365

I’m a procrastinator. and a perfectionist. so nothing seems to get done. at least in my personal life. that stops today.

Starting today, and continuing the next 364 days, I will push myself to complete 3 tasks on a daily basis for 365 days.

• Task 1: photo a day
• Task 2: painting a day
• Task 3: page a day

365 days of creative pursuits. Not just creative pursuits, but the gifts/talents that come naturally to me, and the ones I tend to procrastinate at because I don’t feel I’m good enough – or as good as (fill in blank) – so I don’t do them. Well, practice makes perfect (or so I’ve heard). I don’t need, nor do I want, to be perfect, I just want to enjoy doing what I enjoy doing.

Task 1: Photo a day

Photography is not only a hobby for me, but a passion. I come alive, feel like I’m doing what I’m here to do (if that makes any sense?) But, too often, I find myself busy with other things and a day goes by without my camera in my hand, exploring nature. A day becomes two, then three and, before I know it, a week or more has gone by and I haven’t been out in nature doing what I love doing. More often than not, that week becomes two and then three and…. well, you get the picture. So, this year, I’m committing to taking a photo a day; with my camera, or my iPhone. Each day, I will publish one photo to my Flickr 365 Photos album. That photo will be original, straight from the camera (or phone) to my account. It will not be edited, enhanced or retouched.

Task 2: Painting a day

Painting is another hobby and passion. It’s also something I procrastinate doing. The only time I pick up a brush is when the mood strikes. Which, these days, isn’t often. But when it does, I go into a zone and don’t come out until it’s done – which can be several hours of painting.

My confidence level in my painting ability is low. I know this can change if I practice daily. But instead of practicing a technique or trying to be something I’m not, I’m going to encourage my creative abilities to flourish and be what they are. I’ll do this by pushing myself out of my comfort zone, having no idea what I’m going to paint but to just add paint to a canvas and see what happens. I will post a photo of the daily painting on my Flickr 365 Painting album.

Task 3: Page a day

I like to write. But, for some reason, it’s like a horrible chore waiting for me every day. There’s something about a blank page that can be frightening, sometimes even deafening, a challenge to surmount. Yet, once I find myself in the throes of writing, it comes so naturally and I really do enjoy it.

So, to that end, for 365 days I commit to writing one page a day. That’s it. One page. I can manage one page. And in 364 days, I will have 365 pages.

Just like the photo and painting of the day, I am going into this with no preconceived notions. I will write whatever comes to me at the moment. It could be a blog post, it could be a story, it could be a character description, or it could be a grocery list. I may, or may not, post my page a day. If I do, you can find it on my blog under the 365 category.