The 43 Things Oops

Last month I decided to tackle my list of 43 Things, to be completed by July. This month, I’ve realised what an incredibly un-minimalist task that was! Multi-tasking to the Extreme. And I detest multi-tasking! [*closes down other tabs on browser.* That’s better.]

Xandra Burns, Guilty Minimalist.

Welcome to my new series, in which I confess the ways in which I, a self-proclaimed minimalist, am actually not living a perfectly minimal mindful life. Indulge in my weaknesses!

The Stuff that’s Gone Well:

So the good thing about making that life list more urgent is that it turned dreams into reality. It’s nice to have a list of things you’d like to do ‘one day’ but even better to question what you actually want, and how you can get those things. I’m a big fan of deadlines, and with July in mind, I did make some progress:

• I attended the Mean Girls Quote-along at the Prince Charles Cinema. [Even though I had to go by myself. And had to ask girls dressed as Regina George if I Could Sit With Them. It was an immersive experience.].
• I have nearly memorized the words to “We Didn’t Start the Fire”, and have learned some things about history along the way.
• I asked for a New England Aquarium penguin experience for Christmas so I can [hopefully] play with a penguin.
• I went to The Astrology Shop in London and bought a beginner’s guide so I can learn astrology.
• I wrote an outline for my book on minimalism. !
• I have an idea for a piece of artwork I deem worthy of framing.
• I have become addicted to the French vocab app MindSnacks in the early stages of becoming fluent in French.
• I bought an optical drive for my MacBook Air so I can play Zoombinis and learn Korean on Rosetta Stone.
• I have an idea for a book club.

The Stuff That’s Not Gone So Well:

• The pressure.
• The rushing around.

The Change of Plan:

I’ve abandoned the July deadline, freeing up time for spontaneous adventures. In the meantime, I’m focusing on one thing at a time. The point of this challenge was to turn my dreams into reality. I’m still doing that, while keeping them as dreamy and unstressful as possible.