Setting Scrapbooking Goals for the New Year

Do these sound like reasonable goals? Perhaps, if you are a professional scrapper or a rich person with a house full of servants, these would be reasonable goals. However, most of us are not professional scrappers, but rather hobbyists with many other responsibilities in our lives. We have families, friends, jobs, schools, communities, and homes that occupy our time. As many of us are people who like to challenge ourselves, we like to set ambitious goals to force ourselves to do our best. However, at the same time, we want to set goals that are attainable to maintain the relaxation part of the hobby and to have time to live and not just scrap it. Here are some suggestions to help you set reasonable goals.

Formal Versus Informal Goals
Some people feel that setting formal goals and keeping track of them is the best way to organize themselves. Other people feel that formal goals are too restrictive and not appropriate for a hobby. Many people are somewhere in between. There is no right or wrong answer; it is a matter of personal taste. For those who like to set formal goals, keeping a journal may be a good idea.

Here is one example of a formal goal-setting method from Patter Cross. She uses a calendar to keep track of the number and size of pages completed as well as altered items and cards. She puts her initial goals for the year in the front of the calendar and keeps a running total in the back.

If you prefer your goals a little less formal, consider keeping a running tally somewhere, such as at the bottom of your Scrapjazz signature.

Quantifying Goals
How many pages is a reasonable goal? Is number of pages even the best way to keep track of your progress? The answer, of course, is "it depends." It depends on what you are trying to accomplish, whether you have specific projects that need to be finished, and how much time you have.

Personally, I'm a loosely chronological scrapper. I generally prefer to scrap photos within two to three months of taking them. I do not want to be scrapping photos from last summer when there is snow on the ground and I prefer to scrap events while I can still remember enough about them to do the journaling. This works fine for me most of the year as I can generally scrap one or two pages a week. However, I find the period from the end of the summer, when we take a vacation, until Thanksgiving to be the most difficult. In addition to the flood of vacation , back-to-school, apple and pumpkin picking, Halloween, and Thanksgiving photos, both of my children celebrate birthdays in the fall. My personal philosophy is that certain events, such as my children's birthday parties, must be scrapped because they are very important. Other events are optional and if I haven't scrapped them in three months, I put the photos in a box and forget about them. This method works for me and helps me to stay up to date without causing stress.

This year I set the goal of doing 100 pages. As I mentioned, I can usually finish one or two pages per week. However, our family vacation album is 8" x 8" and I always do two-page layouts. They take me the same amount of time as a one-page 12" x 12", but I count them as two pages. Some of you would consider this cheating, but this is how I decided to count and I have achieved the goal. Since I met the 100-page goal this year and don't anticipate having increased free time next year, I will set the page total goal to 100 again.

Projects with Deadlines
Projects with deadlines can be the easiest goal to measure. For example, suppose you plan to make an album of your grandparent's wedding photos in time for their 60^th anniversary. Obviously, you need to finish a goal like this on time as there may never be another opportunity like this. Whether it's a major project or just a simple mini-album for someone's birthday, projects with deadlines set their own goals. However, only you can fully understand how long a project like this will take you. Don't commit to more of these than you can do, or you will sacrifice the quality.

New Techniques
Many of us want to improve our scrapping skills or learn new techniques. These types of goals can be difficult to measure and need to be planned ahead. Do you learn best by reading articles, by trial and error, or by learning from people? If you want to learn from people, consider taking some classes. Plan which classes you want to take and sign up ahead of time so you won't be left out. For many of us, a pre-paid class is a great motivator.

Simple Goals
Sometimes goals can be as simple as discipline. Of course, these goals can often be challenging to achieve. Perhaps you often find yourself wishing you had brought your camera, so a reasonable goal would be to carry your camera several days a week in case you want to take picture of something. Perhaps you create lots of great scrapbook pages, but leave off the journaling; in which case a reasonable goal would be to force yourself to journal before you start the next page. Possibly a better approach would be to pick a day of the week during which will always journal. Perhaps every Monday at 9 pm, you will force yourself to work on journaling for 30 minutes. If you get it done, that's great! If not, then at least you tried.

These types of goals which I have called "simple" are perhaps the most difficult. Only you can determine what your goals are and how to structure an approach that will allow you to achieve them.

Contests, Publications, and Design Teams
Many scrapbookers have goals of winning contests, being published, or being chosen for a design team. Since you don't have control of whether or not you will be chosen, these types of goals may be the toughest to achieve. If this is what you really want, set goals that can help you achieve this. For example, if your ultimate goal is to be published, then perhaps you can set an achievable goal such as submitting at least one layout for publication every month. Personally, I have always had the goal of entering layout contests because they force me to do my best. The goal was always about entering and never about winning, although one can always hope. This year, my efforts have paid off and I have won two layout contests.

As we reflect on the previous year and think about resolutions for the New Year, we can plan our scrap goals. Just remember that scrapbooking is your hobby, it should be relaxing and enjoyable.

Happy New Year!

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