What creative season are you in now?
Play, Practice, Produce
Hello, friends!
One of the simplest ways to choose the right 100-day project is to understand the creative season you’re in. Some seasons are for exploring something new, others for going deeper where you already are. Most people fall into one (or more) of these three during The 100 Day Project:
PLAY
You want to explore, dabble, experiment, and follow your curiosity. Your project might change shape as you go. You’re here to discover what lights you up.
Examples of PLAY projects: color studies, tiny sketches or collage, daily snaps from your phone, mark-making.
PRACTICE
You want to build a skill or strengthen a muscle. Learn something (like a new tool, medium, or subject), improve, get better.
Examples of PRACTICE projects: lettering, photography, haiku or short-form writing, daily patterns, observational drawing.
PRODUCE
You want to make a cohesive body of work—something that accumulates day by day. You’re ready for focus and consistency.
Examples of PRODUCE projects: zines, illustrated stories, larger paintings or a series of paintings, pages/chapters for your writing project, working towards showing your work (a portfolio, an art show, a book).
Gut check: which season do you feel like you’re in right now?
A couple of weeks ago, we started jotting down our project ideas. Try mapping each of them onto Play, Practice, or Produce. Do any of them appear in more than one season? Some ideas are great ideas, they’re just not the right-for-right-now idea.
If you’re still unsure—or juggling too many good ideas—that’s exactly what the upcoming workshop is for. We’ll sort through your ideas and design a project that feels aligned with where you are, doable, and worth committing to. It’s not about choosing the best idea—it’s about choosing the one you want to show up for.
XO,
Lindsay
ICYMI
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Substack Live interview with Emily McDowell
What is The 100 Day Project + other frequently asked questions
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Thank you for this explanation of seasons a person can be in, but in particular this, "It’s not about choosing the best idea—it’s about choosing the one you want to show up for."
This is perfect and exactly what I needed to hear. I am sitting with the question, what do I want to show up for. Thank you so much.
I think I’m going to practice the viola every day (& record when possible).
I haven’t picked it up in 25 years and just bought new strings!