40 before 40! The Full List

Well here is a challenge! 

My husband asked me what I'd like to do for my 40th which is coming in 10 months. I said I'm not sure. There's lots of things I'd like to do really. I'd love to travel, eat nice things, see family, be productive at home, be alone, so quite a mixture really.

Then it came to me while watching another YouTuber (Paul Messner) talk about the impact of doing something different. I'd like to do 40 things before I turn 40. These could be small and take a day to do. They could be big and take a week to do. Some things will take time, money and planning. They can be huge and take all 10 months. But all of them should be an experience, achieve a goal and / or improve my life in some way.  Doing the adventure of the UK road trip has really inspired me that things like that are possible. It is possible to do things that are different to the norm. I can live in a better way than before. At the moment I have no job to go to. No restriction in those terms. It also means I don't have an income. So I will have to scale things back (at least until I have one). Hopefully making more content for YouTube will make that worth something for me so I can scale up my ambitions. Perhaps doing something like manifesting it, putting it out there will open me up to be able to make it happen? Who knows?

So that's what I am going to do. 40 before 40 will be a 40 weeks long challenge for me and something I can write about and vlog about as I go along. 

So what sorts of thing do I mean? Here's the first 32 - I'm still working on the rest and I will update this post as I go along. So if you want to track my progress keep checking back. I'm sure I will be inspired to think of more as time goes along. I was to travel more, see more and be more active. Life is too short to be spending all of it doom scrolling and worrying about things. I am fast approaching the same age of a beloved family member who died and I want to live, not just for him but for me. I want to bring him on this crazy journey too. He would have loved it and been so supportive. 

COMPLETE - 1. Visit a theme park. - I went to Paultons Park in April - I had a wondeful time, check out the vlog HERE for the full details

COMPLETE - 2. Go on a plane. - I travelled from Sweden to London then from London to Denver and back during my epic adventure in April and May. Definitely completed this one. 

COMPLETE - 3. Visit another country - France and Belgium visited during my cruise on MSC Virtuosa

4. Declutter the house. Began this process w/c 06.09.24 and decluttered the wardrobe. 13.09.24 Got rid of all of the bits in the kitchen corner.  

5. Lose some weight. - Starting weight on 6th September 2024 was 121KG. Keeping an eye on this weekly. 

COMPLETE - 6. Make a dress. I've done it! I've finally made a dress from material I bought ages ago. It looks a little mumsy, but I don't care. I've actually taken care to make it properly and as per a pattern rather than just tracing around my clothes like I usually do. 

COMPLETE - 7. Build the Lego set you have. - Completed on 4th October 2024 https://youtu.be/izQpL8OtUM4

COMPLETE - 8. Go on a ship. - MSC Virtuosa on 16th October 2024. Take a look at the video series here! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UQNuwbT_jAHADZY0qRec_4f_-d19YOE

COMPLETE - 9. Visit the Top 10 Trip Advisor Locations for my local area and see them with fresh eyes. Here is a link to my YouTube series on cool places in my local area! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UQNuwbT_jARn51LZzSrV2p2XoasVn5F

COMPLETE - 10. Set up Just Pick One on all of the social platforms and make content for it. - I have a website being done now, I have an Instagram account HERE, Linkedin account HERE

COMPLETE - 11. Read a book - a full long one, like, over 300 pages. Bought Susie Dent's debut novel - Guilty by Definition. Completed 13/10/2024

COMPLETE - 12. Speak at a public event - Completed 26.03.2025 - I spoke at a tech event called {dev.talk} in a hotel in Bournemouth. I was nervous but was welcomed with open arms by the community and I think it went well! I'll upload a link to the full video of the event shortly. 

13. Replace furniture you've wanted to for years.

COMPLETE - 14. Go camping alone again.  - Completed on 21st September 2024. Stayed in Ashurst New Forest for 2 nights - See the video HERE

COMPLETE - 15. Eat something new. Try food you've never tried before. In London in November 2024 tried Bao Buns for the first time! https://youtu.be/-o-oNMq7WMM

SORT OF COMPLETE - 16. Get monetized on YouTube. I received some money from a stranger online via my Kofi account. I've written a blog post about it. 

COMPLETE - 17. Visit family who live further away. Visited my sister in London. I've not seen her in the city for a long time, plus I got to see her new house!  

