Backstory: We’re almost there! For the past few weeks I’ve been doing exercises to come up with nudges. (Scroll back through those posts if you want to do them too.) I have a long list of challenges that encompasses Passion & Play, Creativity, Spiritual Growth, Work, Self-Care, Home Care, and miscellaneous fun stuff.

Now it’s time to cut it down.

This week I’m going to read through my list and consider if each proposed nudge fits the following criteria:

• Is this something I can do in one week’s time?
• Is it inexpensive?
• Does it make me uncomfortable? (It should.)
• Is it fun? (Most should have some element of fun.)

What Happened: Here it is! The List for 52Nudges 2.0.

• Assemble a gift basket for myself
• Bake cookies
• Book 4 hikes/walks with 4 different friends
• Browse a clothing consignment shop
• Buy a nice new dishtowel
• Buy two bunches of flowers – one for me, one for a friend
• Claim my “Bread”
• Clean out my makeup box
• Compliment a stranger
• Create a chalk message on the front sidewalk
• Curate my own film series
• Do a Fairy Deed
• Do a favor for a friend
• Do something backwards
• Do something crafty
• Do something I hate
• Do something patriotic
• Do something that scares me
• Donate
• Enjoy a fire in the fireplace
• Exhale
• Explore a used bookstore, spend just $10
• Explore/read 3 new-to-me blogs + comment
• Find my new signature scent
• Get to know one great female artist
• Give a book to a Free Library Box
• Give in to an impulse that gives me joy
• Go on a date night at new-to-us bar
• Go through one bookshelf
• Go to a park, do nothing for 30 minutes
• Go to coffee house with an educational book and learn something new
• Go to the beach
• Have lunch outside
• Ignore the laundry
• Immerse myself in one big project
• Investigate free programs and put one on the calendar
• Invite someone “new” to coffee
• Iron. Seriously, iron.
• Jump rope
• Keep a gratitude journal for 7 days x10
• Learn how to sign a fun phrase in American Sign Language
• Learn something about my city’s history
• Learn something from a YouTube video
• Let something go
• Limit my mobile phone time
• Make a list of cities I want to visit; pick one to explore
• Make a pie or tart
• Make a plan to visit Krista
• Make and decorate a cake
• Memorize a poem
• No complaining, no whining x7
• Notice something
• Phone a friend
• Pick something from Big To Do List, break it down
• Plate our dinners
• Play dress-up
• Practice scientific prayer
• Purge the underwear drawer
• Re-memorize the 50 state capitols
• Read through an old journal
• Room by room, tidy the house
• Say “yes” to something new
• Schedule a game night
• Schedule a long phone chat with a friend
• Send a handwritten thank you note to a client, boss, or coworker
• Set a small goal and blow it away
• Sit (and sweat) in a sauna
• Spiff up my nightstand
• Splurge on something for me
• Take 1 photo/day of something that makes me happy
• Take a hard look at my calendar and carve out time for me
• Take a weeklong break from Facebook or online news
• Take journal to coffee house for 1 hour
• Thank a writer, artist, or musician
• Throw a spontaneous party
• Treat my feet
• Try a new cocktail recipe
• Use the good body lotion every night
• Use the good china
• Use the good silver x2
• Wander Joann’s fabric/craft store
• Wear different shoes every day
• Wipe down the kitchen cabinets
• Work 2 hours in a remote space
• Wrap gifts
• Write “thinking of you” postcards to 5 old friends

I printed it out, cut it into strips, scrunched each strip into a little ball, and loaded them into my special bowl. Each Sunday, starting in three days, I’ll pick one nudge and tackle it during the week.

This list is yours to use, too, if you wish. Feel free to print it out and cut it into strips. Or create your own list, or create a mix of mine+yours. (For inspiration, check recent posts for exercises that will help you develop your own nudges.)

The other options are to simply follow along and do Nudges with me, or read along and take in inspiration whenever it hits. It’s never too late to join in and there’s no “right” way to do it.

Ah-Hahs: It was challenging at times to decide what stays and what goes. You’ll notice that there are more than 52 nudges on The List, and that’s intentional. I want to always have options, I want to always feel surprised.

As I went through this last step, my overall feeling was excitement. I’m looking forward to being delighted and challenged by each nudge. I’m ready to do this, and I hope you’ll join me.

52Nudges 2.0 starts Sunday, September 8!

See you back here Sunday morning!

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