 list
The list contains goals such as researching the origins of my last name. Which is a semi-easy goal—since my grandfather did a good amount of the research back in the 1980s when he was composing a family tree.
But it also contains goals such as defining my vision of success, learning about body confidence, and creating a happiness plan.
Then there are goals associated with finishing certain courses that I’ve bought over the years—such as the project management consortium, management consulting firm, and business development federation courses offered by Cheeky Scientist.
The goal is that by my 43rd birthday I will have accomplished at least eighty percent of the goals (a minimum of 34.4—or 34 goals). I’ll be keeping track of some of the goals in spreadsheets (such as the 365-day photography and writing challenges; what books I’ve read).
Time to start pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone, and expanding the bounce zone while shrinking the risk and stretch zones—I’ll be giving updates throughout the year, just haven’t figured out the approximate time frame.
Within the next week or two, I will also be posting an updated 101 goals in 1001-day challenge as well.
Have you done a birthday year inspired goal challenge before? If so–how did it turn out?
It has been roughly a year since I drew my first comfort/stretch/risk/die diagram.
Original comfort diagram that I drew mid-Feb 2021
It was an ‘assignment’ that I was given when after talking with a coach–it became obvious that I was floundering on trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life (since I’d decided to take time to actually try to answer that question)…
I decided that the diagram was going to encompass both personal and professional goals, thoughts, and ideas–mainly because I knew if I didn’t have some more ‘creative’ ideas down, I would spend way too much time wallowing in the analytical side of my brain.
The above diagram had roughly seventy-seven items within the four zones: 13 items in the comfort zone, 35 within the stretch zone, 17 within the risk zone and 12 within the die zone.
Over the past year, I also added in the ‘bounce’ zone–as I haven’t/hadn’t developed the ‘confidence’ to state that there were more activities that I felt ‘comfortable’ doing on a day-to-day (or even week-to-week or month-to-month) basis. I was starting to enjoy the activities, but still hadn’t/haven’t figured out the best ‘schedule’ for them to become ‘comfortable’ tasks.
Over the past week or so, I drew another one to see how far I’d come over the past year:
Latest Comfort diagram–Feb 2022
The comfort zone has slightly increased, the bounce zone is present, the stretch zone has ‘shrunk’, and the risk and die zones are holding steady.
While some things have ‘changed’–I also realized that I’ve also become slightly ‘stagnant’ as well. What became ‘stagnant’ is the fact that I wasn’t trying to push the boundaries of teh comfort, bounce, or stretch zones the past few months.
Therefore, I’m working on a plan to change that, with the ultimate goal of expanding the comfort and bounce zones.
How am I going to do that? Well, I decided it would be a combination of picking things from the comfort, bounce, stretch and risk zones and also incorporating things from my personal/professional development board game, and came up with the following list:
Work several different ‘comfort’ tasks into the daily/weekly schedule (so that they don’t fall back into the ‘stretch’ zone), and they include: cross-stitching, meditation, reading (also work on expanding the genera), cooking, gardening, photography, and being outdoors.
I decided to roll the dice last week (for the first time in awhile) for my my personal/professional development board game and came up with the following items:
Start learning python coding
Review genomics (though I’m going to include transcriptomes, proteomes, and metabolomes)–should have called the square ‘review -omics’
Review statistics
Landscape design (funny that I rolled this, as I’d already picked it out of the ‘bounce’ zone as something to work on this spring)
Business development
Public health
‘Rock Art of the American Southwest’
Ancient India
Ancient China
Reading; while I rolled a ‘list’ of books to read–I will probably just go with whatever catches my attention
Work on content development in the following areas:
copywriting
Blogging (science/medical education/communication; health/wellness; personal/professional development; hobbies/crafts, and travel)
Science writing (‘short’ blog posts [~500-1000 words], ‘longer’ articles [~1000-2500 words], and ‘reviews’ [~2500-5000+ words])
Creative writing (short stories, poetry, and so forth)
Obviously I can’t do all of this at the same time—well I could, but I like sleeping too much…The end goals include: stretching my comfort zone, overcoming the writers block, transitioning into that first remote writing/data analysis position, and rediscovering who I am and what I really want to be doing with my life.
Content development and project management can be tied in with all the other items on the list–and actually that has been one of the ‘bigger bottlenecks’ lately–writing. I’ve started at the screen more times than I want to admit, and I’ve stared at various science news emails more times that I want to admit over the past month or so–and have barely written a word. I haven’t shared an news article for probably two week (prior to today), and that wasn’t because I didn’t want to–but because the words didn’t wan to come…not hte greatest feeling when one is thinking of pivoting into a writing (and deadline) intensive direction…
I created a ‘brain-dump’ (or brainstorming list) of ideas for the three different niches I’m thinking of writing within:
‘Brain-dump’ or brainstorming list of topics to write/blog about
You might notice that the ‘list’ is longer within the science/medical subsection–and that is because that is my background. I have my PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology, and have spent basically two decades working within higher education research, and have at least an understanding of various fields.
The other two areas aren’t as ‘filled-out’, but as I continue to brainstorm ideas, or even look within one or two of the selections–I’m pretty certain I’ll be able to come up with more ideas to write about.
One of the fundamental questions that one is suppose to answer when thinking of blogging, copywriting, or even writing–is who is your audience? What question(s)/problem(s) are you wanting to help answer/solve?
I think that for me one of those answers is trying to improve science communication between the general public and the scientific community, and also trying to improve science education as well. None of the topics are inherently difficult–but can be considered difficult if they’re not explained properly and limiting the amount of scientific jargon one uses.
As Albert Einstein said: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it enough”.
Therefore, I’m going to be ‘diving’ into research for numerous topics, as I have a ‘basic’ understanding, but I also know that I don’t know certain areas well enough to explain them in simple terms.
I’m aiming to start having monthly (then working up to biweekly) blog posts on different science subjects, adding in a new bird photography page (biweekly, if not weekly) with an accompany blog post, and also a monthly ‘throwback travel’ page with its accompany blog post–this will be in addition to the different goals setting posts that I do monthly and any book reviews that I post as well. My aim–is to expand the comfort zone to include writing, blogging, and copywriting by the end of the summer.
What is something you could work on to move it from your stretch zone to your comfort zone?
So as I mentioned last fall I decided that I was going to ‘restart’ and expand the time frame of my 100+ goal challenge. The new challenge started on July 19, 2020 and I planned for it to run through January 10, 2026 (basically 2002 days–double the normal 1001 day time).
So I’ve been updating this list on-and-off since the first update back in October. One of the things I decided to remove were all of the TV shows that I thought I’d be binge-watching. The reason–currently I don’t feel like sitting down and watching multiple seasons of any TV show. While I may decide to watch an episode or two (or maybe a season)–I just don’t see myself sitting down and binge watching like a total of 20+ seasons of shows over even a five year period.
Then, there is still the pandemic going on–which means that my travel plans (and any plans that requires me to be around other people) are still on hold, and I’m still sheltering in place. While two vaccines have been approved for emergency use (with three more in the middle of phase 3 clinical trials), I probably won’t be eligible for the vaccine until late summer or early fall. Therefore I’m still going to be sheltering in place (and wearing a mask when I do go out and about) probably until August or September of this year. This gives me plenty of time to still try to figure out what my ‘new normal’ is going to be looking like.
