What is Project 365? Rules and Best Platforms for Running the Project
Project 365 is a type of creative challenge that involves creating and sharing a photo or other type of content every day for an entire year. Its purpose is to develop a habit, improve skills, and document life. It’s a combination of a journal and a portfolio, built day by day, enhancing the author’s abilities.
I embarked on my first photographic Project 365 throughout 2019 on Instagram, and it was a fantastic adventure for me. I captured several photos of which I am proud to this day. After completing the project, I lacked the courage to start another, and since then, I haven’t produced such good photos.
What is Project 365?
Project 365 is a creative initiative gaining popularity among individuals with various interests, from photography to drawing, graphic design, copywriting, and many other fields. The main goal of this project is to maintain consistency in creating and sharing work for the entire year, totaling 365 days.
Project 365 is an excellent opportunity for developing artistic and creative skills, as well as documenting one’s life, changes, experiences, and daily moments. It can also be an excellent way to combat a lack of motivation for creating, as the obligation to publish a daily piece becomes a strong incentive to act.
Rules of Project 365
Project 365 is a challenge that you can adapt to your needs and interests, but there are some general rules worth considering:
- Daily Activity – this is the fundamental rule of Project 365. You must create and share something new every day throughout the year. You cannot create content in advance or share content from other days.
- Publication – your work should be accessible to others because public commitment is a strong motivator. However, you can also run a private project, visible only to yourself or selected individuals.
- Consistency – project 365 is an opportunity for experimentation, but it’s also essential to maintain some consistency in your work. You can choose a specific theme, graphic style, or other elements to unify your pieces into a coherent whole.
- Documentation – project 365 is also a kind of journal. You can add descriptions, stories, or reflections to each piece, allowing you to track your development and life changes.
- Perseverance – this challenge requires perseverance and self-discipline. Remember that not every piece will be perfect, but the key is consistency and skill development.
My Favorite Project 365s by Other Creators
I’m a big fan of various forms of Project 365. I have two favorites:
- https://tookapic.com/pawelkadysz – Paweł was the creator of the Tookapic platform, which is used for creating your own photographic Project 365. He worked on his projects for almost 7 years! Browsing through all those photos along with their descriptions provides a wealth of knowledge and motivation. Unfortunately, the profile is no longer active as the author sold the Tookapic platform and stopped running his Project 365.
- Miroburn VLOG – a daily vlog on YouTube centered around personal development and business topics. Highly motivating content, especially seasons 1 and 2. Mirek continues to run the vlog, but it’s now less regular (he resumed daily posts in August 2023!).
Best Platforms for Running Project 365
You can run Project 365 on various platforms such as a blog, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, depending on what you want to share. Here, I’ll focus on platforms best suited for a photographic project, which is closest to me.
- Instagram – once dedicated to mobile photography, Instagram has evolved into a general social media platform, but it’s still suitable for this project. You can easily create an account (even a special one just for your Project 365) and post new photos daily. However, it has become more influencer-oriented, and static images are not as favored. Plus, there are pervasive ads and a focus on other content formats.
- Tookapic – a dedicated platform for Project 365. It has a small community (around 60-80 actively publishing members). I appreciate Tookapic for its themed challenges, extensive statistics, EXIF data under photos, mood tagging, private galleries, and the ability to see photos taken on the same day but a year, two years, or three years ago. Unfortunately, it’s a paid service, and the price has been a barrier for me – $9 per month.
- 365project.org – a free global platform for running Project 365. The user interface deviates from modern standards, which might make it less appealing initially.
- Felice – If you don’t want to share your photos publicly and prefer the idea of a personal journal where you can add daily photos and accompanying moods along with thoughts, try Felice. It’s an app I developed, and it’s entirely free. You can find it on the App Store.
- iPhone Photos App – another idea for a private Project 365. The app allows you to create a separate folder for daily photos. Moreover, when viewing a photo, you can swipe up to add a caption, description, and location information. Clicking on the location shows a map with all the project’s photos marked.
365 Days Too Much? Try the Three Levels Method
I wrote about this goal-setting method in this article:
Divide your Project 365 into three levels. Level 1 is 100 photos. After completing it, you can assess whether this challenge truly provides value and if you want to continue. If not, you can quit without guilt and have 100 photos in your collection. If you want to continue, move on. Level 2 is 182 photos, and Level 3 is the complete project – 365 photos.You can find my Project 365 for this year on my Instagram, where I’ll be sharing it in the form of story format photos. As mentioned above, I’ve set the goal of creating 100 photos to start, and we’ll see where it goes from there.
Thumbnail photo: I took it in London during my Project 365.