SYW143 – Plan Your Year: Step Three

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This is the last of three episodes to guide you through the 2022 Your Way Workbook. It’s the heart of the 2022 Planning Party, our five-day special event. In this episode we’ll cover pages 7-9 of the workbook, which you can download at the link below!

Links Mentioned

Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I’m your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper and author of The New Rules of Scrapbooking.

This is episode 143.

In this episode the Planning Party concludes with companion audio for pages 7 through 9 of the 2022 Your Way Workbook.

If you're just getting started make sure to listen to episodes 141 and 142 first.

Together these three episodes guide you through our updated workbook, which is available for free via the Planning Party page through Sunday, November 21, 2021.

Just head over to simplescrapper.com/plan to download the workbook and catch up with the rest of the Planning Party recordings!

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At this point you should have an idea of the creative and administrative projects you want to focus on next year.

If you're feeling a little stuck or uncertain, I want to offer a reminder that you can turn anything into a project.

One of our members mentioned that she wants to do a project next year of using her Ali Edwards Stories by the Months kits as a starting point for one layout per month.

I love how she's keeping the project boundaries small, but there's plenty of opportunity to do more if she's inspired to do so. At the same time, checking this off her list each month is manageable with a small, focused scope.

Let's jump in to page 7.

This is our version of a calendar. At Simple Scrapper we divide the year into two-month Creative Journeys. This seems to be a nice time frame for scrapbookers to focus around. It's not too short and not too long.

Our themes are invitations to explore a little bit or a lot on that topic, but they are just suggestions. At the core, we're here to support whatever is important to you right now in scrapbooking.

So with that in mind, you're going to take your projects from the previous page and slot them into the six two-month windows. There are three project slots per time period.

Keep in mind that some projects will span multiple time periods, up to the whole year.

The purpose of this activity is not just to plan but to show you how much is on your plate within a given time of the year. It can be incredibly eye opening!

Switching from the list view to a calendar view can also remind you of projects you might have missed, but are attached to particular life events like travel or holidays.

As you start adding projects remember this is a flexible plan you can update later. It's also one where you are encouraged to leave space for the unknown and unexpected. There will be fun new products, projects, and classes that you don't even know about yet!

Press pause here if you would like to complete page 7 before moving on.

Page 8 is different. Since we're in the Finish section, we're focusing on when and how you're going to get things done. Page 7 aimed you at the when and now Page 8 is nudging you to be honest about what you need for the how.

Think about when you've been the most engaged and successful in the past, with scrapbooking or even a different domain all together.

Think about whether you love daily rhythms or standing weekly appointments. Your current calendar will offer lots of clues about what works best for you!

Choose 2-3 ideas to experiment with, to test in the months to come. Then circle just one to try first.

I've included a number of options connected to the Simple Scrapper membership because accountability is our specialty.

Press pause here if you would like to complete page 8 before moving on.

And now, the final page. This is actually a bonus and not part of Step 3. In fact, it combines Focus, Finesse, and Finish into one worksheet!

The Project Plan page helps you think in more detail about each project you've identified in this workbook. Not every project needs a detailed plan, but many can benefit from this intentional outlining.

I want to encourage you to try playing with this page for a current project.

Are you starting a holiday album or maybe trying to finish another project? Begin right where you are and capture that project with this sheet. See if these questions help illuminate an even-better path!

Remember, you can draw an imaginary box around pretty much anything and make it a project... even chronological scrapbooking!

Press pause here if you would like to complete page 9 before moving on.

And that's the 2022 Your Way Workbook. This is something that you can keep and tweak throughout the year... or something you can transfer into your favorite planner or digital project management tool like Trello.

It's not precious. It's designed to be marked up and used. When its served its purpose, let it go and start again.

You've got this and you've got the entire Simple Scrapper family to cheer you on.

2022, here we come!

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We believe simple is not how your page looks, but how your scrapbooking hobby works. We have a free workshop called SPARKED and it is the best way to learn more about Simple Scrapper and start creating consistently.

1 Comment

  1. Tina Meredith

    This workbook is awesome. I enjoyed the process and look forward to using it all year long to get projects done.

    Reply

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