So my first check-in on this challenge was in October, and the blog title was ‘check-in on the 150+ goal challenge‘. This was where I first started editing out some of the goals that I didn’t feel were fitting my current projections of what I was wanting to do with my life.
So if you want, you can click on the above link, go read that post and see where the changes have occurred.
Note–some goals aren’t numbered as they’re considered a ‘sub-goal’ of the goal above. But in total (numbered and unnumbered) I do have almost 150 goals on the list.
So how have all the goals been progressing?
Transition into an industry position. Currently thinking of either remote/contract or possibly freelance to start (mainly due to the pandemic). But also thinking of possibly doing freelance and then also finding a ‘in-house’ position doing something slightly different.
Learn a programming language (python or R–ties in with #6). I have downloaded a python program, and will be starting to work through some of the e-courses that I bought that deals with python.
Finish various e-courses that I’ve bought, but in particular:
Clinical Research Coalition (Advanced Cheeky Scientist Program)–started watching the videos in this program recently.
Medical Writers Organization (another advanced Cheeky Scientist Program)–need to finish the writing and editing assignments
Data Science Syndicate (another advanced Cheeky Scientist program)–finished this on September 3rd 2020.
Program Management Consortium (another advanced Cheeky Scientist program)
Management Consulting Firm (yet another advanced Cheeky Scientist program)
All other courses–see additional lists in the journal. Decided to make things a little easier–I have a list of courses that I would like to finish in 2021, and if I manage to finish all of those, then I will go back to the master lists in the journal.
More interacting on LinkedIn. This section is hard to score. I’m doing the best with the first one, and trying to improve on the second and fourth ones.
Sharing articles from various biotech pages, and other science pages. I usually manage to share at least two to four articles a week from the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News site.
Commenting on posts. Trying to get better at this
Giving/Asking for recommendations–need to start doing this
Start writing my own posts. I’m slowly trying this, but have started by trying to share photographs and/or inspirational quotes to begin with. I also need to work on the frequency of posts as well.
Creating monthly/weekly/daily calendars for above goals. This is something that I’m still working on. I’ve realized that while calendars are good, I also like the flexibility of deciding what or when to post. Mental block that needs to be worked on.
Renewing professional memberships. I need to decide on which association I will be renewing first, as I had mentioned in a previous post I currently don’t have enough money to renew all of them at once.
Become fluent in Spanish
Become fluent in German
Become proficient in French, Norwegian, or Swedish
Read at least 300 personal/professional development books. This is also including books from my previous attempts at 1001-day challenges as well. I have over 300 books on the list (actually probably closer to 400), and I would like to get through at least half of them before adding any new ones to the list. In addition I’m reformatting the goal slightly and aiming for at least 30-40 non-fiction books a year (so the total number may only be 90-120 instead of 300). Counting in the books read during the previous attempts (2018-2020) I’ve already read 73 books (though I considered 12 of them to be ‘reference’ books on a topic). I’ve also finished 3 books this year. That means in theory to reach 300 books, I need to read another 224 books over the next 1802 days.
Finish the books on scientific writing (tied in with #16)
Start building a portfolio of work (writing/data analysis/other ideas)–may mean either another website, renaming this one and reformatting what I have posted.
Develop a daily writing habit–I usually manage to write in my journal a little every day. Sometimes it is just to make note of the workout I did, or card spread for the evening.
Write a letter to my future self
Paint and frame at least one original painting
More photography–haven’t done as much as I would like so far for 2021, mainly due to the temperatures and not getting outside as often. But I have been updating/adding pages to the bird section
365-Day Photography Challenge (aim for 365 different pictures). I have a couple of ideas for this, just need to fine-tune one or two of them and hopefully will be starting this challenge again within the next few months.
Updating photography pages on blog. I’ve been adding pages to the bird tab on the website, with the goal of hopefully one new species page a week (with pictures), in addition to pages for the bird order & family. I will also start adding in other pages under the photography and travel tabs throughout the spring as well.
Make my own jewelry
Learn to cross-stitch–I started doing this the other day. It will be something that takes practice at to be good at. I do enjoy doing it and will try to practice at least every other day.
Get a new sewing machine–on hold. Possibly once I move and am willing to take the risk that I’m getting a machine with a defective bobbin winder.
Make a new quilt for my bed–on hold (see #27 for reason)
Make a set of drapes for the bedroom (mainly for backdrop for zoom calls)–again on hold (see #27 for reason)
Start a new afghan (after mending other two and writing a blog post on it)
Showcase crafts on blog–need to have some crafts actually either started or completed
Start writing a book–I have an idea or two for this
Learn Photoshop
Write in journal daily (answering questions/prompts from various books & free thought). Have been doing this–though sometimes it is just noting that I did my morning workout.
Create my own coffee-table photography book
Learn basic sign language
Start a virtual book club–question though is, would it be non-fiction or fiction?
Create monthly budges–currently this is just paying off the bills
Credit card debt down & hopefully paid off monthly–some are still a little high (due in part to impulsive book buying and investing in myself (a couple of courses were rather expensive)
Declutter the house (way of earning extra cash)–need to place a couple of declutter orders over the next few weeks
Savings account up another 20K (hopefully)–this is tied with a few of the other finance goals. In truth the goal should be trying to get my savings to where it was before I started my reboot break
Talk with financial personal about short-term investment possibilities
Continue doing small surveys as a way of earning a little extra cash
Finish the various financial e-courses, and then decide when/how to start investing
Get into the best shape of my life
Multivitamin & supplements daily–I think I’ve only missed a few days here and there
Make it through the following Beachbody programs (at least once):
Morning Meltdown 100–First round was finished on 9/15/2020
Yoga Booty Ballet (Abs & Butt Series)–~3/4 of program completed by 11/14/2020
10 Rounds–1st Round completed on 12/26/2020
Barre Blend–Will be starting this on Monday 2/8/2021
Insanity Max:30
LIIFT4–2nd round finished on 11/14/2020
22-Minute Hard Corps
T20
Insanity
Insanity: Asylum 1
Insanity: Asylum 2
4 weeks of Prep
6 weeks of the Work
T25 (have already done this program once)
Brazil Butt Lift
21-Day Fix (already done once; 2nd time will be the ‘live’ version)
21-Day Fix Extreme (already done once; 2nd time will be the live version)
Country Heat (already done once)
CIZE
Muscle Burns Fat–First round completed 1/17/2021
Muscle Burns Fat Advanced–First round will be completed 2/7/2021
Let’s Get Up–Shawn T’s new one
9-week control freak (dumb bell option)
Shawn Week
80 Day Obsession
Brazil Butt Lift: Carnival
Shift Shop: Proving Grounds
P90
Core de Force
Manage 5 push-ups on my toes (I’ve been practicing & managing between 4-10 on my knees)
Manage 10 push-ups on my toes
Hold a 2 minute forearm plank
Hold a 90 second plank
Meditate nightly–have been doing, though sometimes its only been for a minute or two
60-80 oz of water daily–getting close though some days its probably between 40-50
Stretch daily
Get at least 10,010,000 steps (breaks down to 5K/day)–on my way to meeting this, as I usually manage to meet monthly goals
Finish YouTube for bosses course
Finish YouTube course creation for bosses course
Finish blog to biz course
Launch a YouTube channel
Launch a online course
Get blog traffic to 500+ views a day
Rebrand myself & website (?)
