How to Quickly Catch Up on your Memories
If your memories live in storage boxes or on old devices - laptops, hard drives, phones, or the cloud - then you might feel so far “behind” that you think it’s impossible to catch up.
With our cameras in our hands, we’re capturing memories faster than we can document them.
And it’s no wonder we’re overwhelmed. Many of the projects you see on photo book websites, Pinterest, and Instagram document one year, one vacation, or even one day.
If you have many years of memories to document, where do you even start?
Are you supposed to go back in time and design 18 family yearbooks?
Should you make baby books for your teenagers?
What if you can’t find many photos or can’t recall details?
I believe it’s absolutely possible for anyone to get their photos dusted off and documented, no matter how many memories you’ve accumulated over the years.
You don’t have to go back in time and document every year, vacation, or occasion. A more minimalist approach to memory keeping can help you get caught up.
If you decide you want to do a family yearbook from here on out, great. But if you’re looking to save time, get caught up, and design projects that are both minimal and meaningful, you’re in the right place.
It might take decades to make those memories, but it doesn’t have to take long to get them documented.
Here’s how.
Think long-term
Most memory keeping projects we see online cover one vacation or one year. If you have 15 years of memories to document, no wonder you’re overwhelmed!
You don’t have to create 15 photo books or 15 albums to get caught up on your memories. Not at all.
Your photo books and albums can cover as much time as you want - and long term projects are a delight to flip through.
Consider this:
25 years of marriage summarized in one photo book
The first 18 years of your kiddo’s life in one album
Your grandmother’s life documented in one book
All of your kids’ baby years in one place
Sure, you’ll have to include fewer photos for each year or season; but that doesn’t make the project any less meaningful.
Think about a movie, which is roughly 2 and a half hours long. Some movies cover decades in a person’s entire life. Titanic covered a period of a few days. Both approaches can tell a powerful story.
If you’re behind on your memories, consider breaking your memories into a few “epic” projects that cover a longer period of time in less detail.
Sacrificing specificity doesn’t eradicate meaning.
2. Start with one project
Whether you’ve documented some of your memories or none of them, I recommend making a list of the epic family memories you want to document - years, decades, or a lifetime’s worth.
Do your memories start with your own childhood? A primary relationship? A wedding or graduation? Are there memories for other people you want to document: kids, parents, a spouse, grandparents?
Think big then choose the one set of memories you want to tackle first.
Is that the baby years? Maybe an important event like a wedding or a family vacation?
Part of the overwhelm we experience when it comes to our photos and digital clutter is that there’s just so much.
It’s easy to go down a rabbit hole of creativity, make a list of “someday” projects, and then get paralyzed by overwhelm (been there!).
Selecting on a single project will help you limit the photos you’re tracking down and ensure you’re working on one project to completion.
Remember: your memories are always behind you.
Focus on one set of memories until they’re documented and save those other projects for another day.
You’ll feel incredible momentum when you get that first or next photo book printed or you’re flipping through that finished album.
3. Embrace imperfection
The photos of memory keeping projects you see online are often edited, taken in perfect lighting, and styled to make you want to slip into a comfy chair and flip through a photo book.
They’re lovely, and while inspiration abounds on Instagram and Pinterest, it can make you feel like your projects just don’t measure up.
Perfectionism leads to paralysis, which doesn’t help you get those memories documented.
Keep your eyes on the prize: your memories, printed and in a book or album that you and your family can flip through for years to come. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
The photos you include don’t have to be edited. If they tell the story you want to share, then you’ll be so glad to see them in print!
Embrace imperfection and tell an authentic story with your memory keeping.
You can do this
If you’re feeling stuck, let me help.
My flagship course, Family Archive Photo Books, walks you through my simple, comprehensive process to get your memories off of your devices and into your hands.
Join the waitlist and you’ll be the first to know when enrollment opens.
