Last week I shared that 2024 inadvertently became the year of personal challenges. I started with a few self-adopted challenges and took on many more, as it turns out. My year-in-review will take place these final three weeks, through the lens of these challenges!

Let’s first examine the two challenges that were not as successful:

365 Notes Challenge — You would think there were no better challenge for a snail mail aficionado like me. I thought I would squeak by but otherwise nail this. However, I bet I will end the year with more than 100 notes sent, but fewer than 150. That’s right, I don’t think I’ll even have hit half my goal. Why tho? In some cases, I had an idea for an original illustration for the front of a card. And I wouldn’t finish the illustration, so the cards didn’t get sent. Also it’s worth noting that I reconnected with A LOT of people this year that I’d fallen out of touch with, and our reconnection happened through text, phone, and Zoom.
Mix It Up May — This was a drawing challenge that should not have been difficult to do. I got a good head start on it with a color palette and concepts for 4/6 pieces. It wasn’t even a daily challenge! And I puttered out after the first two. Why? As usual I have a problem finishing illustrations. But mainly I didn’t finish because I got sick, so my work fell behind and this challenge got taken off the stove entirely.

I don’t think I will attempt either style of challenge again — an annual but non-daily challenge like 365 Notes, or a seasonal drawing challenge like Mix It Up May. They neither take advantage of my natural energy flow, nor encourage particularly useful energy flow for me.