So you want to do a People Project…
Well, that’s just the best news I’ve heard in a long time! I have a sneaking suspicion that you’ll really love it. Of course, your people project will be wonderfully you, but if you’d like some getting started tips, here are my best ones:
Make Your Own Rules
This is where my 100 People Project is admittedly loosey-goosey. What counts?
I say you get to choose! One year a person counted if I shared a meal with them. Sometimes this meal was shared in a restaurant, other times at a wedding ( if I had a meaningful conversation), or my MOPS group, but mostly the meal was shared at my home. Kids definitely counted here, so you better believe we invited families with lots of kids! ;)
The past two years I shifted to “meaningful connections” since inviting 100 people to dinner during a pandemic seemed like a pretty terrible idea. Honestly, it was an anything goes situation. Anything that required a little extra effort, thoughtfulness, or getting out of my comfort zone counted, including saying yes to other people who invited me.
Some questions that may help you narrow down some parameters for yourself:
Does it need to be face to face?
Do you need to the initiator for it to count?
Do you have a number of birthday cards, coffee dates, playdates, dinners, acts of kindness in mind?
Scroll through the grid on my Instagram account to see what counted for me last year.
Choose a Number
There’s nothing magic about the number 100 (read here for the reason why I picked it). You definitely can choose whatever number you want, but I do think choosing a number of people to love gives your goal some gumption. “Reach out to more people” can’t be measured quite as tangibly as “invite 3 people to dinner each month.”
Once you’ve decided on your big goal, it’s time to do a little math and break that baby down into something doable. I like to divide my goal by 10. Why? Well, math was never my strong suit and it is 10 times easier to divide by 10. Also, I find it difficult to schedule even more into the holidays, so wrapping up my 100 around Halloween helps me to not be so overwhelmed. Plus, while I’ll be making lots of connections in November and December, it’s most likely with people who already made my list.
Finally, one more piece of math: when you’ve divided by 10 to figure out how many people you’ll need to count each month, divide that number one more time, this time in half. That’s your goal for this month. Let’s start nice and easy.
Put Yourself of the List
I like to think the secret to life is that it’s not all about you. However, some of it is about you. Avoid burnout by making sure that one of your favorite people on your list is you! Treat yourself with the kindness and care you would anyone else and make sure your needs are being met, too. Schedule and record specific ways you’re being kind to yourself.
Write it Down
Speaking of keeping a record: keep a record! Write your people down, record what you did, take a picture…anything that will help you see your progress towards your goal and capture the memory of the time you spent with this person. It’s so fun to go back and remember the fun you’ve had, the things you’ll do again, and the things you’ll do differently next time. Normally, I write the names in the back of my planner, but I still haven’t picked one up, so I’m recording on this list. You are welcome to use it too!
Tell Someone
Last but not least: tell someone! Speaking a goal out loud gives you some accountability. I hope one of the people you tell is me! Let me know over on Instagram and I’d love for you to share your experience with the hashtag #100peopleproject.
