Making the 30 in 30 Game Plan

People who collect experiences are more interesting than people who collect things.

You might notice that out of my 30 goals, only two involve buying something. I want to live a full life, and that doesn’t necessarily having a full house. These purchase goals will provide experiences to make my life richer. My wife and I have been wanting an Airstream for a few years now, and purchasing one would include the experience of remodeling and then living in it. Buying coffee for 12 strangers? The goal is to make myself meet people, coffee is just the medium.

So how do I plan on accomplishing these 30 goals in 366 days (since that leap year “bonus day” will fall in this time-frame)? By making them as automatic as possible. This means that I will be heavily relying on my calendar and automatic email reminders. I am still in the process of planning the schedule out, but here is the process that I’m using.

Know what I’m working with

You may have noticed that there is a pretty wide range of goals included on my list, free and fairly quick (#12 – read the Bible) to expensive (#13 – buy an Airstream) to time intensive (#1 – cross-country motorcycle trip). To help me come up with a realistic plan I have broken the goals into different categories based on the time and money needed to complete them.

Pre-arranged
A few of the goals have already been scheduled, and so they were the first to go on my calendar.

  • move
  • pay down school debt
  • go on 7 day backpacking trip

Long term
A number of the goals will only be reached after investing quite a bit of time (from about a month to the entire year). I am scheduling them as a recurring weekly activity, with an initial focused burst at the beginning. This beginning burst of energy will allow me to stagger their starting dates so that I don’t end up beginning a lot of new projects in February and then burning myself out. Many of these goals are free, or only incur a small cost (like gas or the purchase of a book).

  • read 1/2 of Personal MBA
  • find 576 more geocaches
  • learn 5 magic tricks
  • read the Bible
  • 30 informational interviews
  • go on 30 dates
  • make 30 things
  • learn to weld
  • some sort of fitness goal – to be further defined
  • learn to program
  • circumnavigate Land Between the Lakes
  • get in touch with old friends on a regular basis
  • buy coffee for 12 strangers
  • see moonbow (again)
  • become conversationally fluent in a language
  • become a publicly recognized expert
  • have a business of my own

Events
Most of the other goals are more of a multi-day event. Some planning, a big burst of energy, and some money, and they will be completed. These will be interspersed through the year, and combined whenever possible (ie: I can visit DC and the Grand Canyon during the cross-country motorcycle trip).

  • visit the lower 48
  • cross-country motorcycle trip
  • stop in DC to visit the Wall
  • see Grand Canyon
  • hot air balloon ride
  • see Northern Lights
  • buy an Airstream
  • take flying lessons – airplane
  • learn to sail
  • hang glide

Further Definition

Many of these goals are already pretty easy to measure (ie: go on 30 dates, go on a 7 day backpacking trip, etc). There are a few, however, that still need to be narrowed down a bit. So that I know when I have “learned to program” I will come up with a final project that I want to complete, and then I will have a definitive ending point to cross. Likewise, “learn to weld” will involve coming up with a final project to create.

I will write an explanatory post for most of these goals as I begin working on them, including the guidelines for completing each one, my detailed plan of attack, and the reasons behind each one.

Funding?

No, I don’t have a sponsor of any sort. These goals will be completed around work and my wife’s school/work schedule. The money comes from my pocket. Goal #4 (business of my own) will not only make some of the goals financially possible, but will also allow you to participate! Come back Wednesday to find out how.

The 30 in 30 Project

It’s not the outcome that matters. It’s the decision to act.
~ Chris Guillebeau

A few months ago I read Sebastian Marshall’s post about strategically checking off a bucket list and I continued to mull that idea over. I can do the same thing. Most of the items on my life list are things that I could do relatively easy with a direct application of time or money. Though I might not have the money at the moment, completing many of my goals will cost far less than I imagine, and I do have some time available if I make these goals a priority. So I came up with a new list to work toward for now.

I will be 30 in a few days. To start this decade off right I am going to focus on strategically completing a few of the goals on my bucket list, in addition to some goals that hadn’t quite made it to that list yet. In no particular order, here are the 30 things that I want to complete by February 6, 2013.

  1. cross-country motorcycle trip
  2. stop in DC to visit the Wall
  3. read 1/2 of Personal MBA
  4. have a business of my own
  5. pay down school debt
  6. become conversationally fluent in a language
  7. hot air balloon ride
  8. see Grand Canyon
  9. become a publicly recognized expert
  10. see moonbow (again)
  11. see Northern Lights
  12. read the Bible
  13. buy an Airstream
  14. take flying lessons – airplane
  15. 30 informational interviews
  16. make 30 things
  17. learn to sail
  18. hang glide
  19. go on 30 dates
  20. learn a skill of some sort – welding?
  21. some sort of fitness goal – to be further defined
  22. learn to program
  23. go on 7 day backpacking trip
  24. circumnavigate Land Between the Lakes
  25. get in touch with old friends on a regular basis
  26. move
  27. buy coffee for 12 strangers
  28. find 576 more geocaches
  29. learn 5 magic tricks
  30. visit the lower 48

Come back Monday to see how I plan on completing all of these.

List Making

A month ago everyone online seemed to be reviewing their lives in 2011 and putting together their action plans for 2012. For some reason that I couldn’t quite explain, however, I just couldn’t bring myself to do the same.

Sure, I sat down and came up with a long list of things to achieve this year, but it felt forced. And since it was forced I knew that, realistically, I wouldn’t be enthusiastic or driven enough to complete them.

Taking a break

Eventually I just decided to sit back and watch everyone else post their reviews and action plans. The stress lifted from my shoulders. I was still making progress, building things, reading and growing. Serendipity would take care of the rest.

The list grows

Apparently I was just starting too soon. Starting a new set of goals on January 1st just didn’t seem important to me, but February 6th seemed just about right. A list of goals seemed to grow of its own accord.

In a few days I will be entering my third decade upon earth. Anticipating this supposed milestone I have been tossing around ideas about how to celebrate it. Something epic, no doubt. The list that formed on its own has grown into the “30 in 30” project.

30 in 30

During my 30th year I have compiled a list of thirty things that I want complete. Some are free while others will cost a decent amount. A few won’t take me long at all though others will take the whole year. A few will involve me spending time alone but most involve others. Easy and challenging. I tried to cover many things.

30 things to complete. Friday I’ll tell you what they are.