I was a continual overthinker, and it fueled my nervousness. At any time when I needed to attend social gatherings, give a presentation, and even file a speaking head video, my thoughts would spiral. I’d analyze each tiny element till I used to be paralyzed, laying aside the factor I supposed to do.
That began to vary once I joined the worldwide 100-Day Mission this 12 months–and selected posting on TikTok as my problem. I took it on particularly to push again towards the nervousness of exhibiting up on-line.
The extra I confirmed up, the much less I fearful about being judged or coming off as “cringe.” Over time, I observed a shift — I felt much less anxious and stopped overthinking each transfer. Every submit grew to become a small act of braveness — proof that I may present up with out every part being good.
With a concentrate on consistency and never virality, I constructed a easy system to maintain me on monitor. And it labored. I accomplished all 100 days, grew my TikTok views by 357% inside 30 days, and, most significantly, grew to become so much much less anxious about exhibiting up on-line.
Right here’s how.
What’s the 100-Day Mission?
The 100-Day Mission is a free, world artwork problem that encourages individuals to decide to a artistic exercise. It may be writing, dancing, drawing, crocheting, portray, something, so long as you do it day by day for 100 days and share your progress on-line alongside the way in which. The concept is easy: decide one thing, present up each day, and concentrate on the method slightly than the end result.
The problem started as a grad college project for Yale college students in 2007, created by designer Michael Bierut, and was later delivered to social media in 2014 by artist Elle Luna.
Since then, it’s grown right into a worldwide motion with a whole bunch of hundreds of contributors utilizing the hashtag #The100DayProject to share their artistic observe, keep accountable, and have a good time consistency.
I’d tried it as soon as earlier than – in 2021, I made my first try on the challenge with “100 Days of Dangerous Writing.” I needed to put in writing extra and construct the behavior of sharing work even when it wasn’t good. However after the primary two weeks, my consistency dwindled. With no system to assist each day creation, it simply wasn’t sustainable. 4 years later, the challenge continues to be unfinished.
This time round, I picked one thing completely different: “100 Days of TikToking”. My aim was to beat the nervousness of being seen on-line by posting day by day for 100 days and TikTok felt like the appropriate area for it.
For me, doing the challenge this 12 months was additionally a possibility to get out of my consolation zone and eventually do one thing I’d been that means to for some time — share my concepts and pursuits publicly and confidently.
Laying the groundwork
A clever girl as soon as stated, “A challenge with no plan is simply an concept — and also you’ll by no means see the outcomes.”
A plan is the way you get from concept to implementation.
Earlier than beginning any challenge, I carve out time for what I name “challenge prep work.” It’s a mini planning dash — a couple of hours unfold out over a number of days — that helps me get forward on all of the little issues that have to be performed earlier than a challenge formally begins.
Checking off easy issues like scheduling each day duties, updating my TikTok profile, and making a database of content material concepts — made the challenge really feel a lot much less overwhelming.
Among the challenge prep work I did. Though some have been accomplished through the challenge, others have been scheduled prematurely
For this 12 months’s 100-Day Mission, I began planning a couple of month forward. The official announcement got here out on January 23, 2025, and the challenge was set to kick off on February 23.
In that announcement, challenge coordinator Lindsay Jean Thompson shared three reflection prompts to assist with selecting a challenge:
- What would you like to make more room for in your each day life?
- What actions are lighting you up currently?
- Is there a talent you’ve been desirous to develop or one thing you’d prefer to study extra about?
These prompts helped me slender right down to: 100 Days of TikToking. This challenge was vital to me as a result of I needed to observe articulating my ideas, opinions, and views on video as a approach to quiet my social nervousness and construct confidence in talking publicly.
Alongside the prompts, Lindsay additionally outlined how the problem works:
- Determine on a artistic challenge to work on for 100 days earlier than the beginning date.
- Beginning February 23, present up each day. What counts as exhibiting up is as much as you.
- Doc and share your progress on-line.
These tips formed how I ready. I used the weeks main as much as the problem to map out what finishing the problem would take, arrange the instruments I knew I’d want, and take away as many small obstacles as I may earlier than day one. That meant:
- Prepping my TikTok profile so I wouldn’t should fuss with it later
- Organizing my iPhone albums so movies and images have been straightforward to search out
- Scheduling my duties in Notion so I wasn’t ranging from scratch every day
- Lining up a couple of starter content material concepts to keep away from the “what do I submit?” block
All of this grew to become the inspiration of the system that made exhibiting up as straightforward as potential.
