Becoming Unobstructed

Day 1: The MAP Year Project

Written by Derek MacDonald | September 1, 2025

Today's the day! We're officially kicking off The MAP Year Project. Today's post is slightly different than usual, but it'll help you understand what's ahead. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled program tomorrow.

The MAP Year Project is part creative journey, part project plan, and part software setup.

You can think of The MAP Year Project like a modern version of Julia Cameron's The Artist’s Way, but with the added benefit of creating something tangible by the end of it. In fact, I'm doing The Artist's Way throughout The MAP Year Project—starting today. But I'm spreading things out across a full year.

  • One chapter per month.
  • "Morning Pages" each day.
  • Creative Circle calls each month.

Spending a whole month on a chapter feels much more manageable to me than cramming them into singular weeks, like I've done previously. My hope is that doing it this way allows me to absorb the content better as well.

This is something you can pick up anytime, put down when you need to, and return to without falling behind.

The MAP Year Project is about switching things up in ways that actually fit into your day-to-day. The goal is for us to stack a bunch of small steps to create meaningful, sustainable, and visible change. If you're following along, you can do the parts you like and skip the ones you don't. No hard feelings, that's why I built it this way.

Throughout the project, you’ll get prompts, reflections, and community support.

  • It’s not a course.
  • It’s not another thing to keep up with.

So, why did I create The MAP Year Project at all?

Well, it was an accident. Originally, I'd set out to make creativity and stability coexist in my own life. After a few years of working on it, I made a lot of progress I was proud of. But I also realized something important was missing: other people.

Doing things alone helped me untangle my shit... but that's also where it left me.

Moving forward required connection, relationships, and community. So I started with the people in my circle. Now, I'm looking to connect with other like-minded creatives who want a hand getting unstuck and to be part of a group working on similar stuff.

Our Daily MAP Year Prompt 
01/365

Do I generally search for why things will work out—or—do I look for why they won't? What are my reason(s) for doing that?

And what do I want to do about it now?

onward.
-dmac