Preparing for A Week in the Life

I am really looking forward to probing into a week of my life (see aliedwards.com). I did this project with Ali Edwards once before as part of the Yesterday/Today class on Big Picture Scrapbooking. I have to say it was one of the hardest assignments. I have a long commute each way. I often sit in meetings or at my computer. I have to get a 2 year old ready for daycare and the commute in the morning and for bed and the next day in the evening. I am lucky enough that my husband does much of the cooking so that task is out. So what's there to document? Well now that I have my beautiful SLR and have had some time pass since the Yesterday/Today class, I think I am ready to really embrace this project next week. I have also subscribed to Ali's little word of the year philosophy, which for me is REFLECTION. Reflection, I have learned, does not always have to be retrospective. I can reflect daily. I can reflect in the moment about what I did a minute ago or what I am about to do in an hour.

On today's blog post, Ali Edwards has organizing expert Aby Garvey discussing how to organize and prepare for next week's "A Week in the Life." I have REFLECTED on that article and I think I have come up with some of my responses to her questions in the post.

Why am I participating in this challenge?
Well for one, I have found a lot of joy in scrapbooking and what these projects really mean for the individual doing them. REFLECTION is truly my main motivation. My little word.

What will my finished product be?
I haven't fully decided, but I have been watching Noell Hyman's Paperclipping Live the past two weeks and I really like her idea of creating seven 6x12 folders that can be hole punched and inserted into a general album. The pockets will hold any memorabilia for the week and perhaps I will glue down some photos on the other side. It's simple, integrative and easy to store once I am finished.

When will I fit this project into my life?
I already have. Last night I spent time making some of the 6x12 folders I lifted from Noell. Slipping things into the folders is easy and instant. In addition, I have signed up for Lain Ehmann's Layout A Day challenge in May, which will allow me to scrap some of my Week in the Life as part of the daily challenges and possibly include the folders I created into those layouts. I've been reading Ali's blog daily to prepare and have now read and reflected on Aby's blog post. The challenge for me will be getting organized, but I think a simple $1 note pad from Michael's to jot down the "whatevers" of my day, will do the trick.

I highly encourage this excercise. I think it is really important for us as women to really think about our lives meaningfully, especially as mothers, wives, daughters, employees, employers, etc. When I was single, I thought about my life and myself everyday. I had no issue with the ME and taking care of ME- shopping, partying, traveling, spa days - the works. That has changed significantly with the addition of a husband, a son and a dog and oh yea a commute. So if you are unsure whether or not to try this out, I say go for it. Can't commit to a week? Do one day a week for a month. Or just try one day per month. You'll really love it. Happy reflecting!