As of this week, I’m currently behind on more than fifteen weeks of Project Life. FIFTEEN WEEKS, you guys!! That is no joke. That’s almost four months’ worth of photos and 105 days of memories.
Okay, so maybe I’m making this sound a lot worse than it really is. But I’ll be honest and tell you that I started stressing out a little a lot when I found out that I had ten weeks’ worth of spreads to catch up on. Then I decided to hit pause, breathe, and come up with a plan of action to get all caught up.
With how busy school is, and actually living life, Project Life isn’t always my priority. But since I failed once, I’m determined to try harder and smarter this time.
When I lay out my options, I could either skip the weeks, work backwards, or pick up where I left off. So while I don’t have any Project Life spreads to share with you today, I do have a plan of how I’m hoping to get all caught up with Project Life (if there’s even such a thing as being “caught up”!).
But here’s the plan I’ve come up with:
Work in batches. I don’t remember where I first heard about batch processing – but I like the sound of it, and I think it will really work with how much I have to tackle. This means selecting all the pictures at once, editing at once, printing at once, etc.
Set aside 10 to 15 minutes every day. Ideally, I’d like to find an afternoon (or a few days) to get it all done. But with my schedule, I reckon that’s hard to come by. So I’m breaking it all down into manageable portions that I can do a little at a time. And I think maybe spending just 15 minutes working on it every day will help.
Do what you can. Right now, I’ve decided to pick up where I’ve left off (which is week 9). I might change my mind later and decide to work backwards. We’ll see. But for now, I’m working with what I have and making the most of it. Even if some weeks end up just being photos + words (sans embellishments), I’ll still make do with it.
Don’t stress. The process needs to be enjoyable. If it isn’t fun, I’m less inclined to work on it.
Within the time I set aside each day, I can choose to accomplish any one of these things:
- Journaling. Since Project Life is all about the every day and each day passes so quickly, I regularly try to write down all the things that need to go into my Project Life album into a planner as the days happen. Sometimes, I attach a sticky note to the spread if there are any “extras” I want to include so I don’t forget once I get round to working on the spread. This makes it easy for me to go back and check dates or events if (when) I forget.
- Choosing + editing photos. This is probably one of the most dreaded parts for me (am I allowed to say that?). My only solution for this is to upload my photos each week and choose the photos I want to use in my spreads straightaway. I usually edit my photos on my phone with VSCO, which also allows me to edit on the go.
- Printing photos. This is probably the easiest part because I hardly have to do any work. Once the photos are edited, I’ll drop them off at my local printer who gets them done in one hour, with reasonable quality.
- Completing the spreads. This part could possibly end up being the most time-consuming. But also the most fun. It’s
probably definitely my favorite part of the whole process – actually being creative and documenting the memories.
In between doing extra classes this summer and living life, I’ll really need to make time for this Project Life business. But I’m counting on you guys to keep me accountable and get this all done. Deal?
What tips do you have for catching up on Project Life?
one idea that also comes to my mind is to work on your past spreads and also work on your actual week. This way the gap won’t grow bigger it’ll stay the same.
Such a good suggestion, Andrea! I didn’t think of this one. I’ll definitely need to work it in – I really think it will help!
This is what works for me too… or working backwards. I also like to update my weekly summary even if I don’t get to the whole week.
I hate choosing and editing photos too. I don’t have a home printer, so the thought of preparing the photos and then heading out to get them printed is so daunting. I think with a home printer I might be more inclined to print and edit as I go… I found the batch editing a few weeks ago and it really does make the editing process significantly less painful!
oh my gosh–me too! I’m reeaallly far behind, and though I keep a near-daily journal, I know it’ll be fragmented when I sit down to tackle it. But you’ve inspired me to take one big step today, and organize photos for a giant batch print.
I like your idea of working in batches. I am behind as well and feeling overwhelmed right now. I have also employed Andrea’s suggestion above and that has worked well. Here’s to catching up!
This is my first attempt at project life. I too, and so far behind. I love some of your suggestions! I am going to try to work on spreads every day – even if for only a few minutes. Andrea’s idea to work on the current week simultaneously will be so much help! Eventually the gap will be gone.
Isn’t Andrea’s idea great? I’m still behind too, so here’s to catching up! (: