Less than 100 days

It hardly needs saying, but I have abandoned graciously withdrawn from the 100 day project.

As with many decisions made on the spur of the moment, it was not a well thought out one. The intention was sound: I do need something to motivate me to get out of the house more often, but this project isn’t it.

“Don’t break the chain”

I know a lot of people swear by the chain as a motivational productivity tracking tool and, in theory, it’s a great idea: the more consistently you do something, the more you’re likely to keep doing it. But.

The problems start when, for whatever reason, you break the chain. Now, some people give themselves sick days and vacation days from the chain, so that they can not do the thing but still count it as not breaking the chain. And again, in theory, that is a great idea. But.

My brain.

Unless I am laid up in bed, physically incapable of movement, according to my brain I am not sick enough to justify not doing the thing, so any failure to do the thing breaks the chain. (That would be three days in the last ten years: once when I had a nasty stomach bug, once when the flu jab knocked me off my feet and once when a bad cold wiped me out.)

And as for “vacation days”, well, that’s just cheating (according to my brain).

So, not doing the thing always breaks the chain.

And breaking the chain, no matter how long it was, is failure. And any previous achievement is as dust. I am starting again from scratch, only now I know that I am incapable of not breaking the chain and will almost certainly do it again.

Which is, quite frankly, just a smidge demoralising.

And this is why I should never do any challenge that requires me to not break the chain*.

*I do take part in the 30 day colouring challenges because, although it sounds like it is a chain challenge, it very clearly states that you do not have to colour every day.

#The100DayProject: day 16

I nearly took a break today. I’ve done something to strain my right arm — no idea what — and carrying the camera for too long is enough to exacerbate it. Also the return of the sun, along with unaccustomed warmth, was enough to remind me that I haven’t bought a fresh supply of sunscreen this year (I only ever complained about the lack of sun, not heat). But it’s quite pleasant outside right now, so I grabbed a quick snap of this lonely solar bulb hanging on our fence. We used to have a pink one to go with it; I know it got blown off its hook during a particularly windy episode, but as for what happened to it after that…

day 16/100 — #100daysofleavingthehousewithacamera – #the100dayproject

#The100DayProject: day 15

I am determined to get a good photo of these flowers; this one is a definite improvement over previous attempts. Not sure what it is — my brain says “pink magnolia”, though not with any level of confidence — but it’s a welcome splash of colour on yet another grey (and windy) day.

day 15/100 — #100daysofleavingthehousewithacamera – #the100dayproject

#The100DayProject: day 14

Feeling uninspired today, but I still persuaded myself to go out for a walk around the local rec. It’s surprising just how many padlocks there are when you look… you seen one, then another, and another… Though it’s the rusty metal textures that appeal to me here.

day 14/100 — #100daysofleavingthehousewithacamera – #the100dayproject

#The100DayProject: day 13

Well, the sunshine didn’t last long. Back to miserable grey skies which are clearly visible through the bare branches of this tree. I love looking up into trees and this is a particularly impressive specimen on the edge of the local recreation ground.

I used to be able to identify trees, but that’s a skill that has almost completely abandoned me — especially when there are no leaves to help — this one does have rather distinctive bark patterns though.

day 13/100 — #100daysofleavingthehousewithacamera – #the100dayproject

#The100DayProject: day 12

After so many completely grey days with not the slightest hint of blue in the sky, there was really nothing else I could share a photograph of today.

Now if only I could stop seeing that middle cloud as Snoopy…

day 12/100 — #100daysofleavingthehousewithacamera – #the100dayproject

#The100DayProject: day 11

Just to show that it’s not all owls in the garden, here’s Godzilla of gnomes. Absolutely the only way gnomes are getting anywhere near my house, and even then…

day 11/100 — #100daysofleavingthehousewithacamera – #the100dayproject

#The100DayProject: day 10

I don’t know what I’ve done, but my right arm and shoulder are particularly painful at the moment and painkillers aren’t helping. That, combined with yet another grey day, rather dampened my enthusiasm for wandering the streets today. I still got the camera out though and took this pic of the pattern on another of our garden owls.

day 10/100 — #100daysofleavingthehousewithacamera – #the100dayproject

#The100DayProject: day 9

In spite of the seemingly never-ending greyness, I am quite enjoying wandering the local streets in search of interesting textures and pretty flowers. My knee isn’t quite so happy about the walking, but apparently exercise is good for you…

day 9/100 — #100daysofleavingthehousewithacamera – #the100dayproject

#The100DayProject: day 8

Another dull day weather-wise, but at least it wasn’t raining this afternoon so I went out for a wander around one of the local recreation grounds. Lots of lovely textures, but I thought I’d counter the greyness of the day with this shot of bright yellow.

day 8/100 — #100daysofleavingthehousewithacamera – #the100dayproject