Advent Day Three: Personal Assignments

Practice takes practice is a phrase that Doug coined for us a number of years ago to help us both remain committed to our various rituals and daily practices. Some practices stick and are pretty easy to do, others require that “something” to make them happen.

There are countless essays, books and statements by writers and artists outlining tips and tricks for remaining committed to that thing that one wants to do. The most popular advice is to complete the important practice as soon as possible after waking, and/or to schedule it daily. Another is to publicly state your intention so that you are accountable to someone other than yourself. 

One of my many strategies is to give myself perimeters, rules or an assignment. The limitations force my creative juices to make connections that might not be easily made when confronted with unlimited choices. Some past personal assignments for the Advent Collage project include:

• complete the collage in 30 minutes or less
• use only scraps from the last collage process
• take the first three papers from your collage bag and use only those papers
• only tear your paper
• add a stencil element

There are countless other “rules” you can assign. Today I used the first and the third one. What are some of your strategies for remaining committed?