How I used AI to organize
Earlier than I shared my first submit, I made a decision to ask ChatGPT for useful TikTok ideas. I had needed to ask particularly for tricks to optimize my posts, however determined to offer it free rein.
I gave it context, my aim and let it free. Right here’s the immediate I used:
I’m doing a 100-day TikTok problem the place I’ll be posting on TikTok day by day for the following 100 days. It’s going to be my first time ever sharing content material on TikTok. The aim is to doc my journey as an introvert utilizing TikTok to get out of my head. I’ll be sharing my pursuits, ideas, observations, and tales relating to non-public type and aware purchasing. Do you might have any ideas for me?
In comparison with Perplexity and DeepSeek, which I additionally queried, ChatGPT gave me essentially the most resonant and sensible recommendation.
Listed here are the highest 5 ideas:
- Begin easy – You don’t want excessive manufacturing worth; simply concentrate on getting comfy exhibiting up each day.
- Lean into your strengths – If talking on digital camera feels intimidating, begin with textual content overlays, aesthetic clips, or voiceovers.
- Have interaction with others – Touch upon movies in your area of interest and reply to feedback by yourself posts.
- Don’t chase perfection – Achieved is healthier than good! TikTok rewards consistency greater than polished content material.
- Have enjoyable & keep curious – That is an experiment, so embrace the journey and benefit from the course of!
Constructing the system that made it potential
As soon as my prep work was performed, and I had a transparent view of the trail to my aim, it was time to arrange the system – one thing that made exhibiting up easy.
Planning my schedule across the official timeline
Contemplating how a lot time I used to be investing and to maintain issues manageable, I constructed the challenge immediately into my current Tasks database in Notion and titled it: “Publish my first 100 posts on TikTok.”
As a result of I plan initiatives month-to-month, I broke the 100 days into month-to-month chunks so they might match seamlessly into my common workflow:
- Days 1–6 in February
- Days 7–37 in March
- Days 38–67 in April
- Days 68–98 in Might
- Days 99–100 in June
Breaking it down this manner additionally gave me clear milestones and made the problem really feel much less overwhelming.
Inside every month-to-month challenge, I created each day duties (for instance, “Publish Day 38 of #100DaysOfTikToking”) in my current Duties database. For every process, I set a “doing date” — the precise day I deliberate to work on that process — so it aligned with the official problem timeline.
Constructing a content material concepts database
Subsequent, I created a database of content material concepts. I knew if I had to think about an concept from scratch each single day, I’d finally run out.
This area grew to become my central mind dump to seize, manage, and iterate on concepts earlier than creating.
Every entry included:
- The core concept
- A format label (e.g. video journal, nano-form video, spotlight reel) to information how I’d execute it
- A standing column to trace whether or not I used to be researching, modifying, or had printed it
- A two-way relation to my Duties database, so I may assign an concept to a particular publishing day
- Area to draft video scripts, retailer analysis notes, write captions and hashtags, and plan artistic path — even right down to particular music selections (e.g., for one submit, Include me to artwork Toronto, I used Beethoven’s Sonata No. 17)
I collected 119 concepts and ended up utilizing 36 of them for my 100 posts. The remaining got here collectively extra spontaneously, however having a backlog ready in my database made it a lot simpler to indicate up persistently.
Making a challenge tracker
To maintain every part seen at a look, I constructed a checklist-style challenge tracker in Notion seamlessly linked to my content material concepts database and duties database.
Every row represented a day within the problem, exhibiting:
- The process title (for instance, Publish Day 14 of #100DaysOfTikToking)
- The doing date to mark the precise day I deliberate to submit
- A relation to the content material concept assigned to that day
- A checkbox to mark when the submit was printed
This tracker helped me see what was arising subsequent and what number of days I had left to go.
Journaling each day on Are.na
To doc my progress and keep accountable, I began a public Are.na journal the place I shared each day reflections and my thought course of behind every submit. I set this up so mates with out TikTok may comply with alongside, nevertheless it additionally grew to become a reflective device.
