101 Goals in 1001 Days is a concept I gathered The Simple Dollar, another Finance blog I read. The concept, however, certainly isn’t new and wasn’t even made up by him. I did a bit more searching, and decided to just do some copy/paste work to describe how it works in a nutshell.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.
2. Stay Focussed. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.
3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.
4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.
5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

That being said, here is a list of my goals:

1. Graduate college
2. Find a job in the Midwest (what can I say, cost of living is nice)
3. Amass a high-4-figure emergency fund (>$5000)
4. Amass a 5-figure retirement fund
5. Complete an App-O-Ramma
6. Get 500 regular daily readers on M2C
7. Take a road trip to California
8. Travel back to Europe
9. Attend an ‘Office’ convention in Scranton, PA
10. Reunite with at least 5 people I met on Study Abroad
11. Organize my iTunes music collection
12. Get an internship in my field of study
13. Become a Computer Science tutor at my college
14. Visit 5 states I haven’t been to in the past 5 years
15. Build my own computer
16. Take a Personal Finance class
17. Finish reading the Left Behind series
18. Do not go out to eat for lunch at work for at least three months
19. Eat only home-prepared food for three months straight
20. Build at least one piece of furniture
21. Completely give up alcohol for three months straight while in college after 21st
22. Have a holiday lunch or dinner at my own place with family or friends
23. Sell my card collection
24. Read the Chronicles of Narnia series
25. Open a high-yield online savings account
26. Make $1000 from sign-up bonuses
27. Go white-water rafting
28. Attend one public LAN event
29. Get a 3.5 semester
30. Drink only water and milk for one month
31. Do not spend any money for seven days in a row
32. Visit John’s grave once a year
33. Buy a Christmas present for John’s parents
34. Learn PHP
35. Learn how to make dad’s Sunshine Eggs
36. Make an average of one new food dish every month
37. Go camping
38. Take my parents out to dinner
39. Take my brother and sister-in-law out to dinner
40. Make and follow a monthly budget
41. Hike the bluffs
42. Have somebody else make their own goals because of mine
43. Earn enough from M2C to pay for it
44. Learn to make 10 new drinks
45. Move everything out of my parent’s house
46. Exercise on a regular basis
47. Host a dinner party with close friends
48. Get at least 100 emails about M2C
49. Make fondu
50. Gain 10 pounds in muscle by 1 January 2009
51. Carry no credit card debt (unless BT monies)
52. Design own computer case
53. Learn how to use my camera properly
54. Print and frame a scenic picture
55. Stay up with Jen until the sun comes up
56. Make my own spaghetti sauce
57. Do not eat drunk munchies for any three months
58. Get credit score above 750
59. Finish reading Wisconsin Real Estate Law book
60. Swim in the ocean
61. Go one week without cursing
62. Update M2C 500 times
63. Invest in 5 new stocks
64. Do not miss class for one full semester
65. Hand-write a thank-you letter to somebody who has positively influenced me
66. Write thank-you notes to everybody who ever gives me a gift
67. Do not puke on my 21st birthday
68. Do not drink and drive
69. Do not eat unhealthy snacks for any six months
70. Do not eat any deep-fried food for any six months
71. Visit one gaming studio with which I am familiar
72. Generate one method of passive income
73. Help out a friend with a difficult task
74. Help out my parents with a difficult task
75. Help out my brother and sister-in-law with a difficult task
76. Get my rubberband ball to 4 inches in diameter
77. Update and organize my tool collection
78. Multiply my net worth by 3x in 2008
79. Do not smoke
80. Max out my Roth IRA each year
81. Do not eat fast food (except sub places, and on road trips)
82. Read one random Wikipedia article each week
83. Study (or read if no class) for an hour each week night
84. Rip my dads old records to my computer
85. Keep my room completely clean for 6 months
86. Get tax article ideas from my dad once a month
87. Learn three programming languages
88. Get an Xbox 360
89. Read one recommended ‘Personal Development’ book every other month
90. Start a 401(k)
91. Go to two concerts a year
92. Do not drink until I turn 21 (except with family)
93. Start up another web site
94. Carry no loan debt excluding a mortgage
95. Do not make any impulse purchases
96. Use computer software to help track my money
97. Keep car clean for six months
98. Make my own marinade from scratch
99. Make another 101 in 1001 list
100. Save $10 for every item I accomplish in a separate bank account
101. Donate $10 to a womens & childrens charity for each item I do not accomplish in full

Some of these goals I already have done, some are ones that I’ll have to work on for the whole three years, and others won’t be attainable until after I graduate for college. Why bother to put these goals on MyTwoCents? It’s very easy for people to get into the rut of setting goals and then forgetting about them. By making these goals public, I’m hoping to both encourage other people to try this out (already I’ve found that I’m being quite a bit more productive) and it helps keep pressure on me to continue doing the things that will help me in the long run.

Feel free to leave comments on these, and I will update the list occasionally with my progress. For what it’s worth, I started these goals on 1 January 2008, which puts and end date near the end of September 2010. A long time, but some big goals, and I’m in college for a good chunk of that time which means less income than I will have after college.