50 Ideas for #oneadayinmay (Plus My Best Tips for Actually Surviving the Month)

So you've heard about #oneadayinmay and you're thinking about jumping in… but your brain is already going "wait, what would I even DO every day??"

Hi, hello, welcome — you are exactly where I want you to be. 🤠

Because the secret to surviving this challenge isn't waiting until May 1st to figure it out. The secret is picking your THING now (or having a few options ready) so that future-you (the tired, frazzled, "wait what day is it" version of you) has something to grab when the brain fog hits around Day 12. Trust me. It gets real real after Day 10.

Below you'll find 50 fun, doable, occasionally unhinged ideas to spark your imagination — plus a few of my best-practice tips I've learned after running this challenge for six years. Let's get into it!

Short answer: A daily creativity challenge that changed my business and built a community.

Every May, I dive headfirst into what is probably the most chaotic, inspiring, rewarding thing I do all year: #oneadayinmay . It’s a month-long creative challenge where the only rule is this — start and finish one thing a day. That’s it!

That's the whole thing.

Not start a giant year-long project. Not finally conquer that sourdough starter that's been judging you from the fridge since 2022. Just one small thing, started and finished the same day — for 31 days.

When I first started this back in 2020, I didn't really know what would happen. I just knew I was tired of overthinking everything I wanted to make and never actually finishing any of it. (Cue dramatic sigh.) Plus I love a good challenge. (I thrive in chaos, unfortunately.) 

What I didn't expect was how the small, daily finishes built real confidence. How momentum started to matter way more than perfection. How ideas got LOUDER the more I actually acted on them. And honestly? How much FUN we'd all have together. Entire businesses, collections, friendships, and licensing deals have been born out of this little tradition. 

You don't need a "big plan." (Stressful.) You don't need to feel wildly inspired. (Temperamental.) You just need to pick one thing… and DO IT. Turns out Nike was right.

You don't have to be an artist or a creative to join in. This is for ANYONE who's looking for a little extra oomph in the consistency/motivation department. Pick something you can keep doing for 31 days, and let's GOOO:

1. Paint one small watercolor (a fruit, a flower, a coffee mug — keep it simple)

2. Try a new recipe

3. Compliment a stranger

4. Make a different fancy coffee or matcha

5. Take a daily walk and snap one photo each time

6. Go to a new local business

7. Try a new makeup look (the more unhinged the better)

8. Donate one item (clothes, books, kitchen stuff — anything)

9. Make one new sticker from a doodle

10. Read one chapter of a book (or your Bible!!)

11. Look for a stray cat (or any neighborhood animal — the goal is finding one delight)

12. Mix a new cocktail or mocktail

13. Hand-letter a quote you love

14. Tan in the sun for 15 minutes (vitamin D, baby)

15. Post one Reel or TikTok

16. Sketch one item from your kitchen

17. Send one handwritten note in the mail

18. Talk to a stranger (yes really — start with the barista if you must)

19. Read and journal on one Bible verse

20. Try a new ingredient you've never had before

21. Bead a friendship bracelet

22. Do a 10-minute workout

23. Wear something you never wear (that one weird piece in the back of your closet — let it live)

24. Bake one new thing (banana bread, cookies, scones — your call)

25. Learn a Tiktok dance

26. Light a candle and journal one page

27. Share an OOTD

28. Take one flatlay photo

29. Drive a different route somewhere you go all the time

30. Plate dinner like a restaurant just to feel something

31. Pin 10 new things to a Pinterest board

32. Stretch for 5 minutes

33. Romanticize something boring (your morning coffee, your commute, your laundry pile)

34. Decorate and mail one envelope

35. Sit outside for 15 minutes with no phone

36. Make a fancy snack plate (charcuterie? cheese and crackers? girl dinner?)

37. Text one friend you haven't talked to in a while

38. Design one phone wallpaper

39. Plant a flower

40. Tidy one small surface (desk, nightstand, one shelf)

41. Make one mini collage

42. Drink your full water goal (yes, this counts!)

43. Add one fresh element to a room (flowers, candle, a new throw)

44. Do one 5-minute Procreate sketch

45. Unsubscribe from 10 emails

46. Write one rough blog post draft

47. Paint one rock and leave it somewhere for someone to find

48. Make a homemade salad dressing or sauce

49. Delete 50 photos from your camera roll

50. Make a mini zine (one folded page — Google it, super fun)

Okay, real talk. After running this challenge for six years (and now doing the "diet" version with a 5-week-old AND a toddler — pray for me), here are the tip-a-roonies that actually make the difference:

