Five things I want to do before I’m 35 (revisited)

ByElizabeth Harrin Last updated: Research & Case Studies

Back in 2009 I wrote a post about career and personal goals, and what I wanted to achieve before I was 35. I made a list of 5 things. They were:

  • See polar bears in the natural habitat
  • Knit myself a jumper that I’ll actually wear
  • Read Herodotus’ The Histories (which has sat unopened on the shelf since 1998)
  • Organise my photos
  • Write another book (which may or may not be about project management)

I turned 35 last week, so this is the moment to see whether or not I achieved those goals.

I have written another book, which was project management-related.

I have organised my photos.

I have not even taken Herodotus off the shelf and I certainly haven’t knitted anything. In fact, I have given up knitting and moved to crochet instead. I am a lot better at it now than I was when I made my first ever scarf, but I haven’t committed to a project as big as a jumper.

I’m not sorry that I’m not wearing handmade clothes or lugging around a 700-page doorstop of a book. I am a teeny bit sorry that I haven’t made it to see those polar bears but I have been to some other lovely places.

I haven’t updated my list, even though I have knocked some items off it. At the time I wrote:

It’s not a project plan, it’s not even a project. It’s life, and that’s far more interesting than any fixed list of tasks.

I still believe that is true, and that’s why I don’t feel the need right now to add more items on. I feel that I’m meeting my personal goals, and I’m certainly meeting my professional goals.

There is still more to life than checking off tasks on a list and as I’m now on the journey to 36 and beyond I’ll just see what else comes my way.

Elizabeth Harrin wearing a pink scarf

Project manager, author, mentor

Elizabeth Harrin is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management in the UK. She holds degrees from the University of York and Roehampton University, and several project management certifications including APM PMQ. She first took her PRINCE2 Practitioner exam in 2004 and has worked extensively in project delivery for over 20 years.
Elizabeth is also the founder of the Project Management Rebels community, a mentoring group for professionals. She's written several books for project managers including Managing Multiple Projects.