Here I am again trying to explain (to myself? to the ether?) why I am not finished with my very important photobook project. One I am so desiring to have completed, and so motivated, I thought, to get DONE! And I started it oh-so-long ago….aaarrrggghh!
What’s the problem?
I think the Filing Fairies who have a photo organizing business, and a blog, said it well. They promised I was not alone. They have had parents of age 40+ “kids” contact them about a photo book project they never got around to. They understood what it means to be overwhelmed and said that it usually means you have “too much of something”, like….
…..Too much fear, that you have forgotten stories
…..Too many physical or digital photos
…..Too many device types
…..Too many decisions to make
…..Too much guilt that you have left it “so long”
And I would add one more to their list – “too much else on my agenda/calendar/to do list”
Other sources I consulted agreed with some of the items on this list, especially having so many photos that one does not know where to start.
They even shared a woman’s own wording of this – “The problem is I’m really overwhelmed at this point since I have 4 kids and have been married for 11 years and have thousands and thousands of photos. Can you please help me know how to start?….I guess I’m just at a loss of what to do at this point since I’d be playing catch up for many years. Please, please, please help….”
I can relate to her comments and add much higher numbers of years and photos!
But I do know where to start! I do know how to organize those photos! I do know what my goal projects are and how they can be accomplished. And I do know all the tools I need.
And that is helping me narrow down my issue quite a bit more. Maybe we each need to do our own introspection after viewing these prompts.
Pulling together the tips and insights brought me to some helpful ones I think are worth sharing – see which ones are touching your situation.
- Be kind to yourself – I liked this one and put it to the top of the list. They said “remember you didn’t amass these photos overnight. It will take time and even if you have a gift date in mind you can do this!” Yep – we need a “Gipper” speech along with a dose of grace and mercy. (‘Gipper’ references playing with all one’s effort when the team is in trouble – it recalls Knute Rockne’s speech to remember star player George Gipp who fell ill and was dying at age 25. He asked Rockne to promise that when things were going badly for the team, he should inspire them by asking them to ‘win one for the Gipper’ his nickname)
- Multiple sources said to get everything all in one place – and one source said to go digital, scanning your non-digital photos. This could be enough to send some folks “over the edge”, for sure.
- So I will modify this to “know where your photos are”. If you know the box of slides or negatives are of trips where you really only took scenery shots – put a note on the boxes and set them higher on the shelf.
- There is a good feeling and sense of management in putting all the photos & memorabilia in one area (shelves, section of the room, software program etc.)
- All sources talked about organizing. If you have non-digital items, there are good digitizing places that will do it for you or you can scan them yourself. But the consensus was the digital items are more easily organized and preserved.
- If you want to keep the hard copies, just put them in a box with a label that says they have been digitized.
- My system? I have a software program (Historian) where I put all photos/scans. As I put photos in, I select my best ones that I want to be available on earth longer than I am – these go in my FOREVER permanent storage digital albums.
- That account is guaranteed for my lifetime plus 100 years to be available to my family along with the stories I attach, valuable documents and records. It also includes copies of my digital photobooks. While I have my phone photos going directly into my FOREVER storage, I pull out ones that don’t fit my criteria of living past me and put them into my software program (Historian) which holds a lot and is backed up. It is not a subscription managed by someone else.
- Come up with a plan – this was advice from all the sources. This is what gives you peace of mind. Start with the end in mind answering questions like ‘what do I want to survive me?’ – ‘what do I want to have organized or handy to do certain projects that are important to me?’ — ‘what items would I like to have had from my ancestors?’ etc.
- My best suggestion is to get to know how the tools (software, storage etc) work and then think through what organization is best for you. Write out your system – then follow it for a while and you will know if it works or needs tweaking.
- Part of the plan is how you will incrementally keep working on your “memories” system – x hours per week? 15 min per day? Blocks of time on calendar? Then figure out what will keep you accountable in doing the work. One bite at a time!
- Again, I find it helpful to “write it down” – your system as well as your commitment. Don’t forget to “reward” your way to some interim finish lines.
And that last point is the solution to my issue – the one of allowing too much else to creep into my available time and squeeze out the valuable work I want to do on my photos and stories. It is the incremental working plan and accountability that I have let lapse. Now I know what I need to do!
How about you? What hit the mark for you? And what help do you need to get over the hurdle of “too much”? Just hit reply and let me know how I can serve you in saving your legacy.
