Did you start a creative challenge this year?

Last month I talked about different creative challenges and why it’s good to take on a challenge. I also told you about my sketchy success rate. Well, it’s happened again.

This year I decided to do the 100 day project again since it was such a success for me last year. I decided to do 100 days of color palettes, using lots of colors I don’t normally use. My logical brain said this was a great exercise to help me expand my palette. Unfortunately, my creative brain did not agree.

I started out great. I selected a main color for each week of the challenge. I cut out 100 small cards to hold my palettes. I even finished the first week and then….. my creative brain took over. I wasn’t excited about my palettes, so I always found other things to do. I tried a few days to catch-up, but about day 30 I just gave up.

After feeling bad for a few days, I thought about why it had been unsuccessful. I realized that I had picked a project I “thought” I should do. My logical brain thought this was just what I needed, but it forgot to consult the rest of my brain. One of the reasons I was not excited about my project was that I had not planned what the palettes would look like. After a few days I realized I would like them more if I had made them like swatch cards, but I had already started another way. (Don’t ask me why I couldn’t just change in the middle of the project.) I also realize that I would probably enjoy it more creating larger palettes once a week, instead of daily. By the time I get all of my supplies out, it seems a waste to just create one little palette card.

Although I didn’t finish 100 days (heck, I didn’t finish 10 days), I learned a few things. Number one….make sure the logical brain holds a meeting before making any decisions. Number two…I enjoy making palettes, so I’ll dedicate more time to it once a week. Number three…if I choose to do the 100 day project again, think about what I would want to do every day. Keep it simple.