If you’re a creative on the internet, you may have heard of the 100-day project. You may be wondering - what is it? how do I get involved? how do I make something for 100 days?!

Well, today I will give you some tips to get you started on your journey with the 100-day project!

100 Tips for #The100DayProject Video

Don't feel like reading the article? Then watch the video 11 Tips for #The100DayProject on Craftic's Youtube channel!

Step 0: What is the 100-Day Project?

Let’s start at the beginning. The basic premise of the 100-day project is to create something for 100 days.

What can you make? Anything. You can draw, you can paint, you can illustrate, you can write a poem, you can just write a sentence, you can sing, you can play an instrument. You can create whatever you’d like for 100 days. That’s it!

The main idea is to do something creative every day for 100 days. You can make 100 finished objects or you can work on one larger project made up of 100 smaller pieces. Or you can make 10 things that take 10 days each to complete. Remember, it’s your project so it’s completely up to you how you want to structure it!

This project typically runs once a year in the Spring. Make sure to check the official 100-day website for start and end date details.

Now that we’ve covered logistics, how do you get started on your project?

Tip 1: Pick One Thing

You can pick one medium to work with or one topic to focus on.

For example, you can do 100 days of drawing apples and use different materials to draw your apple.

Or you can choose to do 100 days of watercolors and paint fruits, quotes, people, etc using watercolor paints.

Creating constraints within your project by choosing 1 topic or medium will help you with decision paralysis and focus when it comes to your daily practice.

Okay, now you have your main project idea so let's move onto the next step!

Tip 2: Write a List of 100 Ideas

In order to help you prepare for the first few days of your project, write a list of 10 to 20 prompts or ideas of what you’d like to make each day.

This ideas list will come in handy when you’re too tired to think of something and you may start feeling your motivation dwindle. Open your notebook, look at your ideas list, and pick something! Keep adding to your ideas list so you don’t run out of inspiration.

Tip 3: Put It in Your Planner

Now that you’ve planned out your ideas list, let’s plan ahead and set aside some time for your project.

Writing down your prompts in your planner will help keep your project front and center. Don’t have a planner? Add your prompts to your Google calendar or use a 100-day tracker and keep it somewhere visible like on your wall.

Try to mark each day and don’t break the chain!

If you’d like to use this 100-day tracker, make sure to check out the Craftic freebies page. The freebies library has a lot of fun freebies for you!

Tip 4: Set a Daily Time Limit

We can be very ambitious at the beginning of projects and try to set aside 1-2 hours every day for our new creative pursuit. You may be able to pull it off for the first few days and then realize you can’t keep up with the pace.

This is a marathon, not a sprint. Small and consistent progress is far better than large commitments and burning out early.

You need to be very realistic with your time. What can you make in 15 minutes each day? Make that your baseline and if you have more time on any given day, then have fun and make it more complex!

Tip 5: Prep Your Work Area

In addition to planning your time, plan your workspace! Set aside an area where you can work each day. It doesn't have to be a large work area either. A small corner of a table or couch will do. Prepare your space by setting it up with your tools and whatever materials you need to make your project every day.

If you have your space ready every day, you can start working right away. The last thing you want to do after a long day where you're tired is to wonder “I have to clean my desk. Where are the scissors? Where is that marker?”. Just make sure you have everything available so when you come back to your project, you can sit down and get started right away.

Tip 6: Be Patient with Yourself

This is the hardest part. This is a process for everyone to be creative and to learn. You will most likely have bad days. You may have a day when the project doesn’t go the way you thought it would and it looked better in your head than it does on paper. There will be those days and it’s important to remember to be patient with yourself.

It’s easier said than done but you need to remember that you will also have some really good days!

Every item you make doesn’t have to be perfect. 100 days is a long time! You can’t be perfect for 100 days - let's be real. Give yourself some grace to mentally prepare yourself for the good and the bad days.

Tip 7: Personal vs. Project Social Media

Should you start a separate Instagram account for this project? Maybe.

Are you okay with posting for 100 days on your personal account and sharing your project with your friends and family? If that’s okay with you, then go ahead and use your personal account.

You may prefer using a separate account for your creative projects so you can build up a portfolio and network with other artists. This is a personal preference so it’s really up to you!

Tip 8: Post Your Best Work

There is beauty in sharing our imperfect processes. By seeing others' mistakes and imperfections, we can learn from one another to become better creatives.

But if posting a so-so project that day is stressing you out, then don’t. You can post your best work if that’s what you’d like.

If you'd like to keep sharing daily updates without highlighting your least favorite projects, there's a way around that too! Try using the Slideshow post format on Instagram and post weekly roundups with your favorite project of the week as the first photo. The rest of the slides will be the other 6 days worth of work that may not be your favorites. By using the slideshow feature, you can also free up your main feed from being taken over by your 100-day project.

Tip 9: Create a Unique Project Hashtag

You will want to use #the100dayproject hashtag in your posts but you should also create a unique hashtag for your specific project.

The #the100dayproject tag is great so that anyone who is also doing the 100-day project can find you and your project on social media.

You will also want a specific hashtag for your project. Make sure to search your hashtag before choosing it. A more general tag like #100daysofwatercolor will most likely be taken. If you don’t mind sharing a tag with others, then feel free to use it. As usual, this is up to you and your personal preference.

Why would you want a unique hashtag? If you want to link to your specific project, the unique tag makes it very easy. You can see your specific tag by using the url https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/_youruniquetag_ and only your project posts will show up! It makes it easy to share in a blog post or with a friend and let them know what you’ve been up to.

Tip 10: Take Time Off and Be okay with it

Inevitably, you will have days when you’ll be tired or you just won’t have the time. Maybe you’re on vacation and can’t bring your project with you or you had a bad cold for a week. That’s okay!

Take some time off, catch up when you get back, or just start where you left off and keep going.

Not everyone goes at the same pace. This is very common! You will notice that many participants will post about their 100-day project a month or three after the official project has ended. Life happens so take the time you need!

Tip 11: Enjoy the Process

That’s all you can do! Just have fun with it. If you don’t get to 100 days, that’s okay.

Even if you made 50 things, that’s a whole lot more than zero! How often do you get to make something for 50 days? Make all the cool things you want. Make those ideas happen!

Are you participating in the 100-day project? Get the free 100-day tracker and tag @crafticland on social to show how you're using your tracker!