While most people make a bucket list or a list of things to do by the time they are 21, 30, 40 or another more popular age, I decided to create a list of 27 things to do by the time I am 27 (May 2018). I wrote an initial blog post explaining why I chose these as my goals.
I will be writing regular blog posts called Checkpoints to monitor my progress.
✅ 12/27 Completed (last updated 21st May 2018)
- 🍪 Bake marshmallow cookies.
- 📷 Get my feet wet in fashion/cosplay photography and do at least two separate photoshoots.
- 💪 Achieve a physical result of a more visibly toned abdominal area.
- May 2017: Darebee challenge, 5-10 minutes of abs every day
- June 2017: Ending all gym sessions with ab exercises
- July 2017: Now having a dedicated day for abs and cardio!
- August 2017: Trying to exercise my abs after every workout. You indirectly work out your abs while exercising other muscle groups, so they will get roasted if you add exercises to the end of your workout..
- September 2017: Did an abs class and continued working out my abs. Also started doing more HIIT cardio to torch that body fat!
- October 2017: Added more ab exercises that involve weights, and started doing Step Attack classes (which I really enjoy!) as a form of HIIT and to slim down overall.
- November 2017: Started to attempt 3 HIIT workouts a week.
- January 2018: Changed my diet to eat 5 small meals per day and limit my carbohydrate intake.
- ✅ 🍑 Achieve a physical result of more shapely glutes!
- May 2017: Started doing squats for every workout
- June 2017: Started doing deadlifts
- July 2017: Started practicing glute activation and doing more work targeting the glutes (following research!)
- August 2017: Added weighted hip thrusts to my workouts
- September 2017: Worked out legs at least twice a week and made use of the abductor machine.
- October 2017: Started doing Body Pump™ classes
- November 2017: Started doing more dropsets
- December 2017: Added in more Romanian deadlifts
- January 2018: Started doing more intense work on the abductor machine, experimenting with being raised off the seat
- February 2018: Started working out glutes and hamstrings 2-3 times a week. Added in good morning squats to target the hamstrings
- May 2018: I can confirm that in the past year my glutus have grown by about 3 centimetres, and my glutes are definitely contributing to my body looking more like an hourglass shape.
- 🍎 Lower my cholesterol to be at a level of 5.0 or less.
- May 2017: 5.9 – medication dosage increased 😞
- May 2018: 6.2 – it was at this point that I realised that making a goal where my own genetics plays a part is honestly quite folly. I don’t think I will make a goal like this again where the end result is almost uncontrollable.
- 🎤 Do a presentation on something JavaScript related at any meetup.
- August 2017: I have committed to doing a presentation at SydJS(J) in October about my JavaScript journey.
- October 2017: The meetup was unfortunately postponed to a later date.
- January 2018: The meetup ceased to exist.
- 👩🏻💻 Comfortably learn enough JavaScript to be able to stop considering myself just a beginner.
- May 2017: Started learning React with the help of Chris.
- June 2017: Completed a work task in JavaScript without asking anyone for help on how to solve the problem (well, except Stack Overflow for reference).
- July 2017: Did the same as above, for a separate task.
- August 2017: Began diving more into React at work. The progress has been pretty good.
- October 2017: Started Modern React with Redux course on Udemy.
- March 2018: Had more exposure to using JavaScript and React at work. Started a side project using React.
- 👩🏻💻 Participate in a non-company hackathon.
- ✅ ☕️ Get to know at least five people in a one-on-one over coffee/tea.
(6/5)
- April 2017: Leanne, escape room owner/designer (first met at Girl Geek Sydney)
- May 2017: Christle, General Assembly graduate (met at SydJS(J) & via Girl Geek Sydney)
- May 2017: Gwen, university friend & concert photography buddy
- December 2017: Phill, online Twitter friend
- January 2018: Pauline, met in the Girl Geek Sydney group
- January 2018: Phoebe, met in the Girl Geek Sydney group
- ✅ ✨ Reunite with at least one person whom I have not seen in person for at least a year.
- August 2017: My friend Ryan moved to Canberra in 2012 or so… I visited him back in 2014 and hadn’t seen him since!
- February 2018: My old coworker Pranav was back in town and we caught up for coffee. Hadn’t seen him since 2015. 🤙
- ✅ ⚡️ Meet at least one online friend whom I have not met before.
- 📚 Read at least five fiction books.
(1/5)
- March 2018: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- ✅ 📚 Read at least five non-fiction books. (5/5)
- September 2017: Unf*ck Your Habitat by Rachel Hoffman
- January 2018: The Wife Drought by Annabel Crabb
- January 2018: The Joy of Less by Francine Jay
- February 2018: The Confidence Code by Katty Kay & Claire Shipman
- February 2018: In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
- ✅ 💭 Try my hand at meditation.
- May 2017: Started using Calm.
- June 2017: Currently on a 24-day streak.
