FOR 100 DAYS I WILL...

We’re stuck inside with nowhere else to go & be but home. Welcome to QUARANTINE. It’s scary and confusing, but I plan to USE IT. Here’s how…

The 100 Day Project by Lindsey Jean Thompson is a free creative challenge I’ve participated in before in the past. The premise of it is simple: choose a project, do it every day for 100 days, and share your process on Instagram with the hashtag #The100DayProject. Every spring, thousands of people all around the world commit to 100 days of exploring their creativity.

This year, The 100 Day Project officially starts on Tuesday, April 7th. I however, will be beginning my version of the challenge this coming Monday, March 23rd. // I’m going to use this time of quarantine to focus on doing three things at home everyday and track them on Elise Blaha Cripe’s 100 Day Project Tracker. I modified mine in Photoshop by typing in the dates of my days. By starting on March 23rd, June 30th ends up being the 100th day! How cool is that?

For 100 days I will…

(1) publish a blog post on this site

It’s now or never. I have craved getting back to semi-daily blogging for years . I cannot think of a better time to attempt this than in this season: when we’re forced to BE HOME. My goal is to see if the passion I have for it is something I truly want back in my life moving forward, or just something from the past I can’t seem to let go of.

I still love reading blogs & I'm pretty sure I always will. In my opinion, NOTHING portrays the evolution of someone's journey like a frequently updated daily web journal, and I applaud anyone who bravely embarks on this type of courageous content creation.

However, with this 100 Day challenge and my jumping back into daily blogging, there has been a shift in intention. I no longer want this blog to be about content creation. I’m happy to report I’m no longer running in that influencer rat race. (PRAISE!) This time around, I want my blog to serve as another home for my story. I memory keep with printed photos and patterned paper in albums, I use Instagram story like crazy and occasionally add to my grid, but having my own internet space to record my story (our story) is the goal. I hardly care if it’s read or not.

(2) eat only what I write down in my food log

I’ve been eating my way through this pandemic. Can anyone relate? There is minute-to-minute changes and uncertainty, and it’s as if my body has been craving something it’s sure about: ENTER FOOD. My body is pretty positive carbs are fun and delicious, and it seems to be defending me against my fears with plenty of them.

I have GOT to nip this in the bud. I don’t want this locked up season to lead me down a path of unhealthy habits. It would be reeeeeeaaaaally easy to go that route. It’s a challenge to be aware of your body’s automatic responses to stress and an even bigger challenge to make choices NOT to succumb to them.

I will be fighting urges to overeat and snack on unhealthy stuff by pre-planning what I’ll consume throughout the day in a food log. I’m not going to ‘diet’ per say, but stick to a three-meals / two-snacks a day schedule.

(3) exercise for at least 30 minutes a day

My gym is awesome. Although its doors are closed during this time, they are making live streams of body-weight workouts available for members to do at home. I am so grateful for this. If by chance I can’t access one during the day, there are probably thousands of workouts on YouTube I could find, or just play 30 minutes worth of merengue to march around the house to.

The bottom line is: we can get real sedentary real fast. I pray that none of us get the coronavirus, but COVID-19 is NOT the only threat to our health in these coming weeks. It’s important we acknowledge that.

In summary: I’m giving myself a 15-day head start on The 100 Day Project. If this quarantined state of being doesn’t last all these 100 days, then I most likely will have to put these three incentives on hold while we again adjust and reconfigure. But I wasn’t going to wait until I knew for sure how many days stuck home we will be allotted. That answer is never coming. This is what I’m inspired to do TODAY, and I’m learning that’s hella enough for me. In fact, it's exactly the reason to start. Stay safe. Be well. xoxo