Right here’s the format I used:
- Cowl picture: one thing that represented that day’s submit (generally a body from the video)
- Title: E.g., Day 1 | Feb 23 — [5-word summary of today’s post]
- Description: made up of morning pages-style notes to seize my thought course of or commentary for the day — or knowledge like views, likes, or engagement numbers
- Hyperlink: a direct hyperlink to the TikTok submit
Monitoring my time in Clockify
Lastly, I tagged the challenge in Clockify so I may monitor how a lot time I spent on completely different elements of the method. I primarily needed to see how lengthy every process truly took, partly out of curiosity, but additionally to assist me allocate time higher for future duties.
The information wasn’t good. Some entries have been lacking as a result of I used to be logging on the go, or inflated as a result of I’d get distracted mid-task. Nonetheless, the general image was eye-opening.
A former supervisor used to nudge me typically to trace my time, and I all the time struggled with it. However now that I’ve gotten the dangle of it, I can’t think about working with out it.
How I made it by means of 100 days
Earlier than I began, I set a couple of guidelines for myself: preserve it easy, keep lo-fi, and don’t overthink. The one manner by means of was to cut back friction. That meant taking the shortest path to completion as a substitute of aiming for elaborate manufacturing.
My aim was to observe storytelling, articulating my ideas, and experimenting with video modifying. Nothing extra grandiose than that. These rules grew to become my guardrails for the 100 days.
Each day observe: create → publish → log it
My each day workflow was easy and simple, nevertheless it was the spine of this challenge:
- Create: I didn’t schedule posts prematurely as a result of the challenge emphasizes each day observe. I created within the second, utilizing cellular instruments like Canva and CapCut to decrease the barrier. To maintain belongings organized, I used my iPhone’s picture albums as a light-weight digital asset supervisor. Every submit had its personal album, which made pulling images and video clips for modifying a lot simpler.
- Publish: As soon as the content material was prepared, I dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s earlier than hitting “submit.” Every day introduced one thing new — utilizing creator search insights, discovering a trending sound, or responding to a remark with a brand new video. I handled this stage like play, and that made the method much more pleasing.
- Log it: Instantly after publishing, I created a journal entry in my Are.na log.
This three-step loop gave my days construction. Regardless of how the content material carried out, I all the time had a transparent begin, center, and finish — and that rhythm made it simpler to maintain going.
The accountability issue
I’m conversant in failure — I’ve tried many issues and failed at a number of. However over the previous 12 months, I’ve realized that having assist methods in place could make execution a lot easier.
My public journal on Are.na gave me a way of exterior accountability, whereas shut mates inspired me alongside the way in which with their feedback. One even promised me a reward if I completed, and on the toughest days, that little further motivation saved me going.
However greater than something, I used to be accountable to myself. I’d made a promise to indicate up each single day, and retaining that promise mattered most.
Milestones and motivation
Bierut, who created the unique 100-Day Mission project, stated that after individuals attain day 30 or 40, they typically discover a groove that carries them ahead.
“As soon as individuals bought about midway, that they had a lot private funding, they usually had internalised the method sufficient, that there was a very good probability they’d make it to the top.” — Michael Bierut
I discovered that to be true. Momentum constructed over time. Even on days once I struggled to publish a submit, I knew that if I simply saved going, I’d finally cross the end line.
For instance, my journal entry for day 37 was titled, “I’m truly doing this factor.” It was March 31, and I wrote:
“It’s nearly day 40 and truthfully simply glad for day by day I push by means of and put out one thing. Even on days like this once I narrowly miss the deadline.”
On day 50, I bear in mind including get together emojis to my journal as a result of making it midway was price celebrating.
One factor that additionally saved me going was figuring out that so long as I created and posted one thing that day — irrespective of how random or unpolished — it counted towards my 100 days.
The outcomes
I did it! 🎉I got down to submit on TikTok for 100 consecutive days — and I adopted by means of.
Contemplating that I had tried the 100-day challenge earlier than and failed to finish it, I do know that the most important motive I made it to the end line this time was the system I constructed.
Having clear duties, a backlog of concepts, and a each day rhythm meant I didn’t should depend on motivation or temper. Even on days once I couldn’t get off the bed, I may nonetheless open my tracker, create one thing easy, and test “Publish on TikTok” off my to-do.
That consistency utterly modified how I felt about being seen on-line. After I began, posting felt nerve-wracking. By the top, it felt a lot simpler, I had turn out to be rather more comfy exhibiting up on-line — and that was the actual win for me.
The numbers have been only a bonus. Nonetheless, they have been encouraging, particularly contemplating I used to be utterly new to TikTok and barely printed private movies even on my personal Instagram. Even with out optimizing for efficiency, I noticed actual progress.
