Project Life Calendar System...

I'm very excited to hear all the buzz about you all taking the plunge with Project Life. When you first get your supplies, you might be wondering how to start and how to keep it all organized. One of the best tips I can give is to get yourself a calendar system going. Make this the very first thing you do before you dive into your Project Life supplies. I still like to use a paper calendar system but if you prefer to use your phone/computer calendar, feel free.

Why is a calendar so important? Let me be a prime example of why you need one. I got 17 weeks(over 4 months) behind this year, starting in May. This is the second year that I got behind around this month. There was a pattern developing. We got busy with the end of the school year, track, graduations, my birthday, Mother's Day, Spring plantings, etc. I don't want to continue this pattern in 2012.

My calendar was so critical to me getting caught up. I used it to track down the big events and to check if I'd written any little notes, quotes, etc. Sure enough, I was able to piece together bits and pieces....enough to fill all the gaps for those missing weeks with photos + stories. You can read all about getting behind + getting caught up in this post. Knowing that those dates and little chicken scratches helped me so much, I knew that I wanted to start off 2012 with an even better system of keeping track of my Project Life happenings.

So here we go. This is my plan for 2012. First I bought me a new calendar from Target. Shopping for a new calendar is pure heaven. I can't tell you how happy I am to get a new one each year. I had a smaller version for 2011 (you can see in the getting behind post linked above) but it just wasn't big enough. For 2012 I'm going with this full 8.5" x 11" version.
This calendar has a monthly/weekly system of pages. I plan to use the 2 page per month pages as my family/work calendar. Pretty typical...appointments, sporting events, birthdays, parties, etc. These main events will be a great reference for each Project Life week. From here I can highlight what the main event is for any given week.
The 2 page weekly pages will be the guts of my Project Life. There are lined blocks for each day of the week....starting with Monday which is one change that I will be making for 2012, instead of a Sunday start date. I like the idea that my Project Life albums flows with my calendar.
If you zoom in on the above photo, you'll notice a dashed line that divides each daily block. I added this in myself by using a stamp from the Button Boutique stamp set and Enchanted Evening ink. I found it was the best color match for my calendar.

I added this divider line because I noticed that I was having a bit of a dilemma with my current calendar. There was no separation between my daily to do lists and my Project Life information. Everything was a jumbled mess. Now I have 2 separate sections for each. My to do lists will be jotted down on the left side of each daily block....and my Project Life information can be written on the right side of the daily block.

The type of information that will go on the Project Life side includes the photos I took on that particular day + what camera the photos are stored in, any quotes or funny story lines that I want to remember, special events, memory joggers, etc. The more you write down the better off you'll be. Remember, don't get too busy with the Project Life process that you forget to actually get out there and make the memories.
So now when I start a Project Life weekly spread, I'll gather up my calendar, photos & collected items and head to my Project Life table where I keep all my supplies. I tuck my calendar in behind my supply items so I can reference it when needed. It really is an essential tool...just as important as my paper trimmer, adhesive, etc.
I'm very much looking forward to my 2012 Project Life albums.....a new calendar, new Project Life products to work with, an organized work area that I'll be sharing soon.....and maybe a local friend that might be joining me with Project Life. Stay tuned because I'll be sharing how I plan to store collected items (like school papers, tickets, packaging, etc) + a peek on how I store all my supplies + my favorites items to work with while getting scrappy with my pages. I've recently learned how to use the InLinkz thumbnails (by request) so I'll have lots of fun links to share.

Note: All of my Project Life topics will be listed in the Page at the top left corner of my blog....called Project Life Topics. This page will list blog posts that contain specific topics that I've covered. All of my Project Life weekly updates can be found by looking for the Project Life 2011 label under the LABELS section of my blog on the left hand side...just scroll down. You can also find the updates under my Archive listing below the LABELS section.