Sometimes people who know me well are surprised to find out that I love “To Do” lists. On the one hand, I love a really free unstructured life and schedule. On the other hand, I find that there’s a benefit to imposing some self-structure. One of the ways that I have always done that is with To Do lists. However, I have been moving towards a shift lately in which the To Do list is beginning to serve a different purpose in my life than it has up to this point.

I use versions of the To Do list in many different ways. Each week I make my To Do list for work which includes when I plan to do different writing jobs. It also includes items that aren’t deadlined but that I’d like to do such as researching writing contests or looking for new clients, etc.

I often make a weekly To Do list (in calendar form) of the other things that I want to do with my week. Sometimes this is very structured. I get these ideas in my head about what I should be doing in order to have the life that I want. Then I create To Do lists that reflect these ideas. For example, I decide that I should be going to yoga three times per week, hiking once a week, attending at least one cultural/educational event per week, doing something artsy once per week, etc. Then I make a calendar-based list of specifically what activities I’m going to do that week and when.

I also sometimes make monthly To Do lists. These reflect the same types of things as the weekly list but Keep reading…

Tags: goals, lists, organizing life, to do list

I think one of the most important things that you can do to keep yourself happy is to keep learning new things. This inspires you. It motivates you. It gives you a reason to wake up in the morning. It stretches your boundaries and makes life more interesting.

I try to learn new things all of the time. Most of what I learn comes from random experiences and ends up being about stuff I never planned on learning. However I do think it’s good to think about the things that you want to learn more about.

10 things I plan to learn more about in 2010 are:

1. Crochet. I just barely learned how to crochet over Thanksgiving weekend and have completely fallen in love with it. It’s the first craft that I absolutely can not get enough of. I want to learn new stitches, new projects, new use of yarns and fabrics. (The photo above was made from an old sweater and some black cotton yarn.)
2. Lomography. I recently learned about this interesting type of photography. I want to know more about it.
3. Photoshop. I FINALLY took a photoshop class late last year and started to learn the basics. I really want to actually start using this program and learning how to do stuff with it which I haven’t really done yet.
4. Pilates machines. I really like my pilates mat class but I want to branch out and learn more about how to do pilates using machines. Haven’t tried that yet but will have tried it by this time next year!
5. Celebrity fashion. This isn’t a topic that I thought I’d ever be interested in. However I’ve started exploring it for a new blog I’m helping out with (the blog for super cool Bay Area clothing company Edgi). I’m actually taking a keen interesting in this and want to learn more.
6. Pandora. I just started using this online radio program (behind the times, I know) and think it’s something I’ll be exploring a lot in 2010. Any suggestions from people who already like it?
7. Various types of dance. There are a couple of workout-style dance classes that I want to take this year. I want to learn fire dancing. I want to learn hula hoop dancing. We’ll see if that leads to any other dance interests.
8. Snow and Water Sports. This is a hands-on goal. I know a bit about things like skiing and tubing down rivers but I want to learn to actually do them.
9. Buenos Aires. I’ve read a lot about this city and have wanted to visit for awhile. I don’t know if I’ll actually get the chance to explore it in person this year or not but it’s definitely a 2010 goal to aim for.
10. San Francisco. I know a lot about this city that I live in and love but there is always more to learn here. I definitely plan to keep exploring and learning more about it!

Tags: 2010, education, experiences, goals, new year goals, smartchick