LIFE HACKS: 30X30

Photo from glassofwin.com

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the modern version of the "Bucket List" which takes the original concept and centers it around a particular life milestone. Now, I wish I'd thought of/been motivated to make one of these lists a couple years ago, so that my goals could've been a bit more dramatic (travel, extreme sports, a big move). As it stands, I made my 30x30 list in January of this year, and I turn 30 in September (shhh, don't tell anyone), so I was more limited by what is actually possible for me to accomplish in 12 months. Nevertheless, a few other friends made these lists as well, and it's been fun to share our goals and periodically check in. This first entry I'm doing will be a bit more about the types of goals I chose, and about the ones I completed so far. I'll keep you posted in the future as to whether I'll be making all of my goals a reality. Full disclosure, my plan is to take the entire year (until December 31st) since I didn't start my list until 4 months into my 29th year, and I just think that is more realistic.

I found the most effective way to envision my 30x30 was to use a mind map, the concept of which was first introduced to by my roommate. They allow you to center your largest goal or topic in the middle of the map, and branch out from the center. The best site I found so far is MindMeister which is free to sign up for and has some pretty good features as far as customizing your map. If you're not familiar with a mind map, here's what they look like:

Photo from: examtime.com

Given my situation at the time that I made the list, I also had a lot of attainable but somewhat basic goals: finding a job I enjoy, getting health insurance, moving out on my own. All of these are yet to be achieved, but I'm moving in the right direction. And I feel like this list is a helpful push.

Me with a new job and health insurance

I also added some fun little things that I want to do, which aren't incredibly difficult, but I never make time for: hosting a dinner party, perfecting a fun cocktail, complete a race, and volunteering more often.

I will definitely be making posts regarding the dinner party and cocktail, which I still haven't gotten around to completing, but both will make perfect summer activities.

Photo from FridayCommunityCocktail.com

The last category of goals I would classify as personal improvement goals: dating, making small talk with others (not always my favorite) and finding new friends. When I achieve these goals, if I do it in a new and interesting way, I will definitely blog about it. Although I'd say some of my tips from my job search post were great starting points.

Have you thought about making a list like this? Have you already made one and/or completed it? What did/would you include? Tell us about it!