The 100 Day Project Journey- PART 1
Have you heard of the 100 day project? It is exactly what it sounds like. Pick a topic to explore, and do it for a 100 days straight, and see the magic unfold (hopefully?).
Instagram is abuzz with the updates people are posting of their 100 day projects. Be it photography, art making, writing, embroidery, video making, musical…anything goes. The same start date of February 18th of this year means we have a community of makers and experimenters to keep the energy and the momentum of this not-so-easy project to keep on going, especially in the depths of the 100 days- when the shiny new energy has waned after a week or two, and the end is still far far away.
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that I too am participating in this 100 day endeavor with what I am calling my “Colour Play” project- playing with mixing paint colours, learning colour theory, and basically, noticing more colours and their combinations in my environment. 2024 is my declared “Year of the Colour” , so this project seemed like the perfect opportunity to get in a good flow of getting to know colours more intimately.
One-third of the way through towards the 100 days of following this particular project, I wanted to use this blog post to think about and jot down my experience thus far, and strategies that are helping. I must say that all the excitement I had bubbling inside of me to go work on the project for the day is settling down. I am at a stage where I am very happy to do the work, but maybe not excited to do so. This being the usual human transition through the life cycle of any longer-term project, I am taking it into my stride. By writing this blog post I get to remind myself of all the good work I have done so far, and to keep my motivation going even just by the accountability aspect of this writing. I also realize that it is only going to get more challenging to keep going as I have harder tasks that I’ve set myself in the coming days. As well as, doing anything for long enough loses it’s charm. So I am writing for a review and to high-five myself. So here goes my list of how I prepped for this project:
GET SPECIFIC WITH MY GOAL
To know exactly what I am trying to achieve with my time spent for 100 days helps me to narrow down my range of options of things to do to a minuscule amount. This removes the roadblock of trying to figure out exactly what I want to do each day, to spend time picking one option out of many before even getting down to the real business of doing the project activity. That means, I have a very specific goal, and I know what to do, and I go ahead and do it.
My specific goal: Learn colour theory in a practical and not-so-textbookish (=fun) way
SET ASIDE A USUAL TIME FOR IT IN MY DAY
Doing anything takes time out of the 24 hours all of us on this planet have in our days. And doing the same thing for over three months means it needs to have a booked spot in a person’s day. Feeling like time will appear when the mood strikes is fine for a few days here and there, but not if one wants to keep consistent with the 100 Day project. A spot in my daily calendar means I have no other commitments at that time, and people around me know it’s important to me, and so they give me space to get it done on a very regular basis.
My specific time: After lunch. As a warm up activity for my studio time whenever that happens.
SET ASIDE SPACE AND MATERIALS ON HAND
To have to bring out materials everyday from where they live in a “clean” studio would be too much friction for me to deal with to start each session of the 100 day project. For someone knitting for a 100 days, to have all their supplies in a basket close at hand; for writing a poem for 100 days, to have your notebook (or laptop) and pen in easy reaching distance makes it that much easier to grab and go. To shop for supplies that one needs for the first few days of the project beforehand is also something I would do, so starting right off the bat is easy, and, not to add, exciting with the new materials!
My space and materials: I bought the primary paint colours that I am using for this project. I pulled out a barely used sketchbook that I am noting my experiments in. I am using an online course that I bought a while ago but never started. And, I have a space on my work table in the studio with my sketchbook and paints and brushes I am using for this project, so I can just walk up to it and get started.
HAVE A PLAN
Within 10 days of starting the 100 days of Colour play, I ran into the problem of having to think on a day to day basis of what I want to tackle even within my very specific goal. Should I play with reds today, or oranges? Should I make a value scale of a colour? Or do I do a graded scale from yellow to blue via green etc. Again, that meant friction for the first few minutes of deciding what to do. For someone taking a photograph every day or writing a poem, it might mean figuring out the subject. Or for practicing a musical instrument, it may be that picking a piece of music is the first challenge one has to overcome. My way through this friction is to make a plan for a day-by-day activities that I want to do, at least for the next few days. We don’t want to be so rigid in our planning that any new tangent that may present itself as an exciting option from all that we’ve been learning gets ignored. So having the flexibility to change the plan has to be a part of that plan. But on usual days, with no exciting pull in another direction, having a plan means I know exactly what I am going to be doing on that day. And it also helps me frame out how, more or less, my 100 day project will pan out and help me grow and get done in a way that is satisfying and not all over the place.
