100 Days Challenge 2013

I grabbed Gina's graphic for this challenge so you would know to go to raksgina.com and get in on it!

Today marks the start of the last 100 days of 2013. Wow! How is the year already almost over? It's flown by. Anyway, for the second year in a row, Gina is hosting a 100 Day Challenge to end the year on a powerful note, and I'm once again participating.

In case you didn't go read Gina's post, I'll do a quick summation: The 100 day challenge is where you set a certain number of goals (Gina recommends 10) that you want to hit by the end of the year. It could be developing a new habit, breaking a bad habit, or getting certain tasks done. It's kind of like New Years Resolutions, but with a time limit. It can be a little difficult, of course, because Halloween, Thanksgiving and WinterHolidayOfYourChoice all fall within that 100 days, which can throw off your mojo on whatever you're trying to do, but over all I found it pretty helpful last year.

My 10 goals for the last 100 days of 2013:

1. Write in my dance journal every day, even on days that I don't dance.

2. Build up to practicing 2 hours per day 4 days a week at a minimum, plus classes.

3. Make the sparkly bra and belt set for my next troupe costume.

4. Create and post a video tutorial for wood elf makeup.

5. Build a database for tracking my bead collection.

6. Make at least one fabulous beaded holiday gift for somebody (I know what I want to make and for who, but I can't say in case they read this post!).

7. Make plans to host/organize at least one small dance event here in Tucson (I've started getting event ideas, and I've been encouraged to make them happen).

8. Get braces on my face. It's gonna happen.

9. Stretch every day, even days that I don't dance.

10. Reorganize the costume closet. *gulp* I might not survive that last one!

The 100th Day

Remember when I decided to take Gina's 100 days challenge? I set some goals of things to do in the last 100 days of the year, and here we are on the 100th day. Now comes the painful moment of truth when I have to look at my goals and see how I did with them:

1. Practice dance for 1 hour every weekday, ideally from 3-4pm.

I started out so well with this one, but in October I got assailed by some serious gloom and never fully recovered. However, I did learn that I CAN practice for an hour a day, so I need to work this back into my life in the New Year, while also being honest with myself about when I need to take time off.

2. Do one thing every day to improve the state of my home.

Another one that started strong and ended weak. If there is one thing I have learned during this challenge, it's that I'm really bad at doing anything on a daily basis. But I did manage to get rid of a lot of clutter, including a bunch of things that had been in boxes in the coat closet since we moved.

3. Get some advice and set some goals for taking my dance career to the next level.

Ok, I actually succeeded quite a bit on this one! I started out with a great meeting with Jolie where she gave me some advice and had me make a 3-year business plan like a real professional adult person. Then we had another meeting where she looked over my plan and helped me fine-tune it a bit. I am on track with my 1-6 month goals so far.

4. Get a quote on how much my orthodontic work will cost and develop a plan to pay for it.

 

Another success! I saw an orthodontist, got a quote, started the dental work that needs to get done first, and we just switched to a dental insurance carrier that will actually pay for some of my orthodontics. I should be getting braces early in 2013, with scary jaw surgery sometime further down the road (eep!).

5. Maintain at least 100 active listings in my Etsy shop.

 

It's the last day of the year and I have exactly 100 items in my shop! I did get to over 100 a couple of times, but holiday sales were pretty good this year so I had to work hard to keep myself out of the 90s. I hope to maintain a minimum of 100 from now on.

6. Finish at least one currently unfinished beadweaving/bead embroidery project.

 

At the end of October I finished Sunny Seattle Summer, a beadwoven bracelet that I started in August.

7. Make at least one project from one of the numerous beading books on my shelves.

 

At the end of November I made this bracelet. I'm also currently making some beaded leaves from a book which will be made into a necklace of my own designing at some point.

8. Actually photograph and attempt to sell the costume pieces that I've already decided I need to get rid of.

 

I photographed some, but not all, and a couple of pieces sold.

9. Do one nice thing for just myself every week.

 

I lost track of whether I managed to do this every week, but I have been pretty good about giving myself little treats that are not related to dance. For a while there, all I was buying for myself was new costuming and stage makeup. But I bought myself some ridiculous boots, and some makeup to wear day-to-day, and took time to go out and do fun things by myself.

10. Take some yoga classes.

 

Argh! I totally forgot this was on my list, I thought it was just in my three-year-plan. I did intend to do yoga at some point in these past few months, but things just kept being too busy.

11. Finish reading Universe in a Nutshell.

 

I never even tried. It may be time to admit that I will just never understand physics.

12. Develop at least one solo that involves a prop.

 

Another success! I now have a very nice veil solo to "Crooked Muse" by Beats Antique, which I performed at the first new Open Stage at Sky Bar.

So all in all, it's not too bad. I only have two total failures, a couple of strong starts with weak finishes, and a bunch of things that I did, sometimes even going beyond my initial goal. What this shows me is that I do much better with finite goals (make a thing) than with open ended (do this every day). It also confirms my belief that I work best with a deadline. I had wanted to start beading things from books for a while, for instance, but once I knew I had to have something done by the end of the year, it encouraged me to go through my books and find a project that I had all the beads for.

 

Tune in tomorrow when it will finally be 2013 and I can start talking about goals for the New Year!

The Last 100 Days

Did you know that today marks the start of the last 100 days of 2012? Hard to believe the year is so close to over! Anyway, Gina Gonzalez suggested taking up a challenge to set 12 goals to achieve by the end of the year, like New Years Resolutions but not. Since I was already looking at a few things I wanted to change in my life, I decided to use this chance to get a little support and a little accountability. I posted my goals on Gina's page and I'm also posting here! Please feel free to ask me how I am doing on them, at any time.

1. Practice dance for 1 hour every weekday, ideally from 3-4pm.
2. Do one thing every day to improve the state of my home.
3. Get some advice and set some goals for taking my dance career to the next level.

4. Get a quote on how much my orthodontic work will cost and develop a plan to pay for it.
5. Maintain at least 100 active listings in my Etsy shop.
6. Finish at least one currently unfinished beadweaving/bead embroidery project.
7. Make at least one project from one of the numerous beading books on my shelves.
8. Actually photograph and attempt to sell the costume pieces that I've already decided I need to get rid of.
9. Do one nice thing for just myself every week.
10. Take some yoga classes.
11. Finish reading Universe in a Nutshell.
12. Develop at least one solo that involves a prop.

 

Of course a lot of my goals are dance-specific or dance-related, but there's a few jewelry ones and a few general life ones. Let's see how I do!