1. Have your "softballs" ready

Not every day is going to be a creative masterpiece kind of day. Some days you'll be tired. Some days the toddler will scream-cry through your only free hour. Some days you just won't FEEL it. That's where softballs come in. These are the easy, low-lift options you can knock out in 10 minutes or less — like snapping a photo on a walk, journaling a Bible verse, or making a quick sticker from artwork you already have. Have a list of 5-10 softballs ready BEFORE May starts. Future you will literally weep with gratitude.

2. Make it work for YOUR life

There are no rules to this challenge. None. Zero. Zilch. If skipping weekends works better for you, skip weekends. If you want to do 30 days but spread them across May AND June, that's allowed. If "5 days a week" is your version of full send, do that. The whole point is that you're doing something — not that you're following someone else's version of perfect.

3. It's not about being perfect — it's about having FUN

I cannot stress this enough. The magic of #oneadayinmay isn't in producing 31 polished, gallery-worthy pieces of work. The magic is in the showing up. The little finish. The "eh, it's done, moving on." Some of my best-selling products and licensing deals came from days I almost didn't post because I thought what I made was kind of meh. Done > perfect. Always.

4. Make an Idea Bank

Even if you've picked your "thing" for the month, sit down ONCE (like… now) and brain-dump variations within that category. Doing 31 recipes? Jot down 31 dishes you want to try. Doing 31 coffees? Make a list of every drink you want to test. No themes (well, maybe a few rabbit holes). No content calendars. Just a cute lil list of stuff you might do if you feel like it. Half of it won't make sense. Some of it will sound kind of brilliant. ALL OF IT IS FAIR GAME.

When Day 17 hits and your brain is mashed potatoes, you'll have a whole bank of ideas to pull from. This single tip has saved me more times than I can count.

5. Set up your space ahead of time

Whether it's a corner of your kitchen counter or a full studio, claim a spot where your supplies (or your camera, or your journal) lives so you can just SIT DOWN and go. The faster you can start, the more likely you are to actually do it. Removing friction is everything.

6. Find a buddy (or three)

Doing this alongside other people makes it WAY more fun. Tag a friend in this post, slide into someone's DMs, or just follow along with the hashtag. (This is exactly the energy we've been missing from social media — turns out it can be fun again, I promise!) The community is honestly one of my favorite parts of this whole thing.

7. Use BOTH hashtags

Use #oneadayinmay AND #oneadayinmay2026 so we can actually find each other (because Instagram has feelings about hashtags now and we have to outsmart it).

8. But don't stress about posting

If you don't want to post, don't post! This challenge is for YOU first, the internet second. Some people share every day, some only share their favorites, some don't share at all. All valid. The challenge is the practice, not the performance.

9. Celebrate the tiny wins

Donated one t-shirt today? Iconic. Painted a wonky lemon? Stunning. Posted a Reel that flopped? Still counts. The whole challenge is built on the idea that finishing — anything — is a win. So treat it like one.

10. Don't quit if you skip a day

This is where SO many people fall off. They miss Day 6, feel like they "failed," and stop entirely. Please don't. You can't really "fail" #oneadayinmay because there are no rules. Skip a day, skip three days, jump back in whenever. The only way to do it wrong is to stop showing up because of one missed day.

Big change doesn't come from giant leaps. It comes from little tiny wins that pile up when you're not even looking.

So consider this your official pep talk from your imperfect but ✨ wildly enthusiastic ✨ ringleader. Pick something. Finish it. High-five yourself. Show up again tomorrow.

Are you in for the teeny tiny wins??

Use #oneadayinmay and #oneadayinmay2026 when you post so we can all cheer each other on, and don't forget to follow along on Instagram @camimonet for all the daily chaos.

Let the daydreaming begin. ✨

xo, Cami