As 2016 approaches and I begin thinking about my fourth (!!!) year of documenting with Project Life, I'm really trying to look back and think about what worked and didn't work for me this year. I did a lot of experimenting these past eleven months, and as such I definitely have a much better idea of what I like and don't like. If you're interested, I've talked a little about what worked and didn't before. Actually, I've written about it more than once (see: here and here as well).

As life moves on and gets busier, I've definitely had to re-evaluate how I do things. It's all about getting things done well the first time around. As such, here are my plans for 2016:

1. Format. This will be changing in 2016. I'm still going to work weekly, but I'm only going to do a half a spread per week. Meaning each spread will cover a two week period. This will help me to really focus on the highlights of the week and; it will keep printing costs down, and means I can fit the year into one album. This is important to me. Two albums a year just adds up too quickly.
2. The size. I've been working in 12x12 since I first started project life, and I intend to keep up with that. I will most likely be sticking to Design A page protectors, but don't hold me to that. I will be sticking to this (my favorite) 12x12 album.
3. Dividers. I'm definitely sticking with these clear ones again; I still find the colorful ones too distracting.
4. Printing at home. Yes, it is more expensive in the long run, but it's convenient and really the only way that I am able to stay as up to date as I do.
5. Title cards. I jump back and forth a lot on this one, and honestly: I think that I will just go with whatever I feel like each week. However, now that I'm only using half a spread per week, I may incorporate the title card into a photo (either adding the dates digitally before printing or adding a stamp after the fact).
6. Minimal embellishments. This won't change: I'll stick to things like wood veneers, stamps and the occasional little extras.
7. Point of View. Oh my gosh. I say this every year but I really need to incorporate more of my husband in my album. Unfortunately I'm picky about how things look so I don't often ask my hubby to journal anything because it won't match with my writing. I'll have to work on a way to include him that satisfies this!
8. Consistency. This is probably the biggest thing that I struggle with from week to week. There may be consistency within my weekly spreads, but they vary greatly from week to week. Of course a lot of this has to do with being inspired to try new things throughout the year, and I would never discourage trying new things! I do want to have at least one thing that I do the same every week; whether it's how I date my title cards or a journal prompt I include.

I've talked about this before, but it bears repeating: memory keeping is not meant to be a chore. It's not something meant to frustrate you or make you feel guilty. It is a gift that you are giving yourself, your family, and anyone else you share your albums with. Anyone can do it, I am not the exception to the rule. I simply have the right attitude: the memory keeping attitude.

I would love to hear how you're approaching Project Life in 2016, so please fill me in by commenting below, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask away.

I still almost can't believe it. I'm finally up to date in sharing my project life spreads! Man, that's a good feeling. I'm not going to beat around the bush, friends, so here's November.

That's right, this mama is finally catching up on her Project Life posts! I actually debated sharing these spreads because with the exception of one, I consider them to be some of the weakest spreads I've put together in a while.

I actually started up another 6-month studio calico subscription in hopes that some new designs and products would help lift me out of my funk.

But anyways, I digress. Here are my spreads from October.