I’m A Joiner. Finisher, Not So Much.
I love joining things. Specifically, I like joining deadline centered on-line challenges. Sometimes I complete them, sometimes I don’t but I’ve have had and am continuing to have a great time messing around with these funky goals I set for myself.
It all started a couple of years ago when I did the NANWRIMO challenge. You write a novel in 30 days. It was intense, but I did it. Chalk that one up to success! I sign up for the NANWRIMO every year, but since that first year I haven’t finished it again.
Next I signed up for the sister to NANWRIMO: Script Frenzy! Script Frenzy is really hard, mostly because I have no clue how to write a script. I even bought a bunch of books on Script Writing, but then promptly ditched the whole idea. Yes, I also sign up for this every year.
Then I signed up for the Yarn Smack Down on Ravelry. Ravelry is basically Facebook for Knitters and Crocheters. I’m a knitter. Yarn Smack Down works like this: You sign up, and are paired with your competitor. Everyone gets the same knitting pattern emailed to them at the same time. You knit like hell, and send your FO (Finished Object, in this case a Hat) to your competitor. Whoever receives their competitors hat in the mail FIRST is out, and their opponent makes it to the next round. I actually did pretty well at this, and made it to round three.
After that, I signed up for the Ravelylmpics also on Ravlery, but sort of based on the Knit Olympics founded during the Winter Olympics a few years ago by the amazing Yarn Harlot. Idea is this: chose a project that is challenging for you, but not undoable and attempt to finish it during the Olympics. I’ve signed up for this twice and not finished either time. I think that if I had a TV with which to watch the Olympics, it might be a bit more fun for me. I’ll definitely sign up again.
Oh, don’t forget about the Fly Lady 30 Days Babysteps. This one teaches you how to do small things every day that add up and assist you in organizing your time so that you end up having a super clean, organized house. Sounds good, right? Signed up for that too. I didn’t finish it,but I do still use a lot of the tools I learned from her site. And yes, my sink is shiny. Usually.
Currently I am working on a blogging project 31 Days to a Better Blog Bootcamp – it is what it sounds like. I’m on Day 8. I think it’s going pretty well, especially since a lot of the stuff so far is stuff I already knew about and was implementing.
Then, I read a blog post by one of the participants, which was actually the guest blog of another participant – does that make sense? (The author of Daily Window, wrote a post over on Skinned Knees) Anyway, I was totally inspired to join up with the 365 project. 365 day project – you take a picture every day and post it. You can post it to the 365 Flickr Group, but I’m going to post it here. That one I’m starting today. Get ready for some shitty photos!
Also in my new blogging readings I came across Mama’s Losin’ It. Another super funny mom blogger. She has a weekly writing challenge where she posts a few prompts, you pick one, post it on your blog, and link it up to her. Guess who signed up? Yup. Meeee!
Oh, and for my grand finale, I just reactivated my class at the Institute for Children’s Literature which I enrolled in a few years ago, but then ditched. This time, I’m finishing it damnit.
That’s my other problem, I join a lot of shit but don’t necessarily finish it. The thing is though, every time I start and either finish or fail with one of these projects, I always learn a ton of stuff that inevitably makes it into my daily routine/work habits. I figure that if I keep it up, by the time I’m 50, I’ll have my shit together.
So awesome! I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that I inspired you to start this! Like I said, I failed twice before I could make it work – and even then I ditched it for 2 months. Taking photos becomes a habit rather quickly, especially when you're getting feedback about your work.
Subbing to your blog – can't wait to see your photography!