90 Days of Better Challenges
& Life Bucket List
"New goals don't deliver new results. New lifestyles do.
And a lifestyle is not an outcome, it is a process. For this reason, all your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results." - James Clear, author of Atomic Habits
90 Days of Better Mini Challenges: January '20 - March '20
1. Focus on dairy-free eating by cooking our way through The Kind Diet and Frugal Vegan cookbooks
2. Build up a consistent writing habit by writing in my Tiny Steps blog every week day morning between 6am-8am
3. Improve my Spanish with at least 30 minutes of Coffee Break Spanish lessons and by attending a Spanish conversation group at least once/month
4. Commit to cross training by taking yoga, indoor cycling, and strength group classes at work at least 2-3 times/week.
5. Connect with at least two people every month for a catch-up friend date
21 before 2021 list
1. Run the 14 mile loop of Lake Monona on January 25 ✔️
2. Go to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the marathon in Atlanta in February (and hike on the Appalachian Trail! ✔️
3. Run the Milwaukee Marathon on April 11 (cancelled - ran 18 miles instead)
4. Build up a fully funded emergency fund ($1,700 x 6 months = $10,000) by April ✔️
5. Visit friends in Colorado for wedding, check out Western Slope area, and see a show at Red Rocks in August
6. Cash flow a trip to France with Nick ($1,800) (September 7 - September 15)
7. Pay off my vehicle (trade in Kia Sportage and pay cash for used car) by October
8. Visit Boise, ID, San Diego, CA, Greenville, SC, and Flagstaff, AZ to see if they might be potential future home spots for us by October
9. Ongoing: Get more involved with the Madison Trail Runners/Madison Run Club/Oiselle groups
10. Ongoing: Get heavily involved with my new BibRave Pro running/writing community and race two BRP-specific events, ideally in two new states/cities
11. Ongoing: Increase blog readership and website traffic every single month with goal to have newly professionally designed site by 2021
12. Ongoing: Read 1-2 books every week (52 books/year):
1. Marathon Woman
2. A Gentleman in Moscow
3. High Achiever: The Incredible True Story of One Addict's Double Life
4. The Silent Patient
5. Everything is Figureoutable
6. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
7. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
8. Everyday Millionaires
9. Retire Inspired
10. Body of Truth: Change Your Life by Changing the Way You Think about Weight and Health
11. The Tattooist of Auschwitz
12. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
13. Little Fires Everywhere
14. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
15. The Woman in the Window
16. My Salinger Year
17. Funny, You Don't Look Autistic
18. Before We Were Yours
19. Untamed
20. Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance
13. Ongoing: Learn how to play a new song on the keyboard or ukulele every month
14. Become certified to teach indoor cycling or aqua aerobics
15. Enroll in a real estate program at Madison College and pass state certs
16. Buy a kayak or SUP and spend the majority of the summer out on the water
17. Ongoing: Join MAUI (Madison Area Ukulele Initiative) for monthly programs
18. Spend a weekend exploring Spring Green and Mt. Horeb
19. Save up $20k down payment for future house
20. Spend an outdoorsy weekend in Door County
21. Daily Duolingo French streak
Lifelong Bucket List:
1. Live abroad for a year ✔️
- Takahagi, Japan - JET Program (Aug 2014-Aug 2015)
2. Run a half marathon ✔️
- Door County Half Marathon (2017)
- 3M Half Marathon (2018)
- Dances with Dirt Trail Half Marathon (2019)
3. Run a full marathon
- Milwaukee Marathon (April 2020) - CANCELLED - Ran 18 miles instead
4. Complete a sprint triathlon
5. Get a book published
6. Go bungee jumping ✔️
- New Zealand (2005)
- Japan (2015)
7. Go sky diving ✔️
- New Zealand (2005)
8. Graduate from college ✔️
- Univ. of WI-Milwaukee (2008)
9. Graduate from graduate school with a 4.00 ✔️
- Oregon State University (2012)
- Univ. of WI-Milwaukee (2016)
10. Study abroad for a semester ✔️
- Sevilla, Spain (2005)
11. Work abroad for a summer ✔️
- Dover, England (2006)
12. Volunteer abroad for a summer ✔️
- New Zealand (2005)
- Guatemala (2007)
13. Volunteer at an animal sanctuary ✔️
- Heartland Humane Society (2010-2012)
- Heartland Farm Sanctuary (2019)
14. Bike across Wisconsin ✔️
- SAGBRAW (2013)
15. Complete a century ride - 100 miles in one day ✔️
- SAGBRAW (2013)
16. Visit the Taj Mahal ✔️
- Agra, India (2015)
17. Live in a different state ✔️
- Wisconsin (1985-2003)
- Minnesota (2003-2006)
- Oregon (2010-2012)
- Texas (2016-2018)
18. Learn how to drive a stick shift car
19. Become fluent in Spanish
20. Become proficient in German
21. Become proficient in French
22. Finish an ultra marathon
- Goal: 1st 50k in 2020/2021
23. Hike up Mt. Fuji during a sunrise ✔️
- Japan (2015)
24. Visit an elephant sanctuary ✔️
- Elephant Nature Park, Chiang Mai, Thailand (2015)
25. Complete a 70.3 triathlon
26. Get WI state real estate license ✔️
27. Learn how to play guitar and ukulele
28. Learn how to play piano ✔️
29. Participate in a Ragnar Trail event ✔️
- Zion National Park, UT (2018)
- Snowmass, CO (2019)
- Appalachia, WV (2020) - CANCELLED
30. Get a tattoo ✔️
- Minneapolis, MN (2003)
- New Zealand (2005)
31. Earn over $150k in one year
32. Read 52 books in one year ✔️
- 52/52 (2019)
