THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU'RE ANYTHING AND THREE - QUARTERS
We all love a list. Last new year, Katie Powell cast aside worthy resolutions about being a better or healthier person and instead drew up a could-do list of plans, hopes and dreams she wanted to make happen. It’s been a year to remember
Iturned 40 recently. I wanted to mark this milestone in my life but I wasn’t sure I wanted a big party. I did that for my 30th – a fabulous 1940s affair in a village hall, complete with bunting, big band and my friends and family sporting 1940s attire. So, if not a party, then what was I going to do to celebrate my milestone? “What about doing all sorts of things I’ve always fancied doing instead of one big showstopper?” I thought… and so the idea for a list of ‘40 Things for 40 Years’ was born.
I added things that I’d always wanted to try, but for one reason or another hadn’t found the time for; places I’d love to visit, boundaries I wanted to push and activities that meant we could spend time together as a family.
There were a few rules I set – to ensure my commitment and good choices, once something was written on the list it couldn’t be taken off; to give it a timescale I decided I could start ticking things off my list at the start of the year I was turning 40 but not past the day before I turn 41; there had to be a mix – of things that could be done for free ( but also decadent and occasional expensive treats), things that meant taking time out for myself and as a family and things that I had loved before and wanted an excuse to do again. These were personal goals but
I also wanted to spread the joy.
Since then I’ve taken myself out of my comfort zone, whizzing down a zip wire, met new people and been inspired to try different things. I’ve been brave and taken the plunge – by starting my own business (Tickety-Boo Designs) and indulged in things I’ve wanted to do for years – mudlarking on the Thames foreshore, for example (I even found part of a glazed Tudor plate). I’ve learnt new skills – marmalade making and wooden spoon carving and we’ve discovered new things as a family – fossil hunting, glamping and festival going.
Not everything on my list has gone quite to plan. The cutting garden I planted only delivered a handful of flowers but even then there was an unexpected gift, when the selfseeded sunflowers grew to great heights and provided us with weeks of cheeriness.
My marmalade wasn’t textbook either
( looking back, it probably wasn’t the best idea to make it in the middle of a building project when all I had to boil the pan was a portable electric one-plate hob). But it has helped me to learn to view failures and near misses as learning curves that will help us next time.
One of the real bonuses of my ‘40 Things’ list has been spending more time together as a family and it has enabled me to show my eight year old how to grab opportunities and ideas and make them a reality (My daughter has already written her own list, too).
It’s also given me permission to take stock and slow down. I have come to the conclusion that the list doesn’t even have to be completed within the time limit (if at all). Just having these goals and exciting adventures on the horizon is enough. It’s about things I could do rather than should do. It’s a list of possibilities and not something to add pressure into your life. Making the pledge to yourself to try new things and rediscover old favourites is just as important as actually crossing things off.
Lists like these don’t just have to celebrate milestone birthdays, either. How about starting 2020 by ditching the idea of conventional new year’s resolutions and aiming for adventures, new experiences and granting yourself some
‘me time’ instead? I can recognise a change in my outlook since starting my ‘40 Things’; it’s made me realise that although life can be hectic, it’s important to take time to notice the world around me and ask myself, “what could I do today?”