What’s On The List, Anyhow?

If you’ve read any of my other posts about my solo book My List, My Rules: The Year a Checklist Changed My Life, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of lists—and getting them done. If you haven’t, and didn’t know that about me, well… now you do.

As a list maker and a writer of stories about lists, I thought it might be fun to share what was actually on the list from My List, My Rules: The Year a Checklist Changed My Life.

Although I made the list pretty randomly—letting ideas flow, gathering suggestions from friends and family—it could be categorized in all sorts of ways: have-to-do-it, get-over-the-fear, find-the-beauty, Canada Post, helping, activities for my soul, and being creative. It could also be sorted month by month.

I’ve decided to share the list with you, so you can see what I accomplished in a year. Maybe it will prompt you to make your own list. Maybe it will prompt you to read the book. Maybe you’ll look at it and think, hey, I’ve already done more than Angie has. Who knows how it will land.

Maybe you’ll say, That’s a thing every three days—no thanks.
Or maybe you’ll let out a quiet wow.

In any case, here it is.

The List:

Go to the symphony ~ Make a donation to a friend’s favourite charity ~ Photograph the poppies in Greece in the springtime ~ Learn to make tiramisu ~ Draw a picture blindfolded ~ Finish my Christmas shopping by November 30th, wrapped and ready ~ Write letters and put them in the mail, like the old days ~ Make a no-strings-attached donation (no tax receipt) ~ Make “The List.” ~ Learn the alphabet backwards ~ Start a blog ~ Go to a WHL hockey game (The Pats) ~ Spend a night eating pizza and playing Call of Duty ~ Send a postcard from Saskatchewan to somewhere exotic ~ Bottle my own wine ~ Meet a feminist ~ Swim in a rooftop pool ~ Get the divorce done with ~ Finally get my eyes checked ~ Leave a gift for my neighbour ~ Learn to meditate ~ Read The Little Prince

Ask a famous person something ~ Go to a movie I know nothing about ~ Read a book in Greek ~ Hold a tarantula ~ Sew something ~ Crochet a scarf ~ Write on a public bucket list ~ Sent Valentine’s cards to friends–it’s not just for lovers ~ Get an autograph from someone famous; 32. Finish a 100-page sketchbook in 10 days ~ Wear a sari with grace ~ Write with a Mont Blanc pen ~ Read The New Yorker cover to cover ~ Go to a thrift store and make sweet things ~ Take a stained-glass class ~ Improve my yoga practice ~ Go to Crooked Bush, Saskatchewan ~ Learn a new board game ~ Volunteer at Santas Anonymous ~ Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity ~ Fix my shower ~ Do my taxes early ~ Learn a backyard game ~ Use a chainsaw ~ Ride a quad ~ Walk on a suspension bridge ~ Get in a car and just go, without a destination ~ Explore my own backyard

Camp alone ~ Go to the Moose Jaw Tunnels ~ Pay it forward ~ Have an artist from another art form use me for inspiration ~ Go to a WWE wrestling event ~ Keep a family tradition ~ Participate in a peaceful demonstration ~ Photograph the fireworks ~ Get a Brazilian ~ Get speakers ~ Get a reflexology and Reiki treatment ~ Pray daily ~ Make a pound cake that weighs a pound ~ Jump on a trampoline ~ ride in a convertible with the top down ~ Learn to mat my drawings and ~ Mat ten of my drawings ~ Spend a day saying YES to everything ~ Spend a day saying NO to everything ~ Spend a day in silence ~ [Censored] ~ Renovate my home ~ Curate an art show ~ Send someone a card just to make them happy ~ Make a donation to the Humane Society

Get a book signed by an author ~ Attend a beer tasting ~ See someone I directed, direct ~ Eat an egg fresh out of the chicken ~ Paint a masterpiece on a unique surface ~ Eat ice cream for every meal on my birthday ~ See a live performance of a musician who is on my iPod ~ Purchase something cashmere ~ Zipline ~ Fly first class ~ Scan all the art in my journals ~ Make a gingerbread house (that looks like my house) ~ Reach my goal weight ~ Experience a lazer treatment ~ Photograph the sunset between Italy and Greece ~ Do walla for a feature film ~ Write a page a day, every day for a year ~ Finish a painting for a friend ~ Get back up to running ten kilometres ~ Become a godmother–again ~ Learn to love myself ~ Origami something ~ Get brave and see the dentist ~ Take a photo a day for 365 days ~ Do 25 man pushups ~ Write an artist statement for someone else.

Wrapping up

Are you laughing? Are you in shock? Are you thinking that you’ve done most of these things? I’m so pleased with any reaction. I recently received a message on Instagram from a stranger who told me they found my book in McNally Robinson in Saskatoon and then added that they, too, were going on a tour of the Moose Jaw Tunnels. It was sweet to hear they found this book and are embarking on a journey of exploration.

I think I’m here for that — to be a guide without being a guide.

As always, thank you for reading, Lovelies