SYW141 – Plan Your Year: Step One

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 141.

In this episode the 2022 Planning Party begins. I'll share what to expect and how to get started with our annual event, now in its fifth year.

Hello friends, welcome to the 2022 Planning Party. You are listening to step 1 of the companion audio class to our 2022 Your Way Workbook.

Before we dive in to today's activities, let's do some housekeeping.

For those listening during November 15-19, 2021, don't forget to RSVP so that you receive email reminders and are eligible for Thursday night's prize drawing. Pause the episode right here and head over to simplescrapper.com/plan to sign up now. It's free.

For those listening after November 19, 2021 you can still follow along with the resources available at simplescrapper.com/plan, but you'll need to wait until next year for the full Planning Party experience.

Alright, so grab your 2022 Your Way Workbook and let's dive in. We'll be talking about pages 2-4 today, 5-6 on Wednesday, and 7-9 on Friday.

There's no rush. While you can review the prompts, I want to encourage you to wait for the audio lesson. Spending time with these questions will make your responses even more meaningful.

The three workbook steps are designed around the 3 Fs of our Happy & Productive Scrapbooking formula: Focus, Finesse, and Finish. These are three important lenses with which to view your memory keeping. You can think of them as What are You Doing?, How are You Doing It?, and When are You Getting it Done?

There's an important question for you on page 2 to transition you into the Focus step.

I want you to step back from scrapbooking and think about your life. If you're ready to plan your hobby, you're probably also thinking about hopes, dreams, goals, and values elsewhere in your life. Putting into words the direction your aiming is important context for your hobby. Starting here will help ensure that you feel ALIGNED every step of the way!

Press pause here if you want to write down your response before continuing.

Turning to page 3 and our first of six Focus questions, I want you know that this is the hardest part. It's OK to jump around between pages 3 and 4. You might jot down a bit in one box and think of something for another box.

These questions are designed to help you think about the why and the how of your hobby.

Page 3 is all about the deeper benefits you receive from scrapbooking.

Why are you a scrapbooker?

We all have different reasons for showing up to this hobby. What are yours and specifically, what are yours right now? Your reasons may shift over time. In fact, its almost certain that they will.

When do you have the most fun or feel the most joy in scrapbooking?

We also all have parts that we like more than others. Some of us are really into the photos. Others adore the crafty supplies. There are starters and finishers and those who enjoy the messy middle. Think about the times when you feel more connected and in the zone with it.

Where do you see your hobby in 10 years?

This is not a question to challenge you, but one to offer both optimism and realism. What season of life will you be in a decade from now? Will you have more time or less? Will you have more space or less? Sometimes it helps to have a clear long-term vision to make smaller choices today. And sometimes that knowledge doesn't change any of your decisions, but offer confidence from understanding why!

Press pause here if you want to write down your responses for page 3 before continuing.

Page 4 shifts from thinking inward to looking outward. It's time to observe your behaviors and choices and results from 2021. There's no judgement, just facts you can use to inform your future.

What worked well and where did you struggle in 2021?

Think broadly about your scrapbooking, through all the different aspects, not just what you made and how you made it. Consider the more routine or what I like to call administrative aspects that can take significant time, such as photo management and supply organization. Think about your creative habits and your levels of time, energy, and motivation throughout the year. And yes, also look at the formats, sizes, styles, and approaches you used for your pages and projects.

What do you want to do differently in 2022?

The goal here is to identify where you might want to do more of one thing or less of another. It might also show you where you want to seek help or accountability or additional skill-building. Each question today is designed to give you additional data to help you make better decisions as we move into specifics in steps 2 and 3.

Press pause here if you want to write down your responses for page 4 before we conclude.

Alright, how was that? Hopefully that felt like the mental version of a yoga class... stretching in a good way!

When you've finished step 1, you can put your workbook aside. Next time I will introduce you to the brain SIFT a new way to take all the ideas in your head and put them down on a paper. In the meantime, just let these thoughts percolate. You might be surprised at what else pops up for you.

And until then, remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way.