Week In The Life | Thoughts On The Process & Daily Sheet PDF
Next week I'll be documenting a week in our lives.
Seven days of photos and words, chronicling the little things and the big things that happen from Monday through Sunday.
There's so many different ways to approach this project. There's no right or wrong.
- Maybe you'll follow along with me and focus on the theme of time this year. Check out my design plan and supply list here.
- Maybe for you this project will be an attempt to catch just one story per day with words or photos.
- Maybe for you this project will be all on your blog and you won't be creating an album.
- Maybe you'll go all-out and jot down things as they happen on an hourly basis (even doing this for one day during the week is really cool).
If this is your first time participating in this project I highly recommend you read this post: The Basics Of Documenting A Week In Your Life. I've also got completed examples from a couple years available here: 2008 and 2010.
For me this project is about capturing the rhythms of our days over a period of one week. What time are we waking? What time are we falling into bed? What's special about our family right now? How can I pay close attention to (and honor and celebrate) the things that are happening now which likely won't be the same next year?
This project is simply an opportunity to capture the real, the basic, the rush, the slowness, the crazy, the simple, the ups and the downs of a single week. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be.
Next week my focus is ONLY on documenting. I won't be putting the album together at all. I'll be using my camera and writing things down and just letting the week evolve. The actual bringing it all together will happen the following week.
Week In The Life Schedule
Here's what's happening next week:
MONDAY | The week begins with a special Week In The Life giveaway from the 2011 sponsors. The comments on the giveaway will be open through Friday with the winners posted on the following Monday.
TUESDAY THROUH SUNDAY | Each day I'll share my photos and words for the day. At the bottom of each post I'll include a link widget for you to link to your own blog or site sharing your photos and words. Seeing others photos and reading their words are such a great way to get inspired and to think about other things you'd like to include in your own project.
WEEK OF AUGUST 1 | I'll be sharing my completed album.
Free Daily Sheets PDF To Help Document Your Week
As I was thinking about how I want to approach my content I remembered that when I first taught this class back in 2005 I included Daily Sheets for people to use to document pieces of their day. I created a new PDF that's geared towards what I'd like to include in my album and am making it available for you to download here.
The simple idea is to print out this PDF and keep it with you throughout the week for a very easy way to write things down. It's possible that not everything you write on here will make it into your album and it's also possible (and likely for me) that I'll be writing even more stories on the back on these sheets.
My hope is that this will give you a starting place.
The PDF includes 14 pages - 2 for each day of the week. The first page features time by hours (all 24 hours are listed) and the second page includes a spots for food (breakfast, lunch and dinner), observations, gratitude, favorite memory, and overheard.
Download the Week In The Life Daily Sheets here (3.1 MB).
I hope you're getting excited! Charge up those camera batteries -
Thank you for the files...great place to start..I did this last year I just added it to my everyday daily life scrapbook album I have....this year I plan on adding it to my 365 daily life album....as I have fallen behind on this project, but thats ok ...I am ok with falling behind....to me that shows life....my life....I am hoping once I start this week long project I will pick up my 365.....I love reading your blog...watching your kids grow...you are very inspiring...thank you again...
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thanks for the download. it will be so much easier to figure out if I've thought about writing down enough details...
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Thank you for the pdf. I'm looking forward to seeing what my life is really like.......hope it's not as boring as it is in my head (hi ho hi ho it's off to work I go....afterwards it's....tired to the bone I head back home!)
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This is the first year I am going to do this. i plan on documentin MOn-Sunday. I think it will be great! Monday begins the day of Canoe Journey. A once in a lifetime celebration for the Tribe I work for. http://paddletoswinomish.com/ We have been working hard for a year and a half and now it is upon us, whether we are ready or not. I fear that I may be so involved with "work" that I may forget to document my family. This certainly isn't a typical week in our lives, but it will be memorable.
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Thanks so much, Ali! I'll be using these pdf's.
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Thanks a lot for the printouts!
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Hi there. I just found your blog from a Shutter Sister's link. I'm very interested in your project and I wanted to see your past year results but the link isn't working for me.....
Would love to see a prior year result to help inspire me!
Thank you!
Thanks for letting me know Michelle - here's the finished projects for 2008: http://aliedwards.com/2008/10/my-2008-week-in-the-life-album-album-creation-part-two.html and 2010: http://aliedwards.com/2010/05/week-in-the-life-bringing-it-all-together-%E2%80%A2%C2%A0the-completed-album.html
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Thank you for the division for the file:) I am sure that it will be useful for us one day or the other:)
With the pleasure of receiving you one my blog and of reading you:)
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very excited to do this project!
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Thank you so much for the daily sheets. I know they will be a big help!
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Thanks Ali for the pdfs! Thats a huge timesaver for me, as I wouldn't know where to begin! Thanks for inspiring me and others in documenting our everyday!
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[...] read on Paislee Press‘s blog about the “Week in the Life” project that Ali Edwards is leading this week. And even though I can’t remember the last [...]
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I can't wait! I did this for the first time in April last year. Thank you for the pdf files. That is going to make things SO much easier.
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What we do in our family every week is ask two questions: First, what was the worst thing that happened? Then we go around and talk about each person's worst thing. Then we do best thing. It's a great way to see the week, especially with a teenager in the family. And it's even better when guests are at the table.
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[...] to focus on documenting. I am going to document daily on the handy .pdf files Ali posted for free here. I love the schedule one – that’s perfect. And the second page with just notes for [...]
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I'm starting this morning. Looking forward to this adventure. Thanks.
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Ali, is there a way to type from the computer onto these PDF files? I would love to have hand written and typed ones through the week?
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A weekin my life? Crazy!!! and i can't wait to capture it!!!! Thank you.
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[...] for me, I have an idea which things to document – the PDF file Ali on her blog shared was great on [...]
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I just heard about this and I am going to spend this week getting ready to do this next week. I cant wait to get started!!
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[...] paths with any sort of muse. So last week when I stumbled upon Ali Edwards upcoming project, A Week in the Life, I felt a renewed sense of energy and could not wait to dive [...]
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[...] prompts taken from Ali Edward’s Week In The Life daily sheet [...]
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[...] through our blogs. I want to show the REAL. I’m taking her hints and help by utilizing the journaling worksheets she designed. This is going to make it so super simple to keep track of our [...]
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Thank you for the PDFs. I have only just discovered them, doh! I have been carefully writing in a notebook but just when I changed tasks. This will make it easier and I like the way you have started the day at 4:00 as this is when our cat enters the bedroom for a bit of love and fussing before she goes out exploring again! I am tying this in with Shimelle's 'Explore' online class and they work together very well.
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[...] week I made the conscious decision to participate in the a Week in the Life adventure. I felt the need to unleash my creative side and the project, created by Ali Edwards, was [...]
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