Project Description

Give It 100

Published: September 23, 2020

I remember finding a video on YouTube back in like 2014 about a woman teaching herself how to dance in a year. She filmed herself periodically and then cut together an inspiring progression video at the end. I’ve revisited that video once or twice every year since. It’s good stuff. It’s cool to see her skills improve throughout the year, but it’s even cooler to see her confidence improve. Dancing on a crowded train platform like nobody’s watching takes serious guts.

I remember reading about a startup created by that same woman as a result of her dancing video going viral. She called the company “Give It 100.” It was a simple website and a challenge:

Get better at anything in the world for 100 days, and share a 10-second video of your progress every step of the way. Unlike on Facebook, where people typically tout their accomplishments after they’ve achieved them, this website gives people a chance to see how much effort actually goes into doing so.

I never used the website. I never even saw the website actually. By the time I learned about it, it had already been shut down. Based on Twitter activity, the company started in 2013 and was killed in 2015. I think users were enthusiastic about the idea, but it just wasn’t a viable business for the founders. It’s a bummer things didn’t work out, but the good news is we don’t need a dedicated website to take up the challenge.

Including today (September 23rd), there are 100 days left in 2020. There’s a lot you can accomplish in 100 days if you make an effort to show up consistently. 100 days is short enough to feel doable but long enough to make a difference. I’m gonna try to give something 100 and see what I can make happen during this last little bit of 2020. If the dancing video inspired you, then maybe you should try giving something 100 too.

What will I be pursuing these next 100 days, you ask?

Well, I kinda want to learn how to use Django. Web development seems scary, but the Django framework is supposed to make things easier, and I already know Python, so the learning curve probably won’t be too huge. I know I wrote all about wanting to learn SwiftUI so I could make an iOS app literally two blog posts ago, so why am I talking about Django today? My inability to commit to a singular goal isn’t lost on me. Building an iOS app is still on my list, but building something for the web excites me just a tiny bit more right now.

Also, 2020 is a year lost in time. April is simultaneously 1000 lifetimes ago and also barely yesterday. I’m giving my ever shifting priorities a pass on this one. Anything that remotely resembles productivity right now shouldn’t be scrutinized too closely. We don’t want to scare away the only thing that might make us forget the ever widening pit of despair we’re stuck at the bottom of on a daily basis thanks to morally bankrupt politicians, a trigger happy police force with zero accountability, and an ever worsening climate crises, right? RIP RBG. The world feels darker without you in it.

Anyway…

I’m not sure how I want to document this 100 day journey yet. Recording 10 second videos like in the original app sounds kinda fun. Maybe I’ll finally have a reason to have an Instagram account?

Day 1 is right now. It’s getting kinda late already though, so I think my only progress today will be publishing this blog post. But committing to a *singular* goal is a necessary step in the process, so that’s something. I’ll see you on the other side! I’m going to know so much more about Django web development the next time you see me. Maybe I’ll even have a crappy web app for you to try out before the end of the year. A boy can dream.

#GiveIt100 #GetMitchOrDieTrying

***

Photo credit: David Hofmann