Complete All X in X

That sounds rather vague, but most people have a very specific interest here. For example, I want to visit all of the states in the U.S., read every work by Neil Gaiman and Shakespeare, complete a full Wiccan Year and a Day (without breaks, no excuses!), read all of the books in several different series (Chronicls of Prydian, Septimus Heap, and others), and see every Goren (Vincent D’onofrio) episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

In short… do all x in x!

What is your x in x list? Do you have one? You probably have a lot of ideas for one whether you know it or not. Maybe you want to read every book by a certain author, or see every film a certain actor has played in. Perhaps you want to try all of the flavors of Baskin Robbins, or every kama sutra position. Whatever you want to do, you can do it with a plan!

To complete your x in x list, you just have to whittle it down to smaller parts and plan when you will accomplish them. For example, I’m reading at least one of the works in my list at least once a week, and I try to visit a new state every year if I can. Break your list down and start planning when you’re going to accomplish what.

Let’s say you want to read every Louis L’Amour book—which is a large list in and of itself! You can start with making a list of all of the author’s books—perhaps even with a  little checkmark box next to each one to easily check them off with—and put it in with your Living To-Do List. (I use a three-ring binder for mine so this can be easily done.)

Then, look up the books and see which ones your library has and go through those first. You may want to reserve a few at a time or simply pick one up every week or two. Depending on how fast you read, you could make a big dent in just a couple of months.

Once you have exhausted the library’s supply, you have a few options. You can ask the library to acquire more copies—whether through purchase or though an interlibrary loan. Then you still won’t have to pay any money. You could also decide to purchase your own at a used bookstore cheaply, or acquire them online.

You can even plan dates to complete x in x—for example, if you want to watch every Kevin Spacey movie, schedule a rental every weekend; or, if you want to taste every drink at your favorite bar, pencil that in every pay period. With just a little planning you can definitely get your x in x list done!