Welcome To Week In The Life 2012 | Thoughts On Getting Started

Photo spread from Week In The Life Sunday 2011.

Welcome to Week In The Life 2012!

I know many of your around the world have already started the process of documenting your week - thanks for sharing your excitement via Facebook!

Two things before I share some additional thoughts on this process:

• SHARING YOUR CONTENT | In my post tomorrow morning, where I share my words and photos from today, I'll include a spot for you to link to your photos and words. It's been fun the last few years to check out all the different links to see what's happening for others as they experience the content gathering portion of this project. In addition, here's a couple other places to share: (1) Big Picture Free Week In The Life Community (message board + gallery) and (2) Flickr Week In The Life 2012.

• GIVEAWAYS | Today begins a week long series of giveaways celebrating this project. Each day you will find a new giveaway post featuring two of my Week In The Life giveaway sponsors. The giveaway post will be open from 3am Pacific to 9am Pacific the following day. On Sunday I'll have a giveaway featuring all the 2012 Title Sponsors. All the winners will be posted next week on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Don't miss today's giveaways from Chic Tags and The Vintage Pearl. Click here to see what they are giving away and leave a comment to enter.

THOUGHTS ON GETTING STARTED 2012

As I get ready to embark on this project once again, I wanted to share a few things that are rattling around in my mind:

1. FIND YOUR OWN RHYTHM. I usually begin with lots of enthusiasm and end feeling so very ready for it to be over. And that's totally okay. This can be an intense project - it's also one that is very rewarding when you commit to seeing it all the way through. Everyone is going to have their own pace with this project. Set yourself up for success with the right attitude: you'll do the best you can with what you have in front of you. For some of you your rhythm will be all iphone photos with text documentation via Instagram (love the idea of using that one tool to capture the words + the photos). Others will use the Daily Sheets as you go about your day. Some will use a blank journal or a Smashbook. There's no right or wrong. Make it work for you.

2. USE WHAT YOU HAVE. A combination of iphone and dslr photos will likely make it into my album. With this project I tend to use my big camera more because I'm thinking about it - and it's good practice. So many of my favorite shots happen during this week because I take more photos than usual of whatever it is that's happening around here. And I keep it simple.

3. THOUGHTS ABOUT THE "STUFF." Week In The Life used to be more about capturing the "stuff" than it is these days (for me at least - again, make it what you want it to be). Last year when I did WITL I collected very little stuff - for me it's mainly because I'm already actively capturing those things in Project Life. What I liked and learned last year is removing the "stuff" component enabled me to focus more on the words + photos for this project. It's really totally and completely up to you. I loved the stuff that I gathered in my older Week In The Life albums.

4. NO GUILT. I say this every time - with all the projects. If you miss an afternoon or a day don't throw out the entire project. All the stories and photos you collect can come together into a million different formats.

5. LIFE HAPPENS. Good, bad, sad, crazy, boring, fun, life-changing, life-affirming, life-challenging. Anything can and does happen because that's how life goes. Be open to capturing it.

6. HAVE FUN. Sometimes this project can feel a little like a chore - especially towards the end of the week. Make it fun. This is something I'm going to try to remember as this week progresses. When I start feeling stressed or overwhelmed I'm going to be conscious of it and just take a step back and a deep breath. When it starts feeling like that something that often helps me is to figure out what I haven't captured yet. Did I manage to get photos of breakfast each day but nothing of dinner because I was too busy? Do I have a ton of photos of Simon and very few of Anna? What's missing? Asking myself those sorts of questions usually helps get me back on track to finish out the week.

7. BE REAL. Yes. Your life may look completely different next year or two years from now...mine certainly looks different than last summer. The cast of characters is essentially the same but there are some very big differences. Take this opportunity to document what your life is like right now - all of it. My hope, and one of the reasons I keep doing this project, is that you use this as an opportunity, not just as a creative project, to take a good look at your life. What do your love? What do you dislike? What do you hope never changes and what would you change right now if you could? Show me the wonderful, simple everyday pieces of your life.

Wishing you all the best as you embark on this journey of documentation!

Ready, set, go!

TODAY'S POST SPONSORED BY | ONLINECARDCLASSES.COM
Join Kristina Werner and Jennifer McGuire for their very popular stamping and cardmaking technique classes at onlinecardclasses.com. Each class includes lifetime access to lesson materials including numerous how-to videos and PDF downloads. Get the most out of product you already have on hand by adding new techniques to your crafting arsenal!

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