2014 Catch Up Thread

[jenevang]

OK, I'm starting this thread so we can encourage one another and discuss techniques for catching up. Also, I'll be checking in on anyone who puts themselves out there for accountability so we can get 2014 done while not getting behind on 2015.

I originally posted this Panic Mode thread...

https://the-lilypad.com/forums/showthread.php/34641-Project-Life-Panic-Mode?p=556522#post556522

I'm honestly, still in that mode a bit, but see we are all over the place with those who have completed 2014 (YAY FOR YOUR ), those only a tad behind and not stressed, and those WAY behind and a bit distressed, hehe.

Here's my current plan... I find one of the hardest things for me is choosing my photos and editing them. So, I am going to go through my LR weeks (have those set up as smart folders and HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT) and choosing/editing each week from week 40 (which is where I am) up to week 52, putting my "final photos" (which may change a bit) into weekly folders on my desktop.

Then I will stick them into a template, one week at a time, and add my title card and then my journaling (which is the next hardest for me). Finally, I'll add papers and cards then any extra elements. I find that I can usually find more than enough in my stash but am not opposed to new goodies as those are pretty tempting, too .

I PLAN to do my 2015 spread each week (on Sun/Mon) then my 2014 spread as I can through the rest of the week. Yes, it may take me 3 months to complete 2014, but I'll be so happy once it's done. AND happy that I'm not behind on 2015.

Oh, and I will.not.let. vacation kick my ever lovin' butt this summer, hehe.

That's my plan. Someone keep me accountable. Anyone else want a Catch-Up cheerleader? I can't find my saddle oxford shoes, but will break out my digi pom poms for you

 

[tkradtke]

That sounds like a great plan! I think keeping up with 2015 first makes sense... it's best to keep up with things while they're still fresh (at least for me). I like the idea of having the 2014 photos edited and ready to go too. I did that with our big summer trip. I narrowed down and edited photos first and then built my pages.

I just finished my NYE page, so I'm finished with 2014 EXCEPT two weeks I skipped over the summer. One I don't even have the photos for, I need to track those down (my son's trip with the church youth group to Haiti) and the other I have photos set in a template already, I just got bogged down at the time with trying to pick a kit and since I was behind from summer, I skipped it in order to keep current the best I could. Since I'm so close, I think I'll try to knock those two out ASAP and then start 2015.

Oh... and I need to come up with a cover page for my second book of the year. I never know what to do with that random page. I do well with the one for the start of the year, but the second book always gets me.

 

[scrappyjedi]

Love your plan!

I started 2014 thinking I would do 6x8, and then that didn't work for me so I went back to 12x12 (I was a paper scrapper at the time). Since going digi toward the end of last year, I've decided to just do 2014 in digital, as well. That means a few weeks will get redone, but for the most part I'm behind on ALL of 2014, so most will be new layouts.

Luckily I keep my photos updated in Lightroom fairly regularly, and during December I set up weekly smart collections for all of 2014 and 2015. I've gone through and flagged all of the photos that I plan to edit for the 2014 weeks, with the exception of our 8 day Disney trip in May (because ). I'll get to that when I feel up to it.

My plan for actually getting pages scrapped is to do 2 a week- the current week in 2015 and then a week from 2014. 2014's may match the current week's dates, or I may choose one at random based on if it fits a current challenge, a new kit that I bought that I want to try, or just inspires me.

Since I edit all the photos that I think I might want to scrap for a week and not just the ones for PL, I'll be getting my 2014 photos ready for regular layouts while getting caught up. I'll be using the same weekly collections/flag/edit routine to keep up with my 2015 photos, so, barring any fantabulous vacations that make me again, I should stay caught up this year!

ETA- I just remembered that Star Wars Celebration VII is in Anaheim in April. I'll be there for 4 days, and likely at Disneyland for a couple of days beforehand. There goes the already. I'll just plan on being behind on that week for a while.

 

[talivstouwe]

I'm in the "way behind but not too stressed" camp. I'm up to week 33 only but right now I'm motivated and fairly certain I can complete the year without getting too behind on 2015.