Get instagram followers to constant 800+
Get pintrest followers to constant 400+
Get twitter followers to constant 1000+
Publish at least two blog series
Editorial calendars (monthly/weekly/daily)
Blog
Instagram
Facebook page
Twitter
Pintrest
Get becomingJessi (or new name if I change) to 1000+ likes/follows on Facebook
Various top 10 author lists
Various top 10 book series lists
Launch a podcast
Launch a etsy store
Full & New Moon Goals
Create my wiccan/pagan altar
Daily oracle card readings
15 minutes outdoors in the morning (coffee only)–weather permitting; basically start in spring
Keep at least 3 plants alive
Design a science based board game
Create and update a digital vision board
Reorganize my storage unit
Put in at least 1 flower garden around the house
Help put up a partial privacy fence in backyard
Start downsizing number of clothes I own & creating both different ‘minimum’ wardrobes (work/professional/casual; home/casual/working out) & dressing for my now body
Start downsizing the rest of my things as well–would like to be able to live comfortably in a smallish size house (or apartment)
Develop at least 10 different 100-day challenges–will include 100 days of iPhone photography and 100 days of doodling
Re-pierce my ears
Go to at least 1 scientific conference & present at a scientific conference
Go to at least 2 professional networking events
Move to a new (or maybe not new) city for job
Visit at least 3 new (to me) countries
Visit at least one new (to me) national and/or state park
Visit at least one new (to me) national and/or state monument
Visit at least one new (to me) zoo
Visit at least one new (to me) aquarium
Fly out and/or land at 3 new (to me) airports
Visit at least one new (to me) city
Visit at least one new (to me) state
See the northern lights
Attend at least one blogging conference
Attend at least one author-reader conference
Swim with whale sharks
Parasailing
Buy fabric and foam and make new cushions for chairs
New couch and chair(s) for living room
New dresser for bedroom
New mattress & box spring for bed and/or new bed set
New TV & stand
New desk/craft workstation
New dining table
So while I removed one program from my professional development goals–I added another in it’s place. I also made a list of courses to work through for the year, instead of trying to debate between courses and never getting any done. I’ve already watched three of the small courses from Skillshare during January.
I’ve also realized that I’m behind on writing quite a few posts (such as my thoughts on the Data Science program offered by the Cheeky Scientist Association, and several book reviews). I’m also hopefully going to be done with the Medical Writing Organization program this month (once I block out enough time to work through the various writing and editing assignments).
I’m doing well with the fitness/health goals. I made a bingo card for the next two years (2021-2023) with different programs (1st, 2nd, or 3rd rounds) on it. I made it a goal to make it through 9 programs this year (which includes doing the 2nd or 3rd round of a couple of programs), and then hopefully 7 programs next year.
As I mentioned previously–I’m leaning heavily in the direction of going freelance/online/remote for work. Now I’m thinking on what type of combination of things I want to be doing (such as writing, data analysis, project management, or data entry), and then also stick with something in the personal development/hobby realm as well. The dual, multiple focused combination actually appeals to my mixed-styled multipontialite personality.
This then raises the next question of either changing the name of the blog/site, and possibly archiving older posts, or keeping this as my personal blog and then starting another site from scratch. I need to inquire with various people on their opinion (change name/archive/delete or keep and start a second one from scratch).
I’m also still working on developing an editorial calendar/to-be accomplished list that works for me. Besides swinging between two extremes: trying to cram way too much stuff into a day or not getting anything done, I am also still working my way out burnout (more on this in a later post).
So I am making decent progress with some goals, and need to start working on others. The main thing I need to remember: “Progress over Perfection” and to start embracing the learner and intellection parts of my personality again.
Next check-in will be coming in mid-May.
Have you tried a 101 goal in 1001 days? How did it go?
So I’m 100 days into this challenge, and there are sixty-six days left in 2020. We’re also just about a week away from the presidential election as well (fingers crossed it goes the way I’m hoping).
I decided a couple of weeks ago, that I should probably look at the list again, and see if there were any goals that I wanted to remove (for whatever reason), and possibly any goals I wanted to add—but also to see where I was in terms of the different goals.
There is still the pandemic going on—which means that the travel plans are still on hold, and I’m still sheltering in place. I will probably continue to shelter in place at least until March of 2021 (when hopefully a possible vaccine is available). I’m still working on trying to figure out what my ‘new normal’ is going to be looking like.
As I stated in a previous post, I’m also thinking of replacing the list on the odds and end bucket list with this list—so that change may be occurring soon as well.
So how are things progressing?
Professional development and career: On-going
1. Transition into an industry position (probably remote/online or freelancing at this point to start); there will be several posts on this goal
2. Learn a programming language (python or R—ties in with #6)—going to go with python to begin with.
3. Finish various e-courses that I’ve bought, but in particular:
4. Dream Job Hack Removed, currently going through the modules but trying to tailor to my needs (program is best for those wanting to get into high level manager type roles—not the greatest for someone switching from research to industry and who also hasn’t been in a manager type role).
5. Medical Writers Organization
6. Data Scientist Syndicate—Finished September 3rd 2020
7. Project Management Consortium
8. Management Consulting Firm
9. All other courses—see additional lists in the journal.
10. More interacting on Linkedin—Hard to score these, I’m doing the best with #11; though I have started doing my own posts—mainly photographs and quotes; need to start working more on the other 2 (especially the giving/asking for recommendations).
11. Sharing articles from various biotech pages, and other science pages
12. Commenting on posts
13. Giving/Asking for recommendations
14. Start writing my own posts
15. Creating monthly/weekly/daily calendars for above goals—trying to get better at the editorial or to-do-list calendars.
16. Renew professional memberships—Need to pick just one or two currently to renew; can’t do all at once.
Both Personal and Professional Development—still working on all of these
17. Become fluent in Spanish
18. Become fluent in German
19. Become proficient in French, Norwegian, or Swedish
20. Read at least 300 personal/professional development books; this will include books from my previous attempts at 1001-day challenges as well. I have over 300 books on the list, and I would like to get through at least 100 of them before I keep adding to the list.
21. Finish the books on scientific writing
22. Start building up a portfolio of work (writing/data analysis/plus other ideas)
23. Develop a daily writing habit (tied with several goals below)
24. Write a letter to my future self
Personal development and hobbies—started a few, but need to also start in on others as well
25. Paint and frame at least one original painting
26. More photography—Have been doing this; started a new challenge (though I haven’t been totally consistent with daily postings) and updating/adding pages
27. 365-Day Challenge (aim for 365 different pictures)
28. Update photography pages on blog
29. Make my own jewelry
30. Learn to cross-stitch
31. Get a new sewing machine—On hold; seems getting a sewing machine there is a 50/50 risk that the machine will have problems winding the bobbin
32. Make a new quilt (or this may wait until I move)
33. Make a set of drapes for the bedroom (for backdrop for any zoom calls)
34. Start a new afghan (write a post on finishing the other)—need to figure out how to patch the other afghans
35. Show case crafts on blog (possibly a weekly update?)
36. Start writing a book
37. Learn Photoshop
38. Write in journal daily (answer questions/prompts from journaling books and free thought)
39. Create my own coffee-table photography book
40. Learn basic sign language
41. Start a virtual book club
Finances—still working on these, since I’m taking time off there isn’t a steady paycheck coming in yet.
