“You want to give up most of the time, but the winner is never quit.”
Today is the last day of my photography challenge #DailyRawProject, the project went well, beyond my expectation. The first plan is to shoot in RAW with no filters at all. I modify some of the rules along the way. Being disciplined and consistent is difficult, but it is possible; here is what I did to stay consistent for 365 days:
Set the Clear Goal
Everyone needs a goal to build the system. Many people aspire to be good photographers, but for what purpose? To make money? To impress others or simply because you enjoy it? Your goal must be strong enough, bigger than money, bigger than yourself, so you can’t give up even if you want to quit on Day 7.
Build the System
After set a goal, it’s time to build the system. During the first few months, I was learning how to use the camera and find a decent object. Along the way, I discovered my photographic style and began to learn color grading. Make your own daily, weekly, and monthly to-do lists to track your progress.
Weekly and Monthly Recap
I usually go over what I’ve done this week, what pieces I improved, what I should fix, and how to make better art. I’ll select some of my favorite photos at the end of the month. It is critical to evaluate what you did in order to recognize how far you have made progress. It will motivate you to keep going.
Adjust the Plan
365-day is a long time. As someone who lives in the same environment every day, taking a picture every day is impossible because the object remains the same. On three-quarter of the journey, I added writing, design, and photo manipulation as the part of #DailyRawProject. The adjustment, on the other hand, must be in line with your main goal.
Just Do the Work
The laziest and the busiest days will come, when it happens: just do the work. Take one picture, it may be bad but it’s okay just keep going, tomorrow you can do better. This also applies when you are sick, as long as the project is not required heavy physical work, just do the work asap and rest, but if it’s impossible to do the work, you can rest, it’s okay.
Make it Addictive
Consistency creates habits. As I mentioned in this article, productivity is addictive; however, not all repetitive activities are addictive; in my case, it is my office job and housework. So, how do you make something addictive? The first rule is to have fun. I took my daily project seriously; there is a standard for this and that, and it gave me a headache every time the results were unqualified. Since I did a creative project, it is easier to make it enjoyable; I used various themes in my photos or writing, one of my fav is Lego News, in which I combined a Lego photo with current news (mostly about market and economy).
No matter how perfectionist you are, it’s important to slow down and make it fun. Remember what school made you feel when they obligate you to get a good to excellent score, learning process should be fun, isn’t it? It’s time to make it right.
Self-control and Focus
Do better than what you did yesterday. Fight, when you feel lazy and unmotivated. Self-control is essential for developing discipline and consistency. Don’t let anything distract you from your goal. The world is conspiring against you; keep your head up and stay on your own path.
Finish #DailyRawProject is not the end, actually, it’s the beginning of everything, I’m lowkey afraid of my next journey, I must go further from my comfort zone. My anxious feeling is on it again.
Anyway, thanks for reading, cheers!