I'm doing some simplifying now to get done. When I Started I was bent on having a double spread for each week and I've thrown that out the window. If I have any super slow weeks I'll combine both into one page if necessary.

I'm also simplifying my plan for 2015 and I think that will help a lot.

 

[ayaandjudah]

I'm behind as well but I will catch up quickly.

 

[dennydenny]

Really great plan Jen! I'll copy you
I started the year with 8x10 LOs but... then I changed to 12x12... I can fit more in it, and I have a lot of photos that I want to include! So.. I did Jan-March in 8x10 and September-December 12x12 ..... I need to do/redo Jan-aug ... a bit hard... but I'm so in love with the pages that come out! So I'll keep an eye on this thread to keep me accountable too

 

[jaye]

great plan Jen! I am a way behind but not really stressed mode, I'll get it done. My main concern is keeping up with 2015, I tend to fizzle out part way through the year.

My other goal is to actually get my books/pages printed

 

[sarahbhb]

I'm still working on 2012-2014. I'm with you..my biggest stumbling block is getting my photos ready. I've decided that I'm going to at least make monthly folders for the months that I've not completed in these albums and put the photos that I want to use in those folders. That way when I'm ready to do a page I just have to go through these folders and figure out what I want to work on (and then make sure I delete the photos from these folders when I've printed them). Because my orientation changes from page to page I don't want to print photos until I'm ready to put the pages together, but I'm hoping having the photos in separate folders will at least help me with this process.

 

[rach3975]

Here's my current plan... I find one of the hardest things for me is choosing my photos and editing them. So, I am going to go through my LR weeks (have those set up as smart folders and HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT) and choosing/editing each week from week 40 (which is where I am) up to week 52, putting my "final photos" (which may change a bit) into weekly folders on my desktop.

Then I will stick them into a template, one week at a time, and add my title card and then my journaling (which is the next hardest for me). Finally, I'll add papers and cards then any extra elements. I find that I can usually find more than enough in my stash but am not opposed to new goodies as those are pretty tempting, too .

I'll join in, too! Even though I use Storyteller Collections for at least half of my pages, I rarely post them here. When I'm in catch up mode (and let's face it, when am I not?) I often don't post my PL pages at all so I don't have to waste time on tracking credits, blurring out personal details, etc.

My process is a kind of like what you just described, Jen. PL works best for me when I batch it. My photos are already sorted by week on my computer. I start by going through 6-8 weeks worth and copying the photos I think I'll use to weekly PL To Scrap folders. Then I get the journaling from my app, divide it by week, and store it in the folders. Then I start with the first week, narrow down the photos a little more (which is code for "a lot more"), choose my template, get the photos into it, add the journaling, and then move onto the next week. When I've finished all of those folders, I go back and add the scrappy stuff. Lather, rinse, repeat until the year is done.

I'm in the "behind but not stressed" camp, at least most days. I have photos and journaling placed in templates up to week 39 and have totally finished through week 30. The "add scrappy stuff" step is relatively fast for me, so I can do 1 a day if I don't get distracted. I was hoping to finish by late Jan, but I guess sometime in Feb. is more realistic. I can't let it drag on too long or I'll lose motivation and never get it done. I'll probably wait a couple of weeks to start 2015. I wanted to finish 2014 before moving on, but I think I'll start to feel too far behind.

 

[judet]

I'm behind on 2014 too, I'm going through and checking my photos for editing screwups and completed pages for typos and grammatical nonsenses. I basically have the back end of summer and autumn to get done. If I can get it done by the end of January I can send it off for printing, if not I'll have to wait for the next sale. I'm not stressed about it at the moment, wish I hadn't got so behind but never mind! I was hoping to have 2011 ready to print too, that's probably closer to complete but I'm not going to worry if that one waits, been waiting a long time for it, a few more months won't make any difference, lol!

I'm purposefully not starting 2015 until I'm done. I'm keeping notes though