4 Days until 100 Days!

One thing. Every day. x 100.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Choose one creative thing, repeat it every day for 100 days, and before you know it you’ll have your daily creative habit down. Easy.

If only.

This will be my third year starting The 100 Days Project. I say ‘starting’ because in 2014 when they last ran The 100 Days Project the whole ‘every day-ness’ of the challenge beat me. Pretty early on in the piece actually.

Putting off ’til tomorrow all the things you just can’t be bothered with

The previous year I did really well and managed to complete the whole thing…even if I did have to do a gargantuan gallop at the end to hurl myself across the finish line on time. The subject of my 100 Day Project – Procrastination Avoidance. I know. Witty, eh? My plan to develop my daily creative habit was to draw all those things that I would rather choose to do than sit down in front of that terrifyingly empty sheet of paper and draw. So, I began like this: vacuuming, laundry, dishes, work. Vacuuming rather than sketching? That’s some pretty serious procrastination.

It didn’t take me long to realise that my combination of self-employed-ness (yes, I’m sure its a real word), my partner’s self-employed status and three young children to organise (not forgetting the odd tour of duty on a School Board of Trustees and the local Community Pool Committee) meant that my time was not so much in short supply, it was a scarce resource.

So, pretty soon my ‘one creative thing a day’ evolved into things like these:

Not quite so much finesse maybe, but much quicker to knock off. And I’m totally ok with that, because I got the ‘things’ done. All 100 of them. And actually really enjoyed it.

In retrospect.

The following year wasn’t quite so flash.  I started well, but I didn’t learn the lessons I’d learned the previous year. If you get what I mean. I’d chosen a subject and medium which required time, motivation and commitment to produce 100 things – daily. I started off well. But then the ‘things’ began to overwhelm me. They loomed large on my horizon each morning, nagged over my shoulder as I did my jobs, crowded into the car as I delivered children to after school activities, and pushed their way onto the sofa as I sat down in front of the evening telly with a pile of cheese and biscuits and that one glass of wine too many.

Fairly soon I ran out of time, motivation and commitment. I ground to a halt around day 20.

But I’m totally ok with that, even though I didn’t get the ‘things’ done. Its all about the journey, right?

A new leaf, a new 100 Days

This year I’m trying again. God knows why, I must be bonkers. On 24th August I’ll torment myself all day with the thought of wanting, having, needing to complete my first ‘thing.’ I’ll be thrilled when I do. Elated.

Amazed even.

For a few moments. Until I realise I have to do it all over again the next day.

And the next. x 97.

Join the fun – you too can be a 100 dayer

If you’ve never heard of The 100 Days Project, and you think I’m bonkers, check it out at The 100 Days Project. It is an amazing community of people who commit to doing something creative to enrich their lives a little and maybe . . . just maybe . . . develop the beginnings of a new daily creative habit.

Or possibly they’re just a load of people who are bonkers.