42. Create monthly budgets—currently this is just paying off the bills.
43. Credit card debts down and hopefully paid off monthly—some are high, but that is due to buying a couple of personal/professional development courses that were rather expensive.
44. Declutter the house (way of earning extra cash)
45. Savings account up another 20K (hopefully)—this will be tied in with #44, #46, and any other ways of trying to earn a little extra cash.
46. Talk with financial person about short-term investment possibilities
47. Continue doing the small surveys as a way of earning a little extra cash
48. Finish the various financial e-courses, and decide when/how to start investing
Fitness & Health—On going
49. Get into the best shape of my life
50. Multivitamin and supplements daily
51. Manage to make it through the following Beachbody workouts
52. Morning Meltdown 100 (will probably do this 2-3 times, as I’m currently doing this program right now—07/19/2020)—Finished my first round on 9/15/2020
53. Yoga Booty Ballet—Abs & Butt (should be done mid-Nov)
54. 10 Rounds—Will be starting this mid-Nov & done by Christmas.
55. Barre Blend
56. Insanity Max 30
57. LIIFT4 (have already done this program once); 2nd round will be done mid-Nov (combined this with Yoga Booty Ballet—Abs & Butt)
58. 22-Minute Hard Corps
59. T20
60. Insanity
61. Insanity: Asylum 1
62. Insanity: Asylum 2
63. 4 weeks of Prep
64. 6 weeks of the work
65. T25 (have already done this program once)
66. Brazil Butt Lift
67. 21-Day Fix (Already done this program once)
68. 21-Day Fix Extreme (Already done this program once)
69. Country Heat (already done this program once)
70. CIZE
71. Muscle Burns Fat
72. Muscle Burns Fat Advanced
73. 30-Day Breakaway (this is a maybe—it’s running based)
74. 9-week control freak
75. Shawn Week
76. 80-Day Obsession
77. Brazil Butt Lift: Carnivale
78. Shift Shop: Proving Grounds
79. P90
Plus any other possible Beachbody program that is coming out that I may want to add.
80. Manage 5 push-ups on my toes
81. Manage 10 push-ups on my toes
82. Hold a two-minute forearm plank
83. Hold a 90 second plank
84. Meditate nightly
85. Start jogging (as another way to try to keep my mental health up)—may tie this in with #73
86. 60-80 oz of water a day
87. Stretch daily
88. Go one weekend a month with no social media (no scrolling through social media pages; may still post on the sites)
89. Get at least 10,010,000 steps (breaks down to 5K/day)—on my way; I’ve managed to hit all month goals (and surpass slightly).
Blog and Social Media–Ongoing
90. Finish YouTube for bosses course
91. Finish YouTube course creation for bosses course
92. Finish blog to biz course
93. Launch a YouTube channel
94. Launch an online course
95. Get blog traffic to 500+ views a day
96. Rebrand myself (?)
97. Get Instagram followers to constant 800+
98. Get pintrest followers to constant 400+
99. Get twitter followers to constant 1000+
100. Publish at least two blog series
101. Editorial calendars (monthly/weekly/daily)
102. Blog
103. Instagram
104. Facebook pages
105. Twitter
106. Pintrest
107. Get Fit with Jessi to 1000+ likes/follows
108. Get becomingJessi (or new name if I change) to 1000+ likes/follows
109. Various top 10 author lists
110. Various top 10 book series lists
111. Launch a podcast
Spirituality–Ongoing
112. Full/New Moon Goals
113. Create my own altar (wicca/pagan)
114. Weekly (or daily) tarot/oracle card readings
115. 15 minutes outdoors in the morning (coffee only) weather permitting; probably on hold now until spring—fall/winter mornings are usually somewhere between the 30s and 50s (if it’s closer to the higher end—maybe).
Others–ongoing
116. Keep at least 3 plants alive
117. Design a science based board game
118. Create and update digital vision board
119. Reorganize my storage unit
120. Put in at least one flower garden around the house (backyard, and/or front yard)
121. Help put up partial privacy fence in backyard
122. Start downsizing clothes and creating different “minimum” wardrobes (work/professional/casual; home/casual/working out)
123. Develop at least 10 different 100-day challenges
One challenge will be 100 days of iPhone Photography.
124. Start downsizing rest of my things./ as well—would like to probably be able to live comfortably in a smallish size apartment (or house) wherever I move for the next job.
TV shows to binge watch—Haven’t felt like sitting and watching anything lately
125. Hawaii 5-0 (latest remake)
126. Grimm
127. The Librarians
128. Once Upon A Time
129. Blacklist
130. Numbers
131. Agents of SHIELD
Goals on hold due to the global coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak (either because they require traveling, going into a large store, and/or being around large groups of people):
132. Re-pierce my ears
133. Go to at least 1 scientific conference
134. Present at a scientific conference
135. Go to at least 2 professional networking events
136. Move to a new (or maybe not new) city for job
137. Visit at least 3 new countries
138. Visit at least one new national and/or state park
139. Visit at least one new national and/or state monument
140. Visit at least one new zoo
141. Visit at least one new aquarium
142. Fly out and/or land at 3 new (to me) airports
143. Visit at least one new city
144. Visit at least one new state
145. See the northern lights
146. Attend at least one blogging conference
147. Attend at least one author-reader conference
148. Swim with whale sharks
149. Parasailing
150. Run a 5K (connects back to goals #73 & #85)
Once I move:
151. Get fabric and foam and make new cushions for chairs
152. New couch & chair for living room
153. New dresser for bedroom
154. New mattress & box spring for bed and/or a new bed set
155. New TV & stand
156. New desk/craft workstation
So in terms of the goals:
So I’ve removed one goal (finish the Dream Job Hack program), though I’m still going to work through a little that I think is relevant to what I need to be doing. I did find the program helpful, but it is geared more towards people who have been (or are in) management type positions—while I would like to get there, I know that I probably need to start a step or two below.
I’m making some headway with others—I’ve finished the data science syndicate program from the Cheeky Scientist Association (will be writing a post on late shortly), and am looking forward to trying to learn python and then start building a data science portfolio.
I’m working my way through the medical writers organization (another advanced Cheeky Scientist program), and am hoping to have that finished by mid-November, and again start working on building up a writing portfolio.
Currently I’m thinking of going in the freelance/online/remote direction for work (namely because of the pandemic and not really wanting to figure out the whole headache of trying to move two animals, all of my stuff, and myself to a different state currently). So in that case, I’m also thinking of possibly rebranding the blog (I have a couple of different names bouncing around, a decision will be made probably early next year sometime).
I’m still working on developing an editorial calendar/to-be accomplished list hybrid that works for me. I’ve realized that I swing between two extremes: I get over-ambitious and try to cram way to stuff in everyday, or I don’t get anything really accomplished.
