Back in August, Olya and I embarked on a two-week #letscatchuponprojectlife challenge to catch up on more than twenty weeks of Project Life. Spoiler: we didn’t catch up on twenty weeks of Project Life spreads. Instead, we made progress and pushed forward in our documenting.
During those two weeks, I learned some things that I’m planning to continue doing, so I (eventually) finish documenting the year. Because I’m absolutely determined not to give up on this project (unlike how I did last time).
Here are some things I’ve learned from Project Life catch-up:
1. Remember that the memories preserved are worth documenting,
(even if that means catching up on twenty weeks’ worth of spreads).
Each time I flip through my album and look at the completed spreads, I get motivated to continue with Project Life because so many precious memories are preserved that would otherwise have been lost or forgotten.
2. Forget perfection.
Not every spread will be perfect. And that’s okay. No one’s going to notice that the colors of my Project Life cards aren’t perfectly matching or that I could have chosen better embellishments. Instead, just pick what works, what you’re happy with and move on. There’s still plenty to do! After all, you could spend hours trying to find that perfect embellishment/card and still not find it in the end. Embrace imperfection as part of the memories and the process. Because that’s exactly the way real life is.
3. Keep things simple.
This is in the same vein as the previous point. I like to limit my stash to a certain number of supplies/embellishments so I need to make fewer decisions, which means things are kept simple. No need to over-complicate things.
4. Write things down because you WILL forget.
As much as I like to think that I will remember what happened last week, I won’t and I don’t. (Sometimes, I don’t even remember what I had for lunch. #truth) So the next best thing is to write things down so I can refer to them when I work on my spreads later on.
5. Be diligent in the little things.
For me, that means regularly importing photos onto my computer, recording our weekly happenings, and slotting memorabilia into the respective weeks as I collect them.
6. Stay focused.
Keep your end goal in mind and don’t let yourself get distracted by the less important details.
7. Work in batches.
This continues to be such a HUGE life-saver for me. Working in batches means planning multiple spreads in advance, editing my photos all at once, printing large numbers of photos, and slotting photos and paper in once I get everything together (I typically spread this out over several days). This works in contrast to working on one spread at a time and having to repeatedly sort/edit/print/journal/etc. for each week.
8. Don’t procrastinate.
The more you procrastinate, the more your weeks will accumulate.
9. Instead, do the next thing.
Don’t let yourself be stressed out by the overwhelming number of things you need to do or weeks you have to catch-up on. Rather, choose one thing to start doing and just do it!
10. Find out what works for you and do it.
Situations won’t always be ideal, but work around what you have. For me, I print at our local photo shop instead of at home and use only Design A page protectors instead of having a variety.
11. Have a plan of action.
If that means finding accountability with friends online or in real life, do it. If that means planning things out like this, do it. If that means sketching out your spreads beforehand, do it.
12. Don’t fall behind.
I know this one sounds so obvious. But it’s true. Once you get caught up, stay current! But if you fall behind (like me), just refer to all the points mentioned above 🙂
What other tips do you have for catching up on Project Life or staying current? Share them in the comments below!
P.S. You can also read about my Project Life catch-up progress here.
