New Thing Every Day Journal: Getting Ready

Well, I have decided that next year I will do one new thing every day – something I have never done before. I have taken several hours over the last few weeks to create a preliminary list, to make sure I use my time wisely and do not inadvertently miss a day, and I am ready for the year to start.

The list was created with the help of Google and Facebook (as I sought and received many, many suggestions from friends all over the country, from pretty much every stage of my life). Creating a list of 365 new things to do turns out to be pretty hard, but I am excited about it, and appreciative for all those who helped me in its creation.  

The list is filled with pretty much every kind of activity one might imagine, except for those that do not make sense for me, physically. There are many list items that take me out of my comfort zone, that teach me things, that are fun, that are scary, that take me places, and that make the world a better place. My hope is that completing the list will make me a better person and prepare me for the next chapter of my life.

Most days over the next year, I will keep a journal about the activity, what I learned about myself, and what I thought about the experience. Now that I think about it, I am going to give my activity journal some structure, so I collect the information I may need later, if I want to do something with the information. At some point, probably in 2018, I hope to write a book about the entire experience.

Here is a preliminary list of what I will include in each journal entry.

•       Details of the activity (who, what, when, where, why, and how)

•       Thoughts and lessons about the activity

•       Thoughts and lessons about myself, having done the activity

•       Anything that surprised me

•       Advice for others who do it in the future

This morning, I spent just a little time revisiting my list and setting dates for some of the activities. The first few weeks of the year are scheduled and I have added the dates for several that are date-specific (such as Celebrating My 9th Wedding Anniversary). I am looking forward to getting started!