I’m trying to work on that by possibly going to larger bullet journals that I can paperclip in my to-be-accomplished lists (which would then be discarded once everything as accomplished) instead of having to write out the lists constantly.
I’m also working on a schedule that will let me bounce back and forth between different things. I just finished reading “ How to be everything: A guide for those who (still) don’t know what they want to be when they grow up” by Emilie Wapnick.
I will be posting a review on the book soon (hopefully this week)—but it was nice to see that I’m not the only one who has felt drawn in different directions and not having a clue how to handle things. I was pleased to find that I’m a mixed-style multipotentialite—someone who goes between having quite a few different projects going on at once to only having one or two projects going on at once.
So that has definitely been a major breakthrough during the last few weeks—now it is a matter of me fully embracing that aspect of myself and figuring how the best ways of working that way—without triggering massive anxiety attacks (stay tuned).
I also removed the “number” of workouts from my fitness goals—the main reason I was starting to get tired. Everyone needs a rest day, and I’ve shown myself that I can still push play on Monday morning even if I take the weekend off (as told by the workout schedule).
So I am slowly making progress on the first ~124 (or I guess 123) goals; the last twenty-odd goals still require the pandemic to be brought under control and for me then to be willing to slowly start leaving the house and going to places that will actually have other people present as well.
So I’m a little over a week into my fourth decade and still working on answering the question: which hobbies, passions, and interests will fall under the jack-of-all-trades umbrella, and which will fall under the specialist umbrella.
While for some this is probably a quick question to answer—I’m still slightly struggling with for two reasons: 1) imposter syndrome—since I’m wanting to transition out of academia and into industry, there are times when I feel like a ‘fraud’, even though I know everyone’s journey is their own and that no two paths are the same—also no one has the same history, likes/dislikes, strengths/weaknesses, and personality traits that I do. The second reason is that at times I’m still in an somewhat academic mindset, which has a somewhat “clear ladder” on how your job grows—you graduate with your PhD, you do a couple of postdocs, you then get an assistant professor position, and then work your way up the ladder to associate, full, regents, emeritus professor along with possibly going for department head, or positions as a dean.
Since I’m still not sure which direction I want to go in—therefore there is no “clear ladder”, and even once I decide on a direction or directions to go in—there is no guarantee of a “clear ladder” or straight job trajectory in today’s society. Therefore I’m on a mission to create a mix of things that not only fall under both categories (jack-of-all-trades and specialist), but also encompass all aspects of life.
Through self-reflection, I realize that the times I’m happiest and in the ‘flow’ are when I’m both learning and relaxing—in other words when there is a balance between things. This is something that I had lost over the past decade or so—actually, this was something I closed off when I thought I wanted to go down the academic route—I pushed aside enjoyment, relaxation, and balance while focusing on just one small area for ‘learning’.
I’m thinking that the best route will be something that allows me to both—work for a company, but also be an independent freelancer as well. This way I can juggle different hats (under the umbrellas of jack-of-all-trades and specialist), and hopefully never get bored.
Boredom for me is like the kiss of death for the job—and one thing I need to work on is asking for change in the job when I start feeling boredom sneak in—because if I don’t ask for a change, I know I will start to get a little laid back in things and let things start to slide—which is something that I want to avoid moving forward.
So that brings me back to the question: how am I going to divide up my hobbies, passions, and interests into the categories jack-of-all-trades and specialist?
One area can be quickly filed under jack-of-all-trades currently, and that is crafts. These include knitting, sewing/quilting, learning cross-stitching, making my own jewelry, doodling, and hopefully at some point painting. The time I spend on any of these varies—knitting is usually done only in the cooler months, I currently don’t have a sewing machine, and the others have had very little time spent on them.
Therefore until I start spending a good amount of time on any of them during the week, they will be a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ topic. These will be things that I write about maybe once a month or every couple of months on the blog. I have ideas on how to try monetizing some of them (knitting, jewelry, and cross-stitching), but haven’t spent any time trying to work up the plan or even a few showcase pieces.
There are other hobbies that I spend more time on: bird watching, photography, reading, and at times journaling/writing. These are areas of my personal life that I could slowly start working on more and move to what I would consider ‘expert’ level.
In terms of bird watching—seeing how many species in North America I can have identified by a certain age. This would then also allow me to include traveling, being outdoors, hiking, and photography as well.
In terms of photography—I can work on becoming a better nature photographer, and also start learning another form (say architecture or portrait photography). I would consider myself an expert if I then start selling my prints (either through my own site or another site, and/or have a small photography business on the side).
In terms of reading—start writing book reviews and posting them on both the blog and where I purchased the book, in addition to promoting books as well on my blog and social media sites. This way I could also then start possibly reviewing advance-reader-copies (ARCs), in addition to maybe working through affiliate programs—earning a little money, by referring people to buy different books.
In terms of writing—there is quite a bit I need to work on (and actually can be applied to all areas that I would like to become an ‘expert’ in) to get better at writing. The first thing is scheduling time every day to write/brainstorm/outline. Saying I want to become better at writing does nothing unless I also put in the work to become better at writing. So what are the things I need to work on?
Time management
Brainstorming, researching, writing, and editing—on a schedule
Publishing my writing (in more places than just the blog)
Asking others to read what I’ve written and give constructive criticism
Different types of writing
Creative/Fiction
Scientific
Non-fiction
Creating a portfolio to highlight my work
So in terms of my passions and interests—which should be jack-of-all-trades and which should be specialist?
If I look to my scientific background that has spanned a little over two decades I’ve noticed that I can focus on any of the following: recombinant cloning, recombinant protein expression and purification, sequencing, HPLC, MALDI-TOF, NMR, transcriptional and translational assays, small RNA biology, plant biology, cell culture, yeast, bacteria, fruit flies, the cell cycle, and bioinformatics.
If I had to chose areas for jack-of-all-trades those would include: bioinformatics (data science, programming, and data analysis), cell culture (basic mammalian and insect), sequencing, HPLC, MALDI-TOF, and NMR. These are the more technical things—though cell culture isn’t very technical, I just didn’t do that much of it through the years.
The areas I would chose for specialist would then include basically everything else: recombinant cloning, recombinant protein expression and purification, transcriptional and translational assays, small RNA biology, plant biology, yeast work, fruit flies, bacteria, cell cycle and almost anything that falls within these categories.
If I looked to other topics that I enjoyed during college—these were classes in social sciences and humanities (history, anthropology, sociology) that I got good grades in and never really stressed out over the exams (unlike all the other science classes).
So I would probably include some of those topics—medieval history, art history, anthropology, ancient North/South American history (prior to the arrival of the Europeans), archeology, and paleontology within both categories depending on the amount of time I could give to each area.
Other interests that could probably bounce between being jack-of-all-trades and specialist include spirituality, personal finances, and health/fitness.
These are areas that I’m interested in gaining more knowledge (finances—getting out of debt, saving more, retirement, multiple streams of income), becoming the best version of myself (health/fitness—completing programs, getting outdoors, and setting fitness goals to achieve and celebrate instead of spending money), and embracing (spirituality—I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m more spiritual than I am religious, therefore I want to become better at reading tarot/oracle cards and be able to meditate longer than say two to four minutes).
