Dailyish Creativity

let's try blogging or creating art every day (or so) next month

I am not doing something creative every single day, because I can’t. I might wish for it, and strive towards it, but I personally can not do it. Therefor I will never recommend you to set that as a goal either. It might be fun to try though, for a month perhaps…

First of all, I do not like rules and the rigidity of daily with anything, except eating, sleeping and brushing my teeth. But also; I can’t. When I’ve tried to push myself, I’ve failed and that’s such an unnecessary disappointment.

Art journal detail of a mixed media page, 2024. Blogged recently here

I am not doing something creative every day because some days are filled with other activities that take over, and when I get back home I fall into bed. Some days you’re sick or too tired or busy or not feeling like doing anything at all. Some days you edit photos until you’re too tired to write about them on your blog. Some days you wake up after having knitted or quilted an entire weekend and feel: never again! Some days you shop for materials for upcoming projects or you (have to) clean your studio space… You get my drift.

But how about dailyish? I think that is the sweet spot for me. That is what I strive towards. Missing a day or two is okay, and normal. It’s not something to hide or that you should feel the need to lie about. If you skip a day or a week, that’s okay. Then what you do is get back to your creativity or the project you were working on before. I think it can be difficult to re-start, but it is doable, and very important. For me, it is the thing I want to keep doing. Trying to re-start might be the real daily struggle. Sometimes you win and get to it, sometimes you don’t and that’s okay too. Try again tomorrow, right?

Don’t put your project in a drawer and forget about it for six months. That is not good for your mental health or your creativity!

Get back to your creativity as soon as possible after a break, that is what “dailyish” means. If you keep that as your habit all of a sudden you will have lived a very, very creative life.

This is what I did with my three completed year-long projects. That’s what I do with my art journaling, with keeping a diary for over 35 years, and so on. I don’t force it but I am actively trying to get back to it when I stop for a while or loose momentum.

One thing that has really helped me is the official accountability of online challenges, of documenting my creativity on my blog and by signing up to complete specific creative projects. It does help me want to keep going even when I am tired, busy or feeling uninspired.

If you have ever signed up for the DIY Postcard Swap that I host, I think you will agree that signing up for the swap helps you to create those ten handmade postcards, right? That’s what I mean by encouraging you to join an official challenge with a deadline or a time limit - it pushes you to sit down and create.

By the way, you can still sign up for the DIY Postcard Swap - don’t miss your chance to infuse a little bit of creativity into your day there. I’d love to see what you make so tag me when you share your postcard or pile.

Coming up is the month of November, and wow, if it isn’t promising to be the most creative month of the year…

Creative Challenges in November

I have done two of these three November challenges that I listed below, so I know what I’m talking about. Today I’m thinking about joining the third one for the first time this year… You could join too, now or next year (if you want more time to plan ahead). Probably there are hundred other challenges out there, but if you pick just one you will probably closing in on the dailyish goal of being creative every day - if that is for you. And I think it might be…

Art Every Day Month

Sweet Leah Piken Kolidas of Art Every Day blog and fame is hosting this challenge again for the 23rd year (!) this time. Impressive right? The Art Every Day Month (AEDM), inspired by National Novel Writing Month, is still going strong and to me it feels like a great challenge for the darkness of November. Get out your art supplies and start creating, I say.

Art Every day for a month - my blog posts, from when I jumped in on AEDM back in 2010

Art Every Day Month - Leah’s rules are “made to be broken” and her definition of “art” is very open:

You could be cooking, taking pictures, dancing, making music, crafting for the holidays, painting, sculpting, writing poetry, jewelry making, sewing, knitting, art journaling, you name it. You could decide to do a small 2"x2" drawing each day, work each day on one big project, or you could do something different every day.

[art every day month 2024 sign up]

A month of daily(ish) writing - NaNoWriMo

To write an entire novel in one month is hard, but it can be done as proven by the thousands of participants in this writing challenge. The National Novel Writing Month, abbreviated NaNoWriMo, is a challenge for serious writers and wannabe writers. You can take a whole month to prepare for it (Also known as Preptober) and then follow up with the edit-month which is attached to the November action. There is a daily word count and a specific goal to “win” but the excitement and energy around it is contagious when you immerse yourself in it. I find it hard to not want to write when I read about this challenge.

You can go all in, but also, use that energy to write a little every day on a bigger project, or even write a poem for yourself every day to get yourself writing. It’s fun!

I wrote more about Writing a Novel in One Month on the blog a couple of years ago when i participated. The official site is at nanowrimo.org with the tagline “Every story matters. Let's start writing yours.”

Another way of telling your story is blogging…

Blogging Every day for NaBloPoMo

The official National Blog Posting Month challenge is also ancient (started back in 2006) and not (officially) ongoing, but the month to do it was always November and you can absolutely do this on your own or with a theme of friends that also blog. In fact, I am thinking of doing it this year! Well, I couldn’t fall asleep last night thinking about it so I think I’m actually doing it. At least I’ll get started and see where it leads me on my long list of topics that I’ve wanted to blog/write about/share for ages!

If you want to join me, or you have the time to leave me a comment during the month, please do! I’ll need your feedback and support to keep going.

I am not sure blogging every day is a good idea, but it sure will stretch me and either deplete me or energize me, we’ll see. LOL.

Do it for a month and then evaluate, right?

What is NaBloPoMo - at the unofficial NaBloPoMo Guide website

NaBloPoMo 2024 - San has an official list of bloggers doing the challenge this year! She also created this graphic for the challenge:

Do what ever you want to do daily or dailyish, I don’t care. Just do it. Or with Oliver Burkman’s words on dailyish as a method of productivity:

Holding yourself to a more flexible standard, such as "dailyish", is more forgiving than the alternative. But it's not solely a matter of being kinder to yourself. Crucially, it's also about getting you – with all your weird hang-ups and neuroses and ulterior agendas and other psychological nonsense – out of accomplishment's way.

Thanks for reading my Newsletter and leaving me a heart below. Will you check out or join any of these challenges? I hope one of them is for you and your creativity.

I’d love to know your thoughts on daily vs. dailyish. I mean, I know lots of people can do something daily, maybe you’re one of them? What is the secret? And what happens when we put a project hidden away in a box and forget about why we wanted to create that thing in the first place? Do you need rules to stay creative or does rules stop you in your tracks?

Happy Halloween, Day of the Dead and All Saints to you all!

xo

/iHanna

PS: If you haven’t signed up for the Postcard Swap there is still time. Last day to join the FALL 2024 round is 10th of November. After that let three days pass and then you will have gotten your address list if you signed up. :-)

Also, I wrote about the blogging NaBloPoMo challenge in 2016 and thought it sounded absolutely bonkers nuts, haha. Is it nuts? What do you think? Can I do it?

If you would like to keep up with my daily blog posts in November (beyond this Newsletter) you can subscribe to blog posts via email as well. Just to be clear: I am not promising daily blog posts, I am aiming towards that. LOL. What is your November aim?