I have not posted much of my Project Life lately. It's not that I'm not cultivating a good life and recording it in photos and stories, it's just that the process of sharing it all can be pretty overwhelming.
That is completely MY FAULT.
The system, as designed by Becky Higgins, is pretty simple but I've chosen to make it complicated and more full than necessary. Going forward I have to learn to scale back and realize that Project Life IS NOT A PERPETUAL WEEK IN THE LIFE, it is a simple glimpse of our lives with a few stories, not every story!
I will continue the project through the end of the year so as to have a complete 2012 chapter. And boy, is it ever complete! I have just started my FOURTH album. Sometimes I can't shake some habits, one of which is thinking of my life in quarters - just like when I would be doing profit & loss analysis and merchandising plans. I just can't to split the year into thirds :)
There are a few things that take, to my mind, far too much time:
1. I don't like using the Kodak photo printing kiosk at the store. I send my photos to Persnickety Prints. The quality is FANTASTIC - the timing, and the duties charged, not so fabulous. I'd love to find something local that a) wouldn't cost me buckets of money, b) would print 8.5 x 11 photos, and c) wouldn't take oodles of time to process.
To compound this problem, in order to make the photo processing cost effective - mostly shipping charges, I send in a few weeks worth of photos at a time. The problem with that is I get out of the rhythm of doing the project and I have to admit I've been caught WEEKS behind from time to time!
2. Taking and editing (aka cropping and straightening) photos to upload here on the blog. There really has to be a faster way.
3. Ordering the "extra" page protectors is expensive and cumbersome. Amazon.com does not ship to Canada so I order them to be shipped to my sister in the States, she in turn ships them to me. Sometimes I'm lucky and get a personal delivery!
If I'm to do this project next year, I'll definitely have to make a few changes.
1. Do not over-think and just get it done. Done is better than perfect, right?
2. Do "Week in Review" updates a la Cathy Zielske
3. Incorporate more words and fewer photos.
I will also have to figure out how best to feature Project Life here on the blog.
What about you? How is Project Life going?
* * * * *
The last couple of weeks in Album One:
PROJECT LIFE | WEEK 12
18 March - 24 March, 2012
Big Events: All my kids are home! LOTS of stories to share.
25 March - 31 March, 2012
Big Events: Baseball evaluations in a new league for Claire and Cole has an adventure at the ultrasound clinic.
LEFT:
INSERTS:
EXTRAS:
First quarter done and shared! I'll have to figure out the best way to share the other two completed albums without overwhelming everyone :)