How are you entering the dates? That wizard puts an input mask on the date
fields, requiring you to enter in a specific manner.
I suggest you remove the input masks for the controls in the form. They
just get in the way when you're entering a date.
Open the form in design view, select the textbox for ProjectBeginDate, go to
View Properties to show the properties for this textbox. Click on the Data
tab, and delete the contents of the input mask property. Repeat for the
ProjectEndDate textbox.
Now you can enter yesterday's date with four keystrokes 8/25. Access will
assume the current year. Hint - today's date can be entered using Ctrl-;
Access uses the short date setting in Control Panel on your computer to
interpret ambiguous date entries (eg. 8/1 could be interpreted as Jan 8 or
Aug 1). It is therefore, as good idea to put a format on the controls, so
that you can see how it has interpreted your entry.
Again in design view of the form, select the ProjectBeginDate textbox, go to
the Format tab of the properties dialog, and choose a format of Medium Date.
Repeat for the ProjectEndDate textbox.
I would also open the Project table in design view and remove the input
masks for the ProjectBeginDate and ProjectEndDate fields.