The 100 Day Project Journey- PART 2

The Messy Middle

A month ago I published a blog about starting the journey of my 100 Day project for 2024- Learning and experimenting with Colour Mixing for 100 days. 

The excitement seems to have died down on Instagram with people posting about their adventures with their chosen projects less and less. Which means it’s time to dig deep into understanding what this project is really about, and how to continue the motivation to keep going.

More than 50 days through, I can clearly see that I am in the messy middle of this project’s journey. And it’s definitely not easy:

The initial excitement of the newness has worn off.

The exercises that I’ve set myself are more complex and take longer.

I feel I have enough on my plate without having to mix paints every single day.

Do I really want to continue, is a question I ask myself every single day.

Everyday as I flip through my sketchbook to see my progress, I feel proud. More now, because I know it’s been hard. But then, I also think, “isn’t it enough already?” No one is keeping an eye on me as I’m chugging, stumbling, floundering along. It would be so easy to just stop and never mention it on social media again. Right? 

And then I argue back with myself…”I know you will be more proud of my work and learning if I do finish. The joy and confidence I had in myself after making 100 acrylic paintings in 2020 sustained me for days- I want that feeling again. And above all, I want to learn about colours and have a library of colour swatches- the ultimate reason I am doing this project- so time to keep going!”

I am happy it’s the motivating side of me that has won out so far. Showing up in my studio everyday- especially on weekends- has been hard. But I am so very thankful for the work I put into starting the 100 day project, that is helping me along. See the part 1 of this blog series to see how I prepared for the project. 

1. The plan I set for myself means I do not have to figure out afresh everyday what to do. I am pretty sure I would be much more tempted to give up if planning each day’s exercise was also a part of my daily 100 day project.

2. Having enough supplies bought in advance- paint, paper to make colour swatches with and my sketchbook- means I do not get to make excuses on that front!

3. Having an area set out on my work table means I can get to work right away- no friction in terms of having to clear out space everyday helps immensely.

4. Flipping though my collection of swatches and my sketchbook with work already done show me how far I have come. So stopping now would be silly, really. Having these artifacts of my time with this project motivate me further.

5. Having off days from mixing paint on super busy days is something I look forward to without the guilt.

6. Posting on social media once a week about my project keeps me accountable.

7. I have found ways to get into the zone once I arrive in the studio- wearing my apron, looking at my plan to see what I need to do, and putting on a podcast- and squeezing out the paint...

8. After a couple of days of having the above-mentioned argument with myself regarding the point of the project, I have decided that the discussion is over. I will just go ahead with doing the project without entertaining any more points against it.

9.  Re-brewing excitement within myself by keeping my eyes open for the magic of mixing colours that is always unfolding in front of me, and telling my family about it keeps things interesting for me.

10. Finally, not something I am doing, but it still helps me going- when I meet people in real life who follow me on social media and they mention my project- how it’s inspiring to them, or them asking me how it’s going- well, that tells me that people are watching. And then I have no desire to give up :-)

I never expected this 100 day project thing to be easy. But the excitement of starting and new discoveries make it easy to commit. And with time and continued commitment come the hardships, but also the rewards. If I keep reminding myself of the daily rewards of this project of learning and growing, and find ways of motivating myself- well, I may just make it to the finish line. 

To hear all about that- read part 3 of this blog series coming soon :-)