- July 2017: Currently on a 43-day streak.
- August 2017: I lost my streak due to some stresses, but have been engaging in yoga practice once a week, extending my meditation sessions, and using free time to allow myself to disconnect.
- March 2018: I have definitely fallen out of this habit. However, I have attempted to have mindful minutes prior to going to bed, refrain from using technology on my commute, and practiced some mindful eating. A prior habit of mine was using my computer while eating, or eating at my desk – a practice I am trying to avoid by sitting down comfortably at a table, or elsewhere, and “being with my food”. I believe the intention with this goal was to disconnect more and be more mindful through all activities, taking in the moment.
- 🌙 Formulate a night routine.
- March 2018 update: In 2017 I had begun to meditate regularly at night, but this slipped. In early 2018, I began to read a chapter of a book before bed, but this didn’t happen every night. At present I am finding that doing light chores like folding laundry and ironing have been good to wind down, but I still don’t have a routine down yet.
- 👗 Do a mix-and-match Fashion Friday post on my blog that shows different outfits/looks with similar items of clothing.
- 💵 Voluntarily contribute at least $1200 towards my superannuation. (0/1200)
- 💰 Save at least $500 a month.
(7/14)
- April 2017: $2400
- May 2017: $1700
- June 2017: $700
- July 2017: $1900
- August 2017: $2400
- September 2017: $1900
- October 2017: $0
- November 2017: $0
- December 2017: $400
- January 2018: $400
- February 2018: $2100
- March 2018: $0
- April 2018: $400
- May 2018: $400 (so far)
- ✅ 👗 Pare my wardrobe down to 90 items (excludes shoes, accessories, underwear, or clothes worn only at home/gym). (Currently: 83; Completed: 17th April 2018)
- April 2017: 132
- May 2017: 121
- June 2017: 121
- August 2017: 123 😱
- September 2017: 115
- December 2017: 106. At this point I’ve been thinking about not counting certain dresses in my wardrobe that I only wear for special occasions, as these don’t get worn on a regular basis. I might follow up on this later.
- March 2018: 96
- April 2018: 83. Inventory count needs to be updated a bit more, but it’s definitely under 90!
- ✅ 👟 Go for one month without wearing high heels.
- From the 22nd October (the day after my wedding), I wore sneakers, flat boots or sandals for a month: one week back at work, while were on honeymoon, and for the following week back at work.
- I continued to wear flat sandals for the majority of December, due to finally owning a pair of sandals, and just the comfort of wearing them. There were a couple of occasions I chose to wear a new pair of nude heels, and I wore high heels at my work Christmas party.
- ✅ 🍵 Visit at least 20 cafes in Sydney that I have not been to before. (21/20) (Completed: 8th April 2018)
- June 2017: The Grounds of the City
- July 2017: Badmanner Thymes
- July 2017: The Social Hideout
- July 2017: Circa
- August 2017: Bread and Circus
- September 2017: Barista and Cook
- September 2017: Olive and Bean Cafe
- September 2017: Moss Bros Dessert and Brunch Cafe
- October 2017: Reuben Hills
- October 2017: Cafe Portman
- November 2017: Degani
- December 2017: Hale & Hearty
- January 2018: Mentmore & Morley
- January 2018: John Smith Cafe
- January 2018: South End Cafe
- February 2018: Three Williams
- February 2018: 169 Cafe
- February 2018: 29 Copper
- March 2018: Brewtown Newtown
- April 2018: Banquerie
- April 2018: 5th Earl of Rosebery
- 👩🏻🍳 Learn how to cook a nice stir-fry of noodles/rice with healthy vegetables.
- ✅ 💇🏻 Have a haircut to a length shorter than shoulder length.
- October 2017: Does this count – my hair just over shoulder length and hits my shoulders when waved or curled… 🤷🏻♀️ A huge change for me regardless!
- December 2017: I got my hair cut into a short bob! Eeeep!
- 🎨 Redesign my blog. (in progress)
- December 2017: Commissioned a friend of mine to create a new logo for my blog
- January 2018: Sketched up a design and started playing with CSS Grid to create something different
- ✅ 🔗 Clean out broken links and images on my blog. (Completed: 18th February 2018)
- May 2017: 397 broken links/images
- June 2017: 391 broken links/images
- December 2017: 268 broken links/images
- January 2018: 80 broken links/images
- February 2018: 4 broken links/images
- ✅ 🎸 Go to a concert for a band I have never/rarely listened to.
- 22 February 2018: Saw the band Cloud Nothings, from Ohio, at Oxford Art Factory. I remember seeing them once before, supporting another band, but I actually can’t remmwber who. 😆 For this show I was actually photographing for Casual Band Blogger for the first time in two years. I had requested to photograph them since I knew I had heard of them before and remmwber them being good. I ended up staying for the whole show. 🤘
- 💝 Reward myself with an experience on my 27th birthday – a non-physical, non-material present to myself.