In a single specific week (April 27–Might 3), my analytics confirmed:
- 15K submit views — up 373% from the week earlier than
- 1,414 likes — up 677%
- 99 feedback — up 350%
- 156 shares — up 1,318%
- 201 profile views — up 253%
Satirically, these outcomes got here from a video I nearly didn’t submit. I had spent over an hour modifying it and practically overthought myself out of sharing it. The subsequent morning, I woke as much as uncover that the video had quietly outperformed all my others.
It had a 12.7% engagement charge, in comparison with one other trend-focused submit with a lot increased views however solely a 1.7% engagement charge.
That second jogged my memory that exhibiting up, as a rule, brings surprising advantages, and that sharing what genuinely resonates along with your viewers is a greater technique than merely leaping on tendencies.
6 classes realized from the 100 days of TikToking
Wanting again on this problem, listed below are the most important classes I’m taking with me.
In the event you don’t schedule it, you most likely received’t do it
Ardour initiatives don’t magically match themselves into your day; you need to make area for them. I’ve deserted many initiatives as a result of life “bought busy”. Now, I do know: if it issues, it goes on the calendar.
I’ve turn out to be much more intentional about scheduling time for artistic work — particularly the issues I’d often dismiss as a result of they aren’t “core work.”
One scheduling tip I realized from the writer of Essentialism, Greg McKeown: add a 50% buffer to the time you assume one thing will take. That further area makes it a lot simpler to accommodate surprising conditions.
Consistency doesn’t imply “day by day”
Posting each day is intense — and might lead straight to burnout. This challenge positively constructed my content material creation muscle, nevertheless it additionally taught me a priceless lesson: consistency doesn’t should imply posting day by day.
Discover a tempo you’ll be able to truly maintain. That could possibly be as soon as every week, or each different Wednesday. Sticking to a practical rhythm is much better than making an attempt to do it each day and finally burning out.
For the 100-Day challenge particularly, small, each day actions (half-hour or much less) are perfect.
Readability comes from doing
You’ll by no means be 100% prepared. The one approach to study is to begin.
One motive I took on this problem was to observe fleshing out narratives, modifying movies on cellular, and telling participating tales.
Trial and error grew to become a part of my course of. Some days, I performed with completely different codecs like carousels, voiceovers, vlog-style clips, or inexperienced display screen. Different instances, I experimented with typography, customized graphics, and content material themes.
The extra I did, the extra assured I grew to become, and my capability grew alongside the way in which.
After years of doubting my modifying expertise, it turned out all I wanted was to begin — and preserve going.
Preparation is a successful technique
The simplest approach to win is to organize. When you’ve invested the effort and time upfront, success turns into nearly inevitable.
I used to be reminded of this lesson through the problem on a day when publishing felt easy. I’d already recorded and edited the video, drafted the caption and hashtags, set the quilt picture, and saved every part to my drafts. When it was time to submit, all I needed to do was click on one button.
After all, I did a fast last-minute test, however the day was straightforward to overcome as a result of I had ready all of the components forward of time.
You are able to do arduous issues
We’re all able to doing seemingly arduous issues, and as we do them, our capability expands.
Early within the problem, I typically prevented movies with complicated edits, swapping them for easier ones I may end shortly. On Day 9, I lastly determined to cease placing it off and movie a video essay about one among my favourite espresso desk books.
It took a number of tries (and a few mic mishaps), however I completed. And whereas it didn’t find yourself a top-performing video, it’s nonetheless one among my favorites.
A template that can assist you full your personal 100 days of artistic observe
All through this problem, my system made all of the distinction — and now, I’m turning it right into a public Notion template so you’ll be able to construct your personal 100-day observe too.
You don’t have to attend till the following annual #The100DayProject to get began. Your 100 days can start any time — tomorrow, subsequent month, or proper now.
The template contains every part you should plan your challenge, set your timeline, manage concepts, monitor your progress, and preserve your self accountable.
In the event you’ve ever struggled to remain per a artistic observe, this method offers you a transparent construction to lean on, so exhibiting up turns into simpler day after day.
👉🏽 This is a hyperlink to the Notion template. To make use of it, simply click on the ‘duplicate’ button on the highest proper. Discover it, add it into your Notion workspace, and begin your personal 100-day challenge.