My Plan: This photo is my written plan for 100 days. But I have changed it a few times as new ideas have occurred to me. Overall, I am happy to have this guide me on a day to day basis, unless I feel the need to change it a bit again.
LOOK CLOSELY AT YOUR CALENDAR
A 100 days straight of doing anything, is very much doable, but most probably it’s not. There may be days when one is away from home or with company. Carrying a piano to practice on a hike with friends is not an option. Or taking collage supplies to a friend’s party may not seem like a great idea. I certainly cannot carry my paints and sketchbook to the weekend away I have planned with my husband. How many such days are going to disrupt your life in the 100 days for certain? You do want to live your life, and not make it miserable by refusing to go camping with your family because you have your music mixing project to do- right? But knowing how many such days are in your calendar, and then planning an activity close to your actual project may help to keep you connected, or do a very short easy version of that activity. Instead of playing the piano for 20 minutes as per the usual plan, you could play your scales for 5 minutes, or do a quick pencil sketch in a travel notebook instead of a charcoal drawing you’ve been doing. Or, maybe, feel ok to miss a day because you chose to live your life? That’s a great option too.
My calendar and options: I have identified 6 days that are going to either be too full to spend time mixing paints, or I will be away. I plan to take photos of interesting colours around me instead, and stick prints of those photos in my project sketchbook on my return to normality. On days I will be around home but with a full day, I will do a 5 minute collage with colored paper bits from my collection.
FIGURE OUT THE PROJECT TIMELINES
Depending on the project, the arc of it may not fit perfectly in 100 days. Working in a sketchbook for a 100 days may take exactly 100 days. But if one’s project is to write a novel, and maybe, it takes a few days more or less than 100 days…well, so be it. I think 100 days is a good round number to ensure we do anything enough times to get good value out of that activity, but we should not be beholden to it. My plan for learning colour theory, as I’ve laid it out based on the course I am following, would take me 106 days. I let this trouble me for a few days, but then I told myself to get a grip and realize what is really important here- to learn and grow, not the number 100. So if the quilt one is making takes 97 days, well, you have a great finished project, and should be proud of it even if you “missed” 3 days- right?
My project timelines: 106 days of colour mixing activities, as per the plan right now.
HAVE AN ARTIFACT TO MARK YOUR EFFORTS
This is my personal favourite part of all the 100 day projects I have done…to have a physical collection, a digital folder, an object to show the efforts and journey of the time spent in this endevour of the 100 day project. A list or binder of sheet music one learnt, or a digital folder of photographs one took, or a notebook of poems one wrote. Or the dress one designed and sewed. Anything that is of that project alone. I would not suggest trying to fill up the unused pages of a 100 day project sketchbook with more sketches just to use up the paper. Let that proverbial sketchbook be your momento from your efforts of that 100 day project that one year. And see it bring you so much pride and joy as you look back at it over time. A shoebox I have filled with a 100 acrylic paintings on 9x9 watercolour paper is something I hold dearly, even though I see myself having grown so much as an artist from that time. But it reminds me of all the effort and creative juice I put into it, and am thankful to that younger me for having done so.
My artifact: My sketchbook with all me colour explorations and thoughts I scribble every time I work in it.
SHARING THE JOY
100 day projects are hard. If we all holed in with our projects and never shared our journeys and learnings, we would not be half as motivated to keep going, and we would not be inspired by others to start or be creative with our project ideas. Sharing is learning. Sharing is inspirational. Sharing is where the true joy lies. So I would encourage everyone to share their commitment. Share the work. And let others inspire you too. Sharing everyday or every week or every month…it doesn’t matter. To keep on going with pride and joy and creativity, sharing matters.
My sharing: An update on Instagram every few days.
With my next blog post on this topic next month, I will be writing about the challenges of my journey, it’s arc so far, and finding the strength (hopefully!) to keep on going. I have never done a 100 day project before that hasn’t changed my life for the better in its own unique way. It’s a powerful device, but it’s not easy. So sharing of the joys and challenges is my way to keep myself motivated, and see the magic unfold.
