Week In The Life™ 2016 | Completed Album Overview & Final Thoughts

We've reached the end of another Week In The Life™ adventure. 

Some of you are finished, some are finishing, some are in-progress, some have piles, some ordered photos, some are just starting, and some of you are still thinking about starting it someday. No matter where you are in this project I hope you are enjoying it. I hope you are embracing the life you are living right now. I hope that by bringing all the pieces together you are able to celebrate all the good stuff that is vs. wishing for something that isn't. 

There is always so much more to these projects than what you might see on the surface. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

As I wrap up my participation for 2016 here are a few thoughts: 

  • I can't wait to see what life looks like next year. I'll be doing it around the same time - maybe a bit earlier - but still sometime in the spring. It's a nice time of year for me that's away from December Daily®. Next year Simon will be in high school - that in and of itself will change a whole bunch of things around here (driving, activities, etc). Sometimes the changes from year to year are small and sometimes they are huge - sometimes you know what's coming and other times it takes your breath away. 
  • I was so happy with the thicker album spine this year. Definitely the right size for this project. I'm still loving the 6x8 size. 
  • Repetition continues to be one of my most favorite things. This isn't new, as most of you know, but it takes so much thought out of bringing these projects together. I don't have to re-think every single page. I establish a format and I follow it. I hit on that topic again in the video below. 
  • I really loved seeing all the sharing this year surrounding this project, particularly on the Facebook group. I love how it motivates people to keep going and I love the sharing of ideas and inspiration from around the world. 
  • I've found a decent rhythm for myself with this project that feels now like an old friend. This was my 10th year (if I remember correctly) embarking on this project and there are truly crazy and wonderful things captured in the pages of these albums. I hope you find a similar rhythm in your own project. 
  • Next year I'd like to put some kind of workshop together that reviews past albums similar to Storytelling With December Daily® that highlights in a more concrete way the processes, tips, etc that I've gathered over the years. There is so much to learn just from going back and re-examining past projects. 

You can see all my 2016 posts about Week In The Life™ via my archives here

PS | And, ha. When you listen to the video above you'll hear me say this is my One Little Word® album. Obviously it's not but I think I had One Little Word® on the brain while I was filming. 

Thank you again for being part of this storytelling and memory keeping community!

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22 thoughts

  1. mtercha says…
    06/01/2016

    Really great. I love this. I had made a mistake early on, on Tuesday, I'm on Thursday now, and sort of had to re-think something. It worked out, I made it work, I'm not happy about it but it's ok. I'm considering trying December Daily too. In the 3+ years I've been around I never tried it and I think I might, I'd like to. Anyway, I had so many great, small stories this week that I was happy to capture. I'm still working on it. Thanks. Michelle t

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. CassM says…
    06/01/2016

    Funny that you said "One Little Word" album twice at the beginning!
    Gorgeous as always and inspiring. I always appreciate how encouraging you are to keep this project our own. With what we have. And in our own ability and style. Not to worry about perfection or comparisons to others. I appreciate all the time you take to respond to the flood of FB questions and comments. I admit I took a screenshot of your "Love that." comment to one of my photo/posts and texted it to a friend who would understand my excitement in that.
    I'm going slowly through my book but very much enjoying the process. Knowing how very proud I will feel to complete this and also how very grateful I will feel to have this glimpse of our life documented. For as a SAHM I do value the little things so very much.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      06/01/2016

      Yeah - I was totally in OLW mode yesterday before filming this :).

  3. osharp76_gmail_com says…
    06/01/2016

    I love it! So excited to get started myself. I really love your templates from 2014- will I be able to change dates to 2016?

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      06/01/2016

      Yes - you can erase them with the eraser tool and type in new dates.

  4. Joelaw says…
    06/01/2016

    What did you put on the other side of the photo of Aaron (your last page)?

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      06/01/2016

      Nothing :). Some people have an end page or another photo or something along those lines. Mine is just blank.

  5. KProffitt says…
    06/01/2016

    Love your album so much, Ali! Last year was my first time doing WITL and I will be doing it EVERY year here on out. LOVE it SO much! XO!

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Jeannew says…
    06/01/2016

    Love your album and all the great ideas! On your thought #1 above, I really noticed two things about this year vs last year. First, my oldest daughter is now driving so my time spent in the car was so much less. I noticed it right away! What a change in a short period. And second, my husband was out of town part of the week both times. So interesting to observe how much of our daily life, he is not a part of. It's not bad - we are used to it. It's just our life. I will treasure these glimpses of our life. Thank you for this project!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. tmjordan says…
      06/06/2016

      I noticed the same thing about my husband. While he wasn't traveling that week, he is in very few photos. He works late most evenings, so that is why. While, I was a bit disappointed, I have embraced it, and will be sure to include more pics of him next year. This is my first time doing this project and I am loving seeing it come together. I'm still not finished with my album, but I will be soon, no rush here.

  7. Marjorie30 says…
    06/02/2016

    I'd love the WITL workshop! I'm sure it would help me be a little more comfortable when putting together my album. I learnt so much with the Storytelling with December Daily.

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. scrapfin1 says…
    06/02/2016

    Your weekly/daily documenting posts are the best! This time is no exception. I love the way you document daily life.

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. JenBradshaw says…
    06/02/2016

    LOVE your album, as always. I totally agree about the thicker spine for the album this year. At first it seemed huge, but once it's filled, it turned out to be just right. Thanks for such an awesome project and an awesome kit to go with it!

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. bravelove says…
    06/02/2016

    Thank you Ali for sharing so much of your process and for creating such wonderful products to accompany this project. I have had so much fun following along as I make progress in my album.
    This is my second year doing WITL and my fifth doing project life and I truly learn so much from memory keeping. For instance this week did not go as I wanted it to. I had visions of all the activities of our life I wanted to represent in the album but then my daughter got sick, like really sick. Four days out of the week were spent at home with her in a delirious state of fever half the time. So much for my big plans! And yet being forced to let go of the week I had envisioned allowed me to ask myself why those things had been so important to me to begin with which led to some shifting priorities that were very needed in our family. What was truly amazing was looking at the week that we did have and seeing all the love and togetherness that I documented. I am so humbled and grateful.

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Thumper says…
    06/02/2016

    Curious what you did with the side of the album in the little metal thing (the name of it escapes me).

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      06/02/2016

      Nothing yet (I talk about that in the video). Planning to just slip a white piece of paper likely with a typed title for 2016.

  12. rporier says…
    06/02/2016

    Can you tell me what you did for your album organization tags way back on this post:

    http://aliedwards.com/2009/09/organizing-scrapbook-albums-an-update

    I want to use this for albums when they don't have an album tag built in. Thanks!

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. shannon80 says…
    06/08/2016

    I am FINISHED my first Week in the Life Album and I hope you can just feel the excitement from me. I know this will be amazing to look back on. I know life will never be the same as it has been during this week ( and for some really good reasons too! ). I have learnt a lot of out life and how much time we actually spent on doing things. Really, its very eye opening. Im going to take the time to jot down some things that I would love to capture next time. Thank you Ali for this amazing concept.

    Reply 0 Replies
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    01/03/2017

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  15. paminsc says…
    03/10/2017

    Is a week in the life kit for just one week per year? or are there several weeks spread out for the year? I'm thinking maybe one per season.
    That might be to ambitious with everything else going on but I like the idea.

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Pintabulousmomma says…
    03/11/2017

    How do you decide what week out of the year to make this type of album?
    Im new to this and saw Jen from Pretty Neat Living show her Christmas Album. Id love to try this ! Thanks in advance!

    Reply 0 Replies
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    12/29/2017

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