Hi, my name is Lyndsay and I failed my 365 project this year. This pandemic year, after internalizing how important this project is to me for three years, I failed after 9 months. Was it the pandemic? Is it photo boredom in our home? Was it election stress? Is it taking on homeschooling, being with my kids full time, and running a six figure business?

Yes. Yes to all of the above.

I failed my 365 Project in 2020.

Phew, it feels good to let that out of the bag. At first, when I forgot a day or two, I’d do what I’d done in previous years and take an early morning and a later night one the next day to make up for it. But then a couple days became a couple more, and then sometimes I was skipping every other day. This time not because I forgot. Because I just didn’t want to. Gasp!

I didn’t (and still don’t) have the mental capacity.

Here’s the thing, I still took a lot of photographs.

When I look back at my October 2020 folder, the month I spectacularly failed in, I still got all the “major” moments. The few days we lost power, our hedge maze adventure, the day it snowed. The incredible foliage. The day I finally got to see my grandmother for the first time since March. Having my sister here for 6 weeks.

My folder has 51 photos in it. Far more than the amount of days in October. However, they were not even close to one every single day. Some (a lot) of days there were none, and some there were 2-3.

Will you still make a 365 album?

Yes! I still will. I have reached the point where I don’t care that if I failed during September, October, and November. 2020 is a historic year and I feel confident that I did a “good enough” job to still call my project “365: Year Three”. While it may only contain 300 photos, or maybe 365 with several images that were taken on the same day, it will still be an account of our pandemic year.

Are you disappointed in yourself?

At first, yes I was. I felt like I had broken this three year vow to document our life. And broken it in the most interesting (and also most photo-boring) year in a long time. But here’s the thing, no one can manage it all. This year has thrown so many curveballs at everyone. I can’t run my business, be a full-time mom, teach first grade, cook, clean, get exercise, and be creative everyday. It’s just not going to happen. Something has to give and this year it was my 365 project.

Will you do a 365 project in 2021?

Yes. I will continue my valiant efforts to shoot daily in 2021. For me, December-January-February-March are easy months. While staying home and winter can make it feel mundane, I don’t have the incredible client workload that I deal with in the Autumn. When the workload in one area of my life shifts, it opens up brain capacity towards something else. 2020 is the year that taught me that it’s okay to let go of some things. It’s okay to make hard decisions for your mental health. For me, that means I let go of the guilt associated with technically “failing” my 365 project.

Now, can I promise I’ll take a photo every single day in 2021? No, I can’t. This pandemic doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. Which means that I might be wearing 1,000 hats in 2021 too. What I can promise is that I will document my family’s life in 2021 to the best of my abilities. My career started because of a love of documenting our every day and I can’t see this stopping anytime soon. Whether my 365 2021 is 300 photos, 365, or 275, I am going to keep shooting and keep giving myself some grace.

XOXO- Lyndsay