WHY. Why are daily challenges so hard for me? Do you feel that way too?
They’re called challenges for a reason, yet I always go into them feeling like I got this. I mean, how hard can it be?
Fast forward ten days and you’ll find me hiding somewhere trying not to think about that thing I should be doing and probably/maybe/maybe-not plan to do. Fast forward ten more days and I’ll be in complete denial about the existence of said challenge and kindly ask you to leave if you keep bugging me about it.
I realized with this latest attempt at a daily challenge that there are two big reasons why (time and time again) I fail at doing things on the daily:
- I don’t prioritize them.
- I set myself up to fail by making the challenge as boring as humanly possible.
These two reasons.
They will mess your daily challenge attempt right up (unless you have incredible self discipline and just do it anyway – in which case I would like to meet you in person and have some of that rub off on me, please and thank you).
That last one – making it boring – was my downfall during the Messy Lists project (which by the way was a kick-ass cool project in the Get Messy Art Journal community).
I made it boring. I pre-made my entire album – did all the artsy stuff in advance – and while that was nice and pretty it left very little creative expressional freedom for the rest of the project’s duration. All I had to do each day was write my lists. I love a good list, but it’s not enough of a draw to keep me coming back every day.
In short, I should not have given myself a strict template for this project. In an attempt to avoid overwhelm I instead created underwhelm. I stripped it of fun.
I know I’m making this sound way worse than it is. It’s not life and death, not even a little bit. But it’s a lesson learned and one worth sharing.
Next time I will not be putting my project in a pretty but tiny box leaving no room for fun.
When I grow up
- I want to be happy.
Call me
- Nina
- Knasen (my dad used to call me that as a baby)
- mom
- paper nerd
Things that are magic
- kids/people
- making
- summer
- paint
- music
I am proud of
- my little loves
- my beautiful gentleman
- my sublime babes (that’s you.)
Why I love being an artist
- I can make anything I want
I am made up of
- stories
- colors
- salt
- paper
- speckles
Currently watching
- Girls
- RuPaul’s Drag Race
- Gam of Thrones
–
One last thing. We’re in between Get Messy seasons so right now is the PERFECT time to join in. That way you can start the next season alongside an army of artsy babes.
Have a beautiful day!
xo Nina
Products Mentioned & Used
- Canson Montval watercolor paper
- Mitsubishi Uni-Ball Eye in Micro Black (love this pen so much for fast, non-skipping writing!)
- Pilot Plumix fountain pen with black ink cartridge
- Staedtler Triplus Fineliners pens in Dark Mauve, Magenta and French Green.
- Alphabet stencil (similar to mine)
- Pink and silver binding Rings
- Paint brush
- Winsor & Newton watercolor half pans in Sap Green, Rose Madder Hue, Hooker’s Green Light, Permanent Rose, Light Turquoise and Dioxazine Violet
Ha! Daily challenges can become a chore if you are not careful (sometimes even if you are careful!). I gave up on the photo a day thing because I was just snapping away at nonsense to get the darn photo. I am currently doing the 100 day project and I have managed 31 days so far, just need to keep on going.
I love your background art, the colours are lovely. Lists are always fun to look back on.
Hi Clare. Wow, 31 days, I’m super impressed! :D Go you! I can’t do a photo a day. Well, I could but I won’t. I think the key is to only take on the daily challenges you really wanna do deep down. The ones you actually benefit from on some level. :)
Good luck with your 100 day project. What’s it about? I wanna do 100 day project at some point but I need a good thing to do for those 100 days. xo Nina