Are you aware of Project 365? It’s a personal challenge to post at least one picture a day on Instagram throughout an entire year. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed me using the hashtag #Project365 and labeling my photos with the day of the year. This year was the first time I participated and while sometimes it was hard to remember to post a picture every single day, I felt like it was totally worth it.
The cool thing about Project 365 is you don’t have to be a blogger or a techy or a social media manager. This challenge is for anyone who knows how to use Instagram. If you are trying to become more active on Instagram for whatever reason, this challenge will help you achieve that goal.
I have always loved Instagram, but in years past, I was very inconsistent in regard to when I posted and the creativity I put behind each photo. I wanted to engage myself more fully in the platform, so I took on this challenge. Below is the first picture of 2016. My car was totaled during a wreck on December 9, 2014, so on New Year’s day, we finally got our new Subaru, so my first photo of the year was of the new car.
For most of the year, I used a photo editing app to include which day it was. I think my followers really liked this because I would see people in person and they would say, “I can’t believe it’s already day 203.” or “Wow, on your Instagram account, I saw that we are already halfway through the year.” I liked labeling my photos too because it helped me keep track of which day it was, but toward the end of the year with the holidays and life being crazy, I still posted every day, but stopped labeling the photos. If you have the time, I would suggest labeling the photos. If you forget which day you are on, you can Google “What day of the year is it?” and it will come right up.
If you have been thinking about Project 365 or if this is the first time you’ve ever heard of it, below I offer three reasons you may want to try it.
3 Reasons to Participate in Project 365
1). Helps you embrace each day: This was absolutely true for me. Knowing I was going to post a picture each day, I was more cognizant of what was going on and more engaged in activities. If at the end of the day, nothing significant happened where I took a photo, I would post a quote that summed up my mood of the day or an encouraging quote that would hopefully inspire others. Throughout the year, it was really fun to go back through the previous weeks and look through the photos from each day.
2). Enhances photography and photo/video editing skills: Before participating in Project 365, I hardly used any photo editing apps. Throughout the year while posting pictures, I began experimenting with different apps and learned about new apps from people I was following on Instagram. I also feel like participating in the challenge enhanced my photography skills. I began taking photos from different angles, vantage points and perspectives. Overall, I feel much more skilled with iPhone photography, photo editing with apps and the Instagram platform in general. I also got better at video editing and even learned how to add music to a video.
3). Allows you to gain more followers and “meet” new people: The more you are on any social media platform, you more people engage with you and the more you engage with other people. Participating in the challenge not only allowed me to gain more followers but allowed me to meet some amazing people that I now follow and connect with on Instagram. It’s always fun to see a person in town or at a professional event and say, “Hey! We follow each other on Instagram. It’s great to meet you in person, finally.”
A good friend of mine asked me the other day if I was going to participate in Project 365 again this year, and at first I said no because I’m one of those people that jump into challenges full force. In 2016, I posted at least one picture a day and sometimes more.
After thinking about it though and after writing this post, I may participate again now that I’m in the groove of posting each day, or I may take a year off of this challenge and take on a different type of challenge. You may have noticed my Bullet Journal post the other day. Utilizing my Bullet Journal and learning that system is a huge goal of mine for 2016, now I just need to decide if I also want to do Project 365.
If you are considering the Project 365 challenge, here are a few quick tips.
Project 365 Tips
- Always use the hashtag #Project365 and also try and use a hashtag to identify the day such as #day225 or #day8of365.
- Experiment with a variety of photo/video editing apps. Some of my favorites are Instasize, PicsArt, Retromatic, PicStitch, Camera+, Snapseed, Hyperlapse and Tempo (this last one allows you to add music to your videos).
- Label your photos with the day if at all possible. I’ve realized that my followers really enjoyed that and missed it when I didn’t do it.
- Only post photos from the very day you are in; don’t cheat and post photos from the day before or a vacation you had a month prior. The point is to focus on each day of the year and highlight an important event, moment or emotion.
- If you commit to doing the challenge, then do it. There’s nothing worse than saying you’re going to do something then fizzling out part-way in.
- Good luck and have fun! Make sure we’re following one another if you plan to do Project 365 so we can stay in touch.
If you’re looking for a fun and not overly stressful challenge to take on for 2016, this is the one. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Such a fun project! You did so well with this!