33. Become an indoor cycling instructor
34. Race the Fat Bike Birkie in Cable, WI
35. Attend the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France
36. Participate in the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) in July
37. Participate in Riverwest 24 in Milwaukee, WI
38. Visit all Eight Wonders of the World
39. Take a month-long traveling vacation throughout Eastern Europe
40. Make a profit on a side business/passion project
41. Teach a course at Madison College or through City Parks Dept.
42. Retire before age 66 with 2 million in investments
43. Pay off home mortgage in 15 years
44. Become an everyday millionaire
45. Learn how to knit or crochet
46. Learn how to design websites
47. Travel to new countries on my own ✔️
- New Zealand (2005)
- Spain (2005)
- Portugal (2005)
- Ireland (2005)
- Germany (2005)
- France (2005 and 2006)
- England (2005 and 2006)
- Guatemala (2007)
- Mexico (2009)
- Costa Rica (2010)
- Japan (2014-2015)
- China (2014 and 2015)
- Thailand (2015)
- India (2015)
- Belize (2018)
- Belgium/Netherlands/Switzerland (2020)
48. Become a proficient chess player
49. Live in a cabin in the woods
50. Volunteer with the roller derby ✔️
- Brewcity Bruisers NSO (2014)
51. Go zip lining ✔️
- Costa Rica (2010)
- Thailand (2015)
52. Learn how to surf
53. Learn how to scuba dive in the ocean ✔️
- Big Blue Diving, Koh Tao, Thailand (2015)
54. Learn how to snorkel in the ocean and swim with sting rays/sharks✔️
- Caye Caulker, Belize (2018)
55. Go whitewater rafting ✔️
- New Zealand (2005)
- Japan (2015)
56. Through-hike all/part of the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail ✔️
- AT (March 2020)
57. Sail to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ✔️
- New York City (2019)
58. Go zorbing down a hill ✔️
- New Zealand (2005)
59. Sleep in a yurt in the winter ✔️
- Cable, WI (2019)
60. Act in a play ✔️
- Adventures of Lewis and Clark School Musical (1994)
61. Take a semester-long pottery class
62. Attend a major music festival ✔️
- Saquatch! Music Festival, George WA (2012)
- Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI (all of the years)
63. Be an extra in a tv show and movie ✔️
- Restaurant Impossible (2011)
- Hot tub extra for local movie (2013)
64. Go to a show on Broadway in NYC ✔️
- To Kill A Mockingbird (2019)
65. Watch the Tour de France in person
66. Take an improv class
67. Join a local Toasmasters group ✔️
- Praire Swale (2019)
68. Hike around a glacier ✔️
- Franz Josef Glacier, NZ (2005)
69. Grab a cup of Cafe du Monde coffee and listen to Jazz in the French Quarter ✔️
- New Orleans, LA (2018)
70. Get a traditional Thai massage in Thailand ✔️ (2015)
71. Get my horoscope and and palm read
72. Flip a house
73. Get paid to travel
74. Attend a traditional tea tasting ✔️
- Mito, Japan (2015)
75. Learn how to make a cappuccino and a latte from scratch ✔️
- Colectivo (2019)
76. Go to the Minnesota State Fair ✔️
- St. Paul, MN (2019)
77. Canoe down the Boundary Waters in Minnesota
78. Give a TED Talk
79. Learn the alphabet in sign language
80. Read majority of books on the banned book list
81. Spend a week at a silent retreat
82. Go on an international yoga retreat
83. Be a passenger in a race car going over 100 mph ✔️
- Austin, TX (2017)
84. Ride a camel ✔️
- Middle-of-nowhere, India (2015)
85. Sleep in a capsule hotel for my 30th birthday ✔️
- Tokyo, Japan (2015)
86. Visit all of the free Smithsonian Institutions ✔️
- Washington, DC (2019)
87. Visit all 50 states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona (x)
- Arkansas (x)
- California (x)
- Colorado (x)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida (x)
- Georgia (x)
- Hawaii
- Idaho (x)
- Illinois (x)
- Indiana (x)
- Iowa (x)
- Kansas
- Kentucky (x)
- Louisiana (x)
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (x)
- Michigan (x)
- Minnesota (x)
- Mississippi (x)
- Missouri (x)
- Montana (x)
- Nebraska (x)
- Nevada (x)
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (x)
- North Carolina (x)
- North Dakota (x)
- Ohio (x)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (x)
- Pennsylvania (x)
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota (x)
- Tennessee (x)
- Texas (x)
- Utah (x)
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington (x)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (x)
- Wyoming (x)
87. Get paid to regularly write online content or for local newspaper
88. Volunteer or intern at a local media company (TV, newspaper)
89. Tell a story on stage at a Madison Moth event
90. Take ice skating lessons
91. Be a featured guest on a podcast ✔️
- The K-Salk and Fons Fitcast (2017)
- The True North Collective (2019)
92. Pay off all student loans before 2020 ✔️
- December 6, 2019
93. Be a non-profit board member
94. Ride around in a tuk-tuk ✔️
- Bangkok, Thailand (2014)
95. Tour around South Africa