Therefore within the next five to ten years I would like to become a more well rounded person and scientist—this means over all balance, some days may be more science than crafts, more time at the computer than behind a camera—but also more days crafting, reading, and meditating. It is time for me to forge my own path forward that allows me to embrace all aspects of who I am, my strengths (learner, intellection, input, achiever, deliberative/ideation/arranger), while also working on my weaknesses.
The next step will be creating a plan that will allow me to slowly start moving in that direction.
Well I realized that since we’re over half way through July—that means there are less than six months left in 2020. I’ve come to the conclusion that trying to complete the 101 goals in 1001 days wasn’t going to work. For me it is due to the fact that I will only open the word document every so often—which makes it difficult to figure out which goal(s) I’m doing well on and which ones I’m not doing so well on meeting. Therefore, I am thinking of stretching out the time frame for this project and increasing the total number of goals to 150-200. There are numerous goals that are on hold (traveling), and will be at the bottom of the list. There are two reasons why the traveling goals are going to be at the bottom of the list: 1) we’re still in the middle of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. Cases aren’t going down really in the US (though there are some states, where they are decreasing—OK isn’t one of them) and 2) several countries (namely the EU) have banned travelers from the US—in other words if you try to fly into any EU country, you may be put right back on a plane for the US, since they’re flattening their curves—they don’t want potential virus carriers showing up and spiking cases.
So the world has been in the grasp of the SARS-CoV2 virus for seven months (probably a little longer than that for the countries that are neighboring China), and we’re still learning about the virus each day. While there are several vaccines that are being pushed into various clinical trial phases—a real contender may still not be ready for another 6 to 18 months. Vaccine development is a slow and tedious process that the world is currently rushing because everyone wants to get back to ‘normal’. Hate to break it to everyone but the ‘old normal’ needs to be left in the past and we all need to work together to develop a ‘new normal’.
Truthfully, even if there is a vaccine out by the end of the year—I will probably still continue to shelter in place and wait at least an additional 8 to 12 months before I’m willing to get the vaccine (just to see how efficient the vaccine(s) are). Though based on the current news, we could end up with needing seasonal shots, as it has been shown that with people who “recover” from SARS-CoV2 the antibodies against the virus slowly disappear over time.
So I’ve been self-reflecting over the past six months (though maybe not that much during April—I was too pissed at the world for how bad the pandemic was getting, and now that we’re into July, I can say I’m still pissed but trying to get back into a routine of doing other things that I can control the outcomes of)) and have decided a few things:
Try to organize the challenge list into categories
If needing to restart (and I am)—any day of the week can become day 1 again
Balance is needed
I want to balance using my strengths (learner, intellection, input, achiever, deliberative/ideation/arranger) with working on my weaknesses (communication, self-regulation, bravery, zest, love)
The only person I should be competing with is who I was yesterday
Always strive for progress over perfection
So below are my goals—but broken up into different categories (such as professional development/career, personal development, both personal/professional development, travel, health & fitness to name a few categories). I’m going to extend the time frame to 2002 days (which is not quite 5 ½ years—but considering 2020 has started the decade off with a global pandemic—this a good time frame).
I’ve also decided that since I’m basically restarting the challenge (instead of just extending it), that some of the things I’ve accomplished so far this year probably shouldn’t count towards it (such as reading 12 personal/professional development books, and the fact that I would be on day 42 of Morning Meltdown 100, tomorrow—the last 59 days of the workout would count towards my 2000 days of Beachbody workouts-just not the first 41 days).
More goals may be added over the years as I re-evaluate this list and see what may need to be removed, what has been finished, and where I think I could possibly push myself more.
Professional development and career:
1. Transition into an industry position (probably remote/online or freelancing at this point to start); there will be several posts on this goal
2. Learn a programming language (python or R—ties in with #6)
3. Finish various e-courses that I’ve bought, but in particular:
4. Dream Job Hack
5. Medical Writers Organization
6. Data Scientist Syndicate
7. Project Management Consortium
8. Management Consulting Firm
9. All other courses—see additional lists in the journal.
10. More interacting on Linkedin
11. Sharing articles from various biotech pages, and other science pages
12. Commenting on posts
13. Giving/Asking for recommendations
14. Start writing my own posts
15. Creating monthly/weekly/daily calendars for above goals
16. Renew professional memberships
Both Personal and Professional Development
17. Become fluent in Spanish
18. Become fluent in German
19. Become proficient in French, Norwegian, or Swedish
20. Read at least 300 personal/professional development books
21. Finish the books on scientific writing
22. Start building up a portfolio of work (writing/data analysis/plus other ideas)
23. Develop a daily writing habit (tied with several goals below)
24. Write a letter to my future self
Personal development and hobbies
25. Paint and frame at least one original painting
26. More photography
27. 365-Day Challenge (aim for 365 different pictures)
28. Update photography pages on blog
29. Make my own jewelry
30. Learn to cross-stitch
31. Get a new sewing machine
32. Make a new quilt (or this may wait until I move)
33. Make a set of drapes for the bedroom (for backdrop for any zoom calls)
34. Start a new afghan (write a post on finishing the other)
35. Show case crafts on blog (possibly a weekly update?)
36. Start writing a book
37. Learn Photoshop
38. Write in journal daily (answer questions/prompts from journaling books and free thought)
39. Create my own coffee-table photography book
40. Learn basic sign language
41. Start a virtual book club
Finances
42. Create monthly budgets
43. Credit card debts down and hopefully paid off monthly
44. Declutter the house (way of earning extra cash)
45. Savings account up another 20K (hopefully)
46. Talk with financial person about short-term investment possibilities
47. Continue doing the small surveys as a way of earning a little extra cash
48. Finish the various financial e-courses, and decide when/how to start investing
Fitness & Health
49. Get into the best shape of my life
50. Multivitamin and supplements daily
51. Manage at least 2000 days of Beachbody workouts
Finish the following programs (some will probably be more than 1 or 2 times)
52. Morning Meltdown 100 (will probably do this 2-3 times, as I’m currently doing this program right now—07/19/2020)
53. Yoga Booty Ballet—Abs & Butt
54. 10 Rounds
55. Barre Blend
56. Insanity Max 30
57. LIIFT4–all three phases (have already done this program once)
58. 22 Minute Hard Corps
59. T20
60. Insanity
61. Insanity: Asylum 1
62. Insanity: Asylum 2
63. 4 weeks of Prep
64. 6 weeks of the work
65. T25 (have already done this program once)
66. Brazil Butt Lift
67. 21-Day Fix (Already done this program once)
68. 21-Day Fix Extreme (Already done this program once)
69. Country Heat (already done this program once)
70. CIZE
71. Muscle Burns Fat
72. Muscle Burns Fat Advanced
73. 30-Day Breakaway (this is a maybe—it’s running based)
74. 9-week control freak
75. Shawn Week
Plus any other possible Beachbody program that is coming out that I may want to add.
