#100DaysofHobbies : DAYS 21-40

I fully intended to post these updates of my #100DaysofHobbies Project every 10 days but life well and truly got in the way over the last few weeks, so this is a much larger post than I would have liked!

On the contrary to what my disorganised posting schedule might suggest, I've still been keeping up with the challenge, making sure to set aside time every day to pursue my hobbies. I'm starting to see it as a way to do something every single day that makes me smile, and so far it's working perfectly.

#100DaysofHobbies : DAYS 11-20

It's a bit of a late post (apologies!) but I've still been doing the #100DayProject challenge with my 100 Days of Hobbies.

My hobbies for the last 10 days have been very heavily film related, with a smattering of cross-stitch and a couple of Modern Family marathons...

#100DaysofHobbies : DAYS 1-10

I love a good 100 day challenge, so when I came across The Great Discontent's 100 Day Project on Instagram signing up and getting involved was a total no-brainer for me.

The idea is to pick something - anything - and stick to it for 100 days. People are doing all sorts, from a doodle a day, to water colouring, photography, calligraphy, an act of kindness, conquering a yoga pose... The idea is to focus on the process, and not the final product: it doesn't have to be a perfect, completed act each day, instead it's about committing and getting into the habit of doing a little something regularly.

I wracked my brain for ages trying to decide what to do, and eventually settled on #100DaysofHobbies. I have a habit of disappearing into my head and hiding from the world when everything gets a bit much but I've found hobbies - baking, cross-stitch, reading, colouring, film etc. - help keep me grounded, happy and strong. Making them a more permanent addition to my daily routine definitely couldn't be a bad thing!

#100happydays : DAYS 91-100

I've been meaning to do this post for almost a fortnight but life - read: dissertation - consistently got in the way and I just haven't had the chance. I'm incredibly pleased to say that I actually finished the 100 happy days challenge on time and never missed a single day. I don't think I've ever done something for 100 consecutive days, and I know I've never stuck to a New Year's Resolution quite like this. As silly as it sounds, for me this is quite an achievement. I have very little faith in my abilities and find it impossible to believe I can actually do anything I set my mind to. I'm the type of person that needs constant validation and evidence to prove the little voices of self-doubt in my head wrong, and this challenge has ended up being the perfect example of my ability to actually follow something through to the end. Challenges in the future should feel a little less daunting now.

#100happydays : DAYS 81-90

So this is it: the penultimate 10 days of the challenge!

#100happydays : DAYS 71-80

The end is in sight now! I genuinely cannot believe I've kept this up for 80 days: I don't think I've ever consistently done something for 80 days apart from procrastinate, and that doesn't really count…

#100happydays : DAYS 61-70

It's a few days late as Week 20 is quite literally killing me, but here's the next 10 days of #100happydays!

#100happydays : DAYS 51-60

Here's another 10 days of the challenge!

#100happydays : DAYS 41-50

I can't quite believe it: I've reached the half way point!

Final year is really killing me at the moment and I know it's only going to get worse, so I'm appreciating this challenge more and more with each 10 days that passes.

#100happydays : DAYS 31-40

So, here's another 10 happy days!

BAFTA 'Behind the Mask'

I love the BAFTAs.

They're the highlight of awards season, and I adore how they first and foremost support and celebrate British talent in a season (and global industry) dominated with enormous American hits. The Oscars may be the most talked about awards and everything seems to build up to them, but I'd take a glittering golden mask over a miniature golden man any day.

#100happydays : DAYS 21-30

I'm a little shocked at how I'm still doing this: I thought I'd have given up a long time ago!

#100happydays : DAYS 11-20

I love how over the last few weeks the #100happydays concept has really taken off. My Facebook and Twitter feeds have been full of people posting pictures of what makes them happy, and surely this kind of positivity can only be a good thing when the weather's so depressing and deadlines are popping up all over the place. As January draws to a close and my stress levels increase, having something to smile about each day is a total God send.

#100happydays : DAYS 1-10

My New Year's Resolutions are always highly ambitious and I'm pretty much guaranteed to break them a fortnight in. I've never been able to keep a diary, don't have the time to start learning a new language now and find it impossible to go to bed before midnight. They've always been doomed to fail from the beginning, so this year I was desperately in search of something more attainable, that I'd enjoy doing, and that I wouldn't beat myself up about if I wobbled temporarily off track.