What I've Learned After 4 Years of Project Life - Part 1

I've been a devoted Project-Lifer for 4 years now. And I've learned so much! I'd like to share some of what I've learned here with you. Be warned - I like to talk about Project Life. A lot. So I'm going to split this post up into multiple parts.

First, a little history:
My first year (2012), I did weekly layouts, I journaled everything, I took photos of everything, I saved all my little extras to put in the book. And I ended up with 2 volumes for one year. That's a bit much.

The second year (2013), I went monthly. I only made 2-3 spreads per month, so I was able to cram the whole year into one book. Barely.

The third year (2014), I became much more zen about the whole thing. I put photos in as I took them, collected less stuff, and I journaled less. I fit a whole year of PL plus an extra project (Me: The Abridged Version) in one book. With a bit of room to spare.

This year (2015), I spent the first 3 months of the year wondering if I even wanted to continue PL. Then I found the PL app and my whole life changed. But that's another post...

So here we go:

1) Write stuff down - you will forget.

You think you'll remember, because how could you forget that funny thing your husband said or the details about your friend's party or how you felt after the series finale of your favorite show ever!?! But you will forget. Trust me on this. Write it down. Write it anywhere - a journal, a planner, a word document, a post-it note, or directly onto a journaling card. Just make sure all the notes you write down end up in the same place. These are what you will use to fill in your Project Life book. These are the important bits of your life. These are the things you want to remember!

2) Don't worry about separating weeks or months, just let it flow.

To me, the thought of keeping up with a weekly layout is daunting. Filling up a whole spread of photos and ephemera for a week or a month or any amount of time is restricting and nerve-wracking. And trying to keep all my photos in perfect chronological order is anxiety-inducing. So I let it go. *insert Frozen song* When I get my photos printed, I put them in a more-or-less chronological order, then start filling pockets. If I have 2 photos about one event but only one spot left of a page, then the 2 photos go on the next page. No biggie!

3) Don't plan to do something each week or month, you will only get discouraged when you fall behind with it.

My first year, I used the week cards provided in the kit. It was easy to fill them in, even if I was behind, because all I had to do was write in the dates. My second year, I wanted to do a weekly review card to record the things that didn't make in into the photos. I lasted 4 weeks. Then I got depressed about being behind. My third year, I knew I couldn't keep up with a weekly review, or even a monthly review, so I decided to just make a card (any size) to denote a new month. It didn't matter where it went or what size it was or how it was decorated, I just wanted the months shown. I got through March. Then I decided to just go with it. I date enough of my journaling cards that if I really want to know where I am in the year at a certain place in my book, I can just look at my journaling cards.

That's all I have for today, I'll be back with some more Project Life musings next week!

Happy Crafting!