76. Manage 5 push-ups on my toes
77. Manage 10 push-ups on my toes
78. Hold a two-minute forearm plank
79. Hold a 90 second plank
80. Meditate nightly
81. Start jogging (as another way to try to keep my mental health up)—may tie this in with #73
82. 60-80 oz of water a day
83. Stretch daily
84. Go one weekend a month with no social media (no scrolling through social media pages; may still post on the sites)
85. Get at least 10,010,000 steps (breaks down to 5K/day)
Blog and Social Media
86. Finish YouTube for bosses course
87. Finish YouTube course creation for bosses course
88. Finish blog to biz course
89. Launch a YouTube channel
90. Launch an online course
91. Get blog traffic to 500+ views a day
92. Rebrand myself (?)
93. Get Instagram followers to constant 800+
94. Get pintrest followers to constant 400+
95. Get twitter followers to constant 1000+
96. Publish at least two blog series
97. Editorial calendars (monthly/weekly/daily)
98. Blog
99. Instagram
100. Facebook pages
101. Twitter
102. Get Fit with Jessi to 1000+ likes/follows
103. Get becomingJessi (or new name if I change) to 1000+ likes/follows
104. Various top 10 author lists
105. Various top 10 book series lists
106. Launch a podcast
Spirituality
107. Full/New Moon Goals
108. Create my own altar (wicca/pagan)
109. Weekly (or daily) tarot/oracle card readings
110. 15 minutes outdoors in the morning (coffee only) weather permitting
Others
111. Keep at least 3 plants alive
112. Design a science based board game
113. Create and update digital vision board
114. Reorganize my storage unit
115. Put in at least one flower garden around the house (backyard, and/or front yard)
116. Help put up partial privacy fence in backyard
117. Start downsizing clothes and creating different “minimum” wardrobes (work/professional/casual; home/casual/working out)
118. Develop at least 10 different 100-day challenges
119. Start downsizing rest of my belongs as well—would like to probably be able to live comfortably in a smallish size apartment (or house) where ever I move for the next job.
TV shows to binge watch
120. Hawaii 5-0 (latest remake)
121. Grimm
122. The Librarians
123. Once Upon A Time
124. Blacklist
125. Numbers
Goals on hold due to the global coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak (either because they require traveling, going into a large store, and/or being around large groups of people):
126. Re-pierce my ears
127. Go to at least 1 scientific conference
128. Present at a scientific conference
129. Go to at least 2 professional networking events
130. Move to a new (or maybe not new) city for job
131. Visit at least 3 new countries
132. Visit at least one new national and/or state park
133. Visit at least one new national and/or state monument
134. Visit at least one new zoo
135. Visit at least one new aquarium
136. Fly out and/or land at 3 new (to me) airports
137. Visit at least one new city
138. Visit at least one new state
139. See the northern lights
140. Attend at least one blogging conference
141. Attend at least one author-reader conference
142. Swim with whale sharks
143. Parasailing
144. Run a 5K (connects back to goals #73 & #81)
Once I move:
145. Get fabric and foam and make new cushions for chairs
146. New couch & chair for living room
147. New dresser for bedroom
148. New mattress & box spring for bed and/or a new bed set
149. New TV & stand
150. New desk/craft workstation
So I now have roughly 150 goals to accomplish in 2002 days. Some of the goals may be accomplished well before the 2002 days are up—others may be up to the end (namely the fitness workouts and steps). So how will I accomplish these 150 goals??? Well, there are 25 goals that are “on-hold” until the virus is under control (goals #126-150)—so these may not be looked at for the first 500+ days (though I will probably be checking the stats on the pandemic more often).
In terms of the other 125 goals—I already have some ‘habits’ in place—I have set up monthly calendar/check-ins for my steps, daily workouts, and spending, plus I do a monthly money check-in when I set up payments for various bills. So what I’m going to be doing is adding in additional trackers (e-courses, photography, tarot/oracle card readings) and seeing tracking that ways helps me move through things better. Also in terms of the e-courses, I’m going to be trying to take better notes so that I can post little recaps on the blog as well (all of this will also help me possibly finally design and keep up with editorial calendars as well).
But above else, I need to remember the following phrases: Aim for progress and not perfection, work hard in silence, let your success by your noise, and make it happen, shock everyone.
So in one of my many self reflection periods this past
month, I realized that I hadn’t been looking at my 101 goal list and seeing how
close I was to any of the goals (with the exception of my step goal). I also
realized looking at the list, it was all jumbled together and that made it hard
to see which goals could “feed” off of each other in terms of the
daily/weekly/monthly goals that I should be setting to reach them.
Therefore, I took the time and rewrote my list—this time
grouping things into different categories. I’m going to be hitting restart on
the time, to where if I start on November 2, 2019—I should then be finishing up
around July 29, 2022.
So below are my goals—but broken up into different
categories (such as professional development/career, personal development, both
personal/professional development, travel, health & fitness to name a few
categories).
Professional development and career:
1.
Transition into an industry position (tied to latest self reflections post);
there will be several posts on this goal
2. Learn a
programming language
3. Finish
various e-courses that I’ve bought, but in particular:
4.
Dream Job Hack
5.
Medical Writers Organization
6. More
interacting on Linkedin
7.
Sharing articles from various biotech pages, and other science pages
8.
Commenting on posts
9.
Giving/Asking for recommendations
10.
Creating monthly/weekly/daily calendars for above goals
11. Go to
at least 1 scientific conference
12.
Present at a scientific conference
13. Go to
at least 2 professional networking events
14. Renew
professional memberships
15. Move to
a new (or maybe not new) city for job
Both Personal and Professional Development
16. Become
fluent in Spanish
17. Become
fluent in German (or maybe French)
18. Read at
least 100 personal/professional development books
19. Finish
the books on scientific writing
Personal development and hobbies
20. Paint
and frame at least one original painting
21. More
photography
22.
365-Day Challenge (aim for 365 different pictures)
23.
Update photography pages on blog
24. Make my
own jewelry
25. Learn
to cross-stitch
26. Finish
my latest afghan
27. Show
case crafts on blog (possibly a weekly update?)
28. Start
writing a book
29. Learn
Photoshop
30. Write
in journal daily (answer questions/prompts from journaling books and free
thought)
31. Create
my own coffee-table photography book
32. Learn
basic sign language
Finances
33. Create
monthly budgets
34. Credit
card debts down and hopefully paid off monthly
35.
Declutter the house (way of earning extra cash)
36. Savings
account up another 20K (hopefully)
37. Talk
with financial person about short-term investment possibilities
Travel
38. Visit
at least 3 new countries
39. Visit
at least one new national and/or state park
40. Visit
at least one new national and/or state monument
41. Visit
at least one new zoo
42. Visit
at least one new aquarium
43. Fly out
and/or land at 3 new (to me) airports
44. Visit
at least one new city
45. Visit
at least one new state
46. See the
northern lights
47. Attend
at least one blogging conference
48. Attend
at least one author-reader conference
49. Attend Beachbody
Coach Summit 2020
Fitness & Health
50. Get
into the best shape of my life
51.
