10 Things To DoIn The Next 10 Minutes

(I’m writing something every day for #100days. This is post 52/100.)

1. Start by playing Bon Iver from Jools Holland 5 years ago.

2. Send a note to your Mum. Email is OK. Text is fine. Wherever she reads messages from you. Be specific about why she means so much to you. If, for complicated reasons, you can’t, then pick the next most important maternal influence in your life. Thank them for the energy they’ve given you.

3. Order yourself two Zebra-301s. You won’t regret it.

4. Send a book to the last friend you know who had a baby. Stories with Australian animals in them always work well — Diary of a Wombat, Edward The Emu, Possum Magic — but even better is the children’s book you loved most growing up. Use Amazon to get it straight to them.

5. Go drink a glass of water. There’s almost no way this isn’t a good idea.

6. Think of the teacher who had the most impact on you. Google them. Email your old school. See if they’re still contactable. Write them an email, just a few lines, and let them know the impact they had. Remind them that their efforts still matter, even those in the past.

7. Open ‘Photos’ on your phone or computer and find the last great photo of yourself. Share it to Instagram, or wherever you feel good sharing things, and just post today’s date beside it.

8. Make a donation to the Against Malaria Foundation (AMF). Even a dollar will do. AMF is Givewell’s most highly recommended charitable allocation right now, so you can trust the dollar will be used the right way.

9. Search Facebook for ‘friends who live in <city you live in>’. Scroll down the list to the first person you really like who you haven’t seen in more than a quarter. Arrange coffee or a walk with them.

10. Write down 3–5 your fondest memories from the past 12 months. Do it wherever’s close and easy — on a scrap of paper, in your Notes app, in an email draft — but give yourself some time to record the good in it all.

Bonus: Reward yourself for your good work by watching an old man in a nursing home connect with music from his era.

Time starts… now.