COMPLETE - 18. Go to the theatre. - Completed 10th September 2024 - I went to the Pavilion theatre in Bournemouth to see Ghost the Musical. I had a wonderful time and the singing was incredible. Check out my experience HERE

COMPLETE - 19. Do a livestream on YouTube. - I am doing a live stream with the wonderful MIDA Travel! Mike and Dave are lovely to talk to and put you at ease immediately. Their videos are great and well worth a watch! www.youtube.com/@midatravel  

COMPLETE - 20. Go to a concert. - The Bournemouth and District Band performed a concert at St Peter's Church in Poole, Dorset on 5th April 2025. It was a fantastic event - click HERE for the full video 

Almost Complete - 21. See a tornado in real life. - Travelled to the USA and drove almost 3000 miles to try and see one. Not fully successful. Did see a good storm and some cloud rotation but no fully formed tornado. 

COMPLETE - 22. See a geographical wonder. - I have seen the Devil's Tower in Wyoming. The USAs first ever national monument. Very cool place. 

COMPLETE - 23. Get some work done inside a cafe.  Achieved 11/10/2024 in Costa Coffee in Bournemouth Town Centre https://youtube.com/shorts/mGpOh1lxWv4?feature=share

COMPLETE - 24. Grow something. - Planted strawberries on 14.01.25 so this is a work in progress but the plants are definitely growing well. I hope there will be fruits as well soon. 

COMPLETE - 25. Learn a new skill. Editing. Video editing is a wonderful skill and I have been delighted in learning it. I hope people agree that my videos are good and that I can claim this as done. 

COMPLETE - 26. Do something wild with my hair. Probably a cut and bright unnatural colours. Hair cut, next will be interesting colours. I dyed my hair purple! Box dye so it is more just dark with a hue at the moment but it is definitely getting noticed by people who see me. 

27. Zipline off the end of Bournemouth Pier. 

COMPLETE - 28. Take a friend out for coffee. Took my friend out for a cream tea in the New Forest in May. We had a lovely time at the Old Station in Holmsley. 

COMPLETE -29. Try a new subscription. Surfshark VPN. 

COMPLETE - 30.  Be an extra in a TV show or film. I was an extra for the filming of an advert for a national company. More details to follow when I can. I am also signed up to 2 supporting artist agencies, which I will keep active to hopefully achieve film or tv in the future.  

COMPLETE - 31. Be in the audience of a TV show. - Completed. I was in the live audience at the recording of Michael McIntyre's Big Show! A Saturday Night TV show in the UK. Great experience and even better - it was free to attend! https://youtu.be/-o-oNMq7WMM

COMPLETE - 32. Try skiing. Can be on a fake slope. Completed 2nd March 2025 - I tried skiing at my local ski centre see the video here! I tried skiing

COMPLETE - 33. Go on a sleeper train. - The SJ Sleeper train from Hamburg to Stockholm. Interesting experience. I will go into more details on my YouTube channel in a few weeks time. 

COMPLETE 34. Do an escape room. - Dreadlocks Escape Room Bodmin! Wonderful experience. Finished with 33 seconds left! 

COMPLETE - 35. Hang out with a YouTuber.  Completed. Hung out with Mark of  https://www.youtube.com/@KAPWoodworkandbuilding on the solo MSC Virtuosa cruise. I met him by chance in the buffet and we were talking for over half an hour about cruising, ships, niche hobbies and YouTube.  Such a nice guy, check him out.

COMPLETE - 36. Meet a celebrity. - Bryony Page Olympic Gold Medalist - Met her during a meet and greet event at our local leisure centre. Check it out HERE 

COMPLETE - 37. See world famous works of art. Completed on 10.11.2024 during my London visit I had time to kill and I went to the National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. I had a lovely time inside and saw some very famous pieces - Take a LOOK 

COMPLETE - 38. Go and see a football match. I attended a Cubs 5-a-side football tournament and got to see many matches. I would have liked to have seen something professional but the calendar never aligned. 

39. Turn £1 into a much money as possible. (Aim for £1000) - Bought 5 items from the local charity superstore to sell on Vinted. WTS

COMPLETE - 40. Buy something from a live auction. - Attended a local auction and actually bought 2 items! Bought an old Gopro Hero 5 and a Flymo lawn mower. They both work and I will be using the gopro for future projects I think!

Do you have any suggestions on things I should do? I'd love to see them! Pop them in the comments section below or email me at contact@justpickone.uk and they might just make the list. 

So come along this journey with me as I go around the sun one more time and see what I get up to. 

Until next time xx

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*WTS - Watch this space. More information will be coming soon