Multivitamin and supplements daily
52. Manage
at least 250 days of Beachbody workouts
53. Manage
5 push-ups on my toes
54. Manage
10 push-ups on my toes
55. Hold a two-minute forearm plank
56. Hold a 90 second plank
57. Meditate nightly
58. 30-day Zumba challenge
59. 60-80 oz of water a day
60. Stretch daily
61. Go one
weekend a month with no social media (no scrolling through social media pages;
may still post on the sites)
62. Get at
least 14,014,000 steps (breaks down to 14K/day)
Blog and Social Media
63. Finish YouTube for bosses course
64. Finish YouTube course creation for bosses
course
65. Finish blog to biz course
66. Launch a YouTube channel
67. Launch
an online course
68. Get
blog traffic to 500+ views a day
69. Rebrand
myself (?)
70. Get
Instagram followers to constant 800+
71. Get
pintrest followers to constant 400+
72. Get
twitter followers to constant 1000+
73. Publish
at least two blog series
74. Editorial calendars (monthly/weekly/daily)
75.
Blog
76.
Instagram
77.
Facebook pages
78. Get Fit
with Jessi to 1000+ likes/follows
79. Get
becomingJessi (or new name if I change) to 1000+ likes/follows
80. Various
top 10 author lists
81. Various
top 10 book series lists
Spirituality
82.
Full/New Moon Goals
83. Create my own altar (wicca/pagan)
84. Weekly
tarot/oracle card readings
Others
85. Keep at
least 3 plants alive
86. Design
a science based board game
87. Create and update a digital vision board
88. Re-pierce
my ears
89. Reorganize
my storage unit
Once I move:
90. Get a
new sewing machine
91.
Make a new quilt
92.
Get fabric and foam and make new cushions for chairs
93. New
couch & chair for living room
94. New
dresser for bedroom
95. New
mattress & box spring for bed
96. New TV
& stand
TV shows to binge watch
97. Hawaii
5-0 (latest remake)
98. Grimm
99. The
Librarians
100. Once
Upon A Time
101.
Blacklist
So that is my update and “organized” 101 goals in 1001 days.
This time I’m trying to balance things out—personal and professional
development, career and then just odds and ends. Hopefully with it being
organized, I will be better at tracking how close I am to completing certain
items and which items when completed will flow into another one being started.
So besides updating my 101 goals for the next 1001 days (and hopefully looking at them more often), I also updated my Level 10 life.
So yesterday I sat down and drew out where I thought everything was sitting in the 10 different areas of life: friends & family, personal development, spirituality, finances, career, social life, fun & recreation, giving & contribution, physical environment, and then finally health & fitness.
As usual things were going up and down in numerous areas. The only one that really stayed the same was my social life at basically 1. I realize that I have no social life, and currently I’m perfectly fine with that, though I know that getting out could help with the networking–I just really don’t have the energy to do it right now. I’m sure that it will change once I move to a new city and meet new people.
So what are some things that I can try to do over the next three months to try to bring the numbers up?
Get in touch with friends/family via email, facebook, linkedin.
Continue reading personal development books & getting through at least one personal development course that I’ve bought.
Mediate about 5 minutes a night and do daily tarot card readings
Savings challenges and limiting what I’m buying on campus.
Working on my transition plan and networking
Meeting up with friends for lunch (or walking around Boomer Lake) and/or trying to make it to a Cheeky meetup.
Schedule time for crafts
Go through clothes to possibly donate
Repack boxes in storage unit & straighten up my bedroom
Start either another round of LIIFT4 or try to do InsanityMax30 again.
So I’m going to be trying to restart my photography challenge–that means taking a picture everyday for at least the next 365 days (I’m aiming at trying to complete a one year challenge to begin with). The subject of the photos will vary either daily or hopefully weekly. Also depending on my schedule I may end up doing a weekly review if I run out of time in the evenings trying to post them on the different social media pages (or they may even vary on the different platforms).
One of the photography subjects is going to be tarot/oracle cards. Currently I have six different decks (not counting the three or four that I have in my storage unit). I’m thinking that I’m going to do daily (or every other day) readings for a month from each set–though around the full moon, I might do the readings from a particular deck (even if it isn’t that decks “month”). I’m also going to be doing two readings at the end of this month with two different decks.
The first deck that I’m using is the Enchanted Spell Oracle Deck. Tonight I decided to do a crescent moon reading to get an idea of things to come both this month and in the coming year. The cards that I pulled for the reading are telling me that I need to figure out creative ways of generating abundance–though I need to figure out what I consider abundance first, I also need to guard against draining energies of other people, and to have patience and to know that change is coming.
I’m glad that when I’ve been doing readings over the last few months (though not as often lately as I should have been doing) and that no matter what deck I’ve been using–rebirth and change have been a common theme. This means that changing directions in my career is the correct decision–now I just need to figure out what that directional change is going to be.
I open myself up for guidance from the universe and it’s teachers (be they unicorns, dragons, or other mystical creatures). 2019 will be the year of change, and new adventures and dreams.
I’ve been getting back into trying to do a daily evening reading using one of my current oracle or tarot card decks. I know that some people like to do it in the morning—but I barely give myself enough time to get ready and out the door in the morning, and I don’t really want to rush doing a reading.
I cycle between the different decks (as you know if you also follow me on instagram) though I might use the same deck for two or three days before going to a different one.
I’ve been trying to be more honest and true to myself, and therefore have been doing these readings—this is my form of “praying”—to where I’m asking the universe what are my options going forward. I know that these cards are just “suggestions” and ones that I can chose to ignore (though that means staying stagnant) or listening to and growing.
So I’ve decided that I’d share some of the readings that I’ve done over the past week or so.
When I did a reading using the #wildunknowntarot deck, I drew cards that corresponded to change, positive energy, and contentment being on the horizon. Basically stating that forward is the direction to go, no matter how scary that unknown journey is going to be–I need to find the joy and excitement in the journey.
Reading from The Wild Unknown Tarot Deck
I’d done a similar reading using the #wildwoodtarot deck, to where I was pointed to walking through a gateway onto a new path, goals will be reached (through commitment and focus), and continuation of my path back to my spiritual truth.
Reading from The Wild Wood Tarot Deck
Earlier in the month I did a #mooncyclespread using the #flowersofthenightoracle deck on the night of the #virgonewmoon. I know that I need to listen to my inner voice and feel more self confident in the planning of my job transition. One door will soon be closed, and then I just need to look for the one that will be opening. I’ve decided it’s time to start moving on and exploring other scientific job opportunities outside of academia.
Reading from the Flowers of the Night Oracle Deck
When I used the #enchantedspelloracle deck–I saw that I needed to really think of switching directions, as being at the bench is basically behind me–though it could also mean that academic research is behind me, and I can still do bench work in industry. But I do need to figure out which direction I should be turning to figure out what is ahead of me.
Reading from The Enchanted Spell Oracle Deck
And finally, when I drew a card from the #chakrawisdomoracle deck–I drew a card for the #browchakra. Which was fitting as I’m slowly stepping into the unknown as I work on my career transition from academia to industry.
Card drawn from the Charka Wisdom Oracle Deck
So in conclusion—I’m not crazy for wanting change–staying in the same place where you don’t grow is crazy. This is something I’ve been guilty of doing over the years because I always feared the change more than the stagnant position. But as I am looking at my birthday coming up in a few days, I’ve realized that I need to start embracing change and stepping outside of my comfort zone every now and then. By doing so I can slowly start achieving things that I’ve been too scared to try to do before hand.
