The 100 Day Project: Wrapping Up Year two + 5 Tips to Stay Creative Every Day
"Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it, you can never get it back." - Harvey Mackay
Time is such a crazy concept, don’t you think? At the beginning of 100 days, it feels like such a long time. Yet, each day passes by so quickly that at the end we wonder where the time went. When we are in the thick of it - time feels like it rushes out the window.
It’s up to us to make time for what is important. Otherwise, it’s easy for 100 days to pass, and we realize we haven’t made any progress toward what is important. Is something really important to us if we don’t dedicate any time or energy to it?
keep scrolling for a video of all 100 clusters!
That all sounds well and good and dare I say a bit idealistic and overly simplified. The reality is that life gets in the way and we have responsibilities we have to take care of. We would be living in a fantasy world if all we had to do all day every day is play.
How do we implement play into our daily routine, and how do we make time for creativity?
Make the decision that creativity is important to you
Allotted times of play and art making don’t just fall in our lap.
Even though we strive to have the spirit of childlike play in our creative sessions we need to go about it in an adult-like manner.
Set aside times in your schedule that are slated for creative time. And make yourself actually stick to it!
We make time for the things that are truly important to us.
If you find yourself constantly finding reasons why you can’t create… reset your priorities and recommit to times of artistry.
2. Think small
Creativity can show up in many different forms. Not everything has to be large-scale and something momentous.
Ideas for thinking small: index card art, hand stitching, mark making
3. Keep supplies close at hand
Keep a little basket that contains creative items close by for when you have unexpected downtimes during the day. Such as: being on hold on the phone, waiting for dinner to cook, waiting for the repairman to finish up.
If we have our supplies nearby, we are more likely to spend that time creating rather than on our phones scrolling through social media.
Basket ideas:
Slow stitching (small fabric pieces and threads)
Simple mark making (papers and writing supplies)
Collage (small paper scraps and a glue stick)
Clusters(scraps of papers and fabrics, plus add some hand stitching)
4. Take your art on the go
Take one of your baskets with you, or better yet, convert it to a zipper pouch so you can throw it in your bag!
Dedicate a journal to simple mark making - waiting for your kids in the pickup line will pass by lickity split. Later you can add collage and other mixed media techniques and you already have the perfect backgrounds!
Hand stitching is the perfect road trip activity!
5. Get inspired
Although we want the majority of our creative time to be spent creating, why not try reframing your mind around what it means to be creative? Sometimes this means surrounding ourselves with inspiration and taking on the attitude of a student who loves learning.
Read a book about art.
Watch an online art class.
Explore free resources like YouTube and watch tutorials.
Listen to an art podcast.
It’s all about how we are choosing to spend our time. Make the choice to cut out the things that are no longer serving us, and make small perspective shifts toward getting creative.
