I’m trying to be a more prolific crafter without adding any stress to my day. Being stressed just makes me procrastinate.
A couple of years ago as part of New Year’s resolution, my husband (who is already much more prolific than I) decided to try to change his habits by adopting a “make-a-thing-a-day” routine for just 30 days. If it wasn’t too difficult, he would extend the project to three months, and so on. More than two years later he’s still doing it, which means that since he made that resolution he has made no few than 800 pieces of artwork. Today one of them got chosen for an art show in Prague!
The task has always seemed daunting to me. I’m afraid I will fail, even within the 30-day trial. But this is the time of year when I make my annual resolutions, so I’ve been trying to figure out ways to make a-thing-a-day easier to accomplish. Here are some rules I’ve come up with for myself:
- I can make anything. It doesn’t have to be “crafted.” I can make a ten-second drawing or write a two-line poem.
- I can copy someone else’s work. I’ll still get technique practice and new ideas from doing this, and as long as I’m not selling what I make or adding it to my public portfolio, I figure there’s no harm done.
- I can make a project from someone else’s instructions or from a book.
- I can substitute half an hour’s work on an existing project, like the sweater I’m knitting or the cross-stitch I’m trying to finish.
- Craft/design work for clients counts.
- I can make something I’ve already made before.
- I cannot make two things one day in order to skip the next day.
- I do not have to post the results of any day’s work if I don’t like it.
- A project is finished when I am done working on it. It doesn’t have to be complete.
These may seem like total wuss rules, but I think I’m more like to continue making something every day if I feel excited and confident. I can always ramp up the challenge later. Whether this works despite my wussifying remains to be seen. I’ll let you know next month.
Have any of you ever set creativity goals that you’ve successfully accomplished? Please share in the comments!
Biz Miss 
no, i haven’t successfully tried to set a goal as ambitious as this. but i think i might try…now. also, sometimes you make FANTASTIC dinner for your friends, and that should be considered an accomplishment. you can do it.
i think this is awesome, and totally inspiring. sadly, i usually fall into the category of the deadline crafter, procrastinating even things i like to do until the last minute.
and i like that half an hour on an existing project counts. i often don’t start the big projects i want to try just because i’m intimidated by the scope of the project. but 30 minutes a day is totally doable and adds up quickly.
i may have to copy you.
By all means, copy away! I didn’t make it up, after all. Oh, and A informed me I misspelled wuss (I knew “woos” didn’t look right-rhymes with “puss”), so I’ve fixed all instances, I think.
i thought you had made up a new term, WOOS. i demand that you adopt it. it’s like ‘wooooze’ ….maybe it’s because you make people woozy with your talent.
[…] catching up on Design*Sponge this week, I came across a link to Biz Miss’ blog and her Thing A Day Commitment. Essentially, she set out to tackle one creative project each day for 30 days. What a great […]