A few years ago, I checked off items from my Living To Do list that were only partly done. For example, I knew that “Walk on a cobblestone street” meant somewhere in Europe in my mind, but I checked it off after eating at a restaurant that featured one. (The joke was on me; I won a scholarship to teach in Europe the following year!) I can think of at least a dozen things on my list that I checked off this way, just to feel as if I’d done more than I really had.

But there’s no honesty in that—and your list is really for you, and no one else. So what if you don’t get it done, or if you don’t get to it this year? It’s your dream. Don’t alter it or minimize it just to check it off.

I started doing modified Living To Do lists on my birthday a couple of years ago. Every year, I make a list of 100 things to do in the next year on my birthday. Last year, I only crossed off sixty of them, but I know that I did them with my whole heart, and that none were half-done. I’ve been maintaining the same “rule” for my 101 Things in 1,001 Days list as well.

No, I don’t have as many items completed. No, my lists aren’t covered with lots of neat little checkmarks anymore. But every experience is so much richer. When I glance over it, I can recite how I did the activity with fondness rather than scratch my head and murmur, “Now when did I do that again?” I think it’s really worth it to do what you want to do and not succeed in terms of checking off everything rather than checking off as much as you can and only doing things halfway.

Of course, it is your list, and your life. How you complete it is up to you. I’ve only been 29 for a couple of weeks now, and I’ve already crossed three things off my list (having a real phosphate soda was my favorite so far!). I’ve also scheduled in many other activities in my planner, which makes them more likely to happen—at least, as far as my own track record goes. How you go about your own list is really up to you. What tips or tricks would you share about how you get your list done?