Guest Post | 6 Principles For Effortless Memory Keeping | Jennifer Wilson

"How does she make it look so easy?" you often wonder when reading scrapbooking magazines and blogs. Pages and projects appear to come together effortlessly for some memory keepers, yet you sometimes struggle with designing an attractive page and feeling in control of the process.

There's something you should know. Appearances are deceiving. Every scrapbooker has been in your shoes, tossing aside a page that just didn't work and feeling like there just aren't enough hours in the day. However, there are common threads that help the most active memory keepers stay creative and productive.

1. Know your priorities

You've heard it right here before - sometimes we leave dishes to the next day or forgo a favorite TV program in favor of finishing a page. If you want to make progress in your scrapbooking, then it needs to stay at the forefront of your life, even integrated into it. This means that other items will slide down a notch and be of lesser priority. That's OK, because it's your decision, but you must make the choice to have memory keeping be a part of your life.

2. Practice controlled chaos

As creative people, we are stimulated by colors, patterