Four Month Challenge Update

Previously on 40 by Forty...

Four months ago (give or take), I started forty challenges that I'm trying to complete before I turn forty. As it's been a third of a year - and because I've not completed a challenge for this week due to children with chicken pox and my going to the States for work on Saturday - I thought a quick recap on progress was in order.

Long-term challenges

These are ongoing tasks that I expect to take (or be doing) for the whole year. With a couple of exceptions, they're not really things that I'll "complete" as such. Each one is linked to its respective blog entry.
  1. Learn French (me) - Going ok I suppose. I'm keeping up with doing it most days, but it's slow going. I am reminded why I disliked learning French at school.
  2. Learn to draw (me) - More fun than French! But also, oddly, harder to keep up. I've fallen out of the habit of doing twenty minutes a day and now tend towards one big drawing a week, which isn't really improving my skills.
  3. Finish a writing project (me) - Going strong!
  4. Design a board game for grown ups (me - has to get to playable prototype by 31 March 2019) - I've not really made much progress on this beyond my original thinking detailed in the post. However, I'm about to spend 11 hours travelling for work, so I've got high hopes for some very early prototyping.
  5. Learn swordfighting (Andy Leask) - Wait, I haven't done a post for this one yet? How has that happened?! It's lots of fun and ever-so-slightly-dangerous. Why the hell haven't I written about this yet?
  6. Do 10 pull ups (Andy Law - yes, this is a long-term goal for me!) - I've managed four in a row so far. This is not aided by having hurt my elbow in April and it still not being better.
  7. Eat healthily and take 30+ minutes exercise a day (many people in concert) - So, the eating healthily is going well - I've lost 10kg - but the exercise isn't. I've been better this week and I probably do more than I did, but I'm nowhere near 30 minutes a day.
  8. Write a thank you letter (emails and phone calls do not count) for every gift received over the year (Tatty) - Letters written for presents received thus far.
  9. Take and share a photo a day each day for a year (Laura) - Going well. I've forgotten to share my photo on the day on a couple of days, but not forgotten to take one yet.
  10. Read only women authors for the year (Juliet) - Well, I've read only female authors (excluding instructional texts), but I've not really branched out of my usual reading patterns much so far. Just got lots of books from Lindsay Law, though, which will see to that!

One-off challenges

One-off challenges are either done or they're not. Challenges with a link have been completed and written up, those without, haven't. Simples.
  1. Kayak to somewhere I've never been (Magnus)
  2. Learn a song on the guitar (Andy Leask)
  3. Learn to pick a lock (me)
  4. Learn to tango (Lindsay)
  5. Perform poetry, written by me, in public (Magnus)
  6. Milk a thing (Magnus)
  7. Paddle out to neck deep in freezing water and stay there for 40 seconds (Andy Law)
  8. Dye my hair a bright colour (Andy Law)
  9. Hold a creepy-crawly type beastie (Andy Law)
  10. Volunteer for a local charity event (Andy Law)
  11. Buy 40 scratch cards (Andy Law)
  12. Invest £40 and try and make a profit (Andy Law)
  13. Climb a munroe, with the entire family, with me being the only one allowed to carry the children.  Take a photo at the top.  (Christine.)
  14. Go axe throwing (Magnus/me)
  15. Try fire spinning (Jackie)
  16. Run a mile (Shra and Neil)
  17. Learn to bake bread (Emmy)
  18. Attend one or more preview nights at the Lyceum (Juliet)
  19. March in Pride (Juliet)
  20. Waxing - crack and sack (Mike)
  21. Learn the bongos (Ben)
  22. Skinny dip (Matt)
  23. Hold a karaoke night at an actual karaoke venue (Lindsay)
  24. Whittle a thing (Jen)
  25. Drive something I've never driven before (Dougie)
  26. Make a banner for Processions (Lindsay)
  27. Moon the neighbours (*redacted!*)
  28. Brew beer (Logan)
  29. Ask a stranger what their passion is (Stephanie)
  30. Go to three local tourist attractions I've never been to (Graham)

Backup challenges 

These are one-off challenges that I can do if the opportunity arises. Any completed count towards the forty. So far, I've done one.
  1. Get a family photo taken (Andy Law)
  2. Do a turn as a Boylesque (Lindsay)
  3. House sit (Gregor)
  4. Acro (Danielle)
  5. Spend a night in one of Renae's dresses in public (Donna)
  6. Travel 100m by pogo stick (Graham)
  7. Play a game of touch rugby (Neil)
  8. Cycle to work for a week (Andy Law)

 So, how am I doing?

Well, it depends on how you count the long-term challenges. For the sake of easy "am I on target for completing forty challenges by the end of the year" calculations, let's assume they'll be done by the end. How am I doing on the 30 one-off challenges? I'm about one-third of the way through the year, so I should have about ten one-off challenges ticked off by now. And I have done...

11!

Woo-hoo!

Unfortunately, a fair few of the remaining challenges require rather more organisation and planning than the ones I've completed thus far. So, if you suggested a challenge, be prepared for me to come begging for help or moral support soon!

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