Following a significant birthday last year I wrote a list of things I set myself to achieve in the coming decade.

  1. Take up Yoga
  2. Publish a novel
  3. Earn more money than I consume
  4. Take up a watersport that requires a wetsuit
  5. Do something at the Edinburgh Festival
  6. Buy a freehold piece of land
  7. Lose two stone
  8. Have an exhibition of my photography
  9. Travel to ten new countries
  10. Undertake public speaking
  11. Write a song for a band
  12. Get a radio show
  13. Gain a regular writing slot in a public publication
  14. Make some new friends
  15. Build a structure: hut, house etc
  16. Learn to fly something
  17. Take a gap year
  18. Learn to play bass guitar
  19. Keep running for the whole decade
  20. Visit every place in my family tree

Some of these are straightforward (he says). Some are long shots. Some are quick wins, some are going to take a few years. But all of them are written in public.