As a college freshman I have a Success in College course. One of our assignments was to try something new for a week and keep track of our progress. This project was based on a TED talk by Matt Cutts; in the talk he discusses his own thirty day challenge to do something new and the development of habits.
As an aspiring photographer I chose to take a picture every day for a week. Even though I was just snapping pictures with my phone this still gave me the opportunity to test and grow my skills as a photographer. While my challenge was easy I do admit that I forgot about it a time or two. One of those times I took a quick picture of something convenient, like the keyboard of my computer. Toward the end of the week however it became easier to remember. In the end of the project I had tried new things and taken pictures of things I hadn’t thought of before.
My main take away from this project has been that trying something new will allow you to explore things you may have never thought of and give you the opportunity to grow your skills on something you already enjoy. If you don’t really want to take up an activity you could use this method as a way to make habits that are healthier; you could challenge yourself start drinking more water each day. If you have been on the fence about doing something I highly recommend giving it a chance even if it’s only for a week.