Keeping up with Project Life

Well, I think only you can decide if you want to do the project or not. One thing that helped me last year was focusing on moments instead of weekly spreads. I would take it month by month, which sounds like what you are thinking about, and I would include moments and memories as they happened. Then I didn't feel like I was repeating myself. There are no rules that say how long each month has to be or how many pictures you must include so don't stress on that part. Just enjoy the moments and days and scrap about the memories you want to remember.

 

I agree with Amanda, only you can decide if you want to take it on. I think it would be interesting to look back on and see how you did it. I often think back to when both me and Nick were in school and working full time, and wonder how we did anything else. For me, I need to keep creative most when I'm super busy.

For keeping up, maybe schedule yourself time? You are planning on monthly, so you could do January in one block and see how long it takes you. If it seems to cumbersome, then maybe decide that you are going to take 30 minutes on Sunday evenings and look through your photos and flag anything that was a big moment you want to add to your spread. You could also keep an ongoing layout and just open and add on a daily basis when something strikes you.

I would love to see everyone do Project Life for a year. I think it's great from the perspective of anthropology, as well as fun to see how you change over a year. And it would be cool to reflect back on this time period and how you were focused on school and knowledge.

 

I'm in the same boat, busy mom of two little guys and I'm in school full time. I've been able to keep up by doing monthly pages and I write down the info in my planner. Basically, when I take a photo I write down what the photo was in my planner and what I want to remember about it. Then, when I get some time on the weekend or during nap time, I can just go back to my planner and remember what I was going to scrap.

 

I have never successfully done it yet so not sure how helpful my advice will be...but my plan is a lot like amandas. I am taking pics on my phone and editing them quickly at the end of the day an uploading to a folder at Persnickety prints. The once a week or less...just whenever I can I am unloading my bIG camera memory card and editing those photos and uploading them to persnickety as well. I will print twice a month (or once..) and then slid my pics in my pockets and go from there whenever I can. It will be easier when u can print from home but I can't yet so this is what is working for me so far. I am writing little notes in my planner throughout the week so I have the memories and can go back to them. I am working on the album just in bits when I can. I'm trying not to stress about it because when I do I get paralyzed and end up doing nothing. :/

 

This is year four for me, but I have yet to finish 2015 :-/ What I learned from the end of 2015 (the part I have yet to finish) is this... I have GOT to simplify this year. I also need to keep notes for those times when I do get behind. Like @MrsGaramer mentioned, in my planner (a bullet journal), I write down each photo I plan on using, where it is (phone, big camera, in a text, etc.) and any notes about it for journaling. I also jot down a few notes every day about what went on. Nothing too deep (unless it needs to be). I'm also keeping my pages pretty clean and simple this year. I just want to keep up without the burnout I felt at the end of last year.

 

What helps me is setting aside the same time each week to scrap my page. Once you get into your routine maybe you could pick a night that would work best. I always scrap on Saturday nights and if that doesn't work out then I have Sunday afternoons set aside. Keep it simple. Organize your photos weekly. These are things that have worked for me. I've been able to scrap a double page week each week for the last 3 years. I hope you can find something that works for you. And if your weeks are going to look the same maybe just focus on a different theme or moment each week.

 

I've learned the hard way, too many great choices are paralyzing.

But I did have to add I love the idea of Aqua Zumba. I've done water aerobics prior to a knee replacement and also zumba but combining them sounds terrific!

 

I've also failed to totally complete the last SEVERAL years. And this year, I don't have more than 2 weeks done so far. Also, though, I have not taken many photos. I keep forgetting.
I think this year, I am going to take a slightly different approach to the project. I plan on going through whatever photos or stories I DO have and deciding which ones I want to include in my album. As long as I've told the stories that matter, the exact timeline or weekly / monthly format doesn't matter.

 

I hear you on the choices. I've never finished but I am 1/2 way through 2015, which is farther than I've ever been. I think the biggest thing that helped me was picking one series of templates and just going with those. Narrow down the choices and get some things the same every page and then it goes easier.

 

I'm going to go wild in March and change out my calendar/date card! Keep that one for two months at least and then...change again?

 

Living on the wild side!!!

 

I keep thinking that I would like to do PL and have actually tried a couple of times, but without kids, my life is kinda boring. Any suggestions?

 

But it's not really boring. There are all kinds of things to capture that will be fun to look back on... movies, books, favorite tv shows, current events, recipes, your neighborhood, etc. All of the things you take for granted that they'll never change, but they do! I did project 365 in 2010 and sometimes I struggled find a proper photo subject and would just take a random photo. I've recently been "project life-ing" those photos and some of those random photos are some of the coolest to look back on (picking out a movie at Blockbuster which isn't here anymore, waiting at the bus stop for a route that has since been eliminated, the corner burger place that had been around forever which closed last year). It may seem silly at first to take such "every day" type photos, but as time passes I think you'll really enjoy looking back at them. Maybe challenge yourself to take a photo a day (random ones, or using the prompts like the ones in the photography forum here). And you can always just do one page a week vs. two... or some people here just do a monthly spread. Lots of options! Come join us!

 

I am thinking about trying again but I would definitely have to do monthly. Not much happens at my house without kids.

 

Tracie, these are great ideas. I guess I do have enough to do PL. But I guess I need to take more photos.

It's funny but as I was doing errands today, I thought about taking photos of flowering trees and shrubs, I saw some beautiful Bradford Pear trees.

I am going to start looking at more PL layouts.

 

I copied and pasted your post in a Word document so I can keep these ideas in my mind. Putting them in my calendar would probably be a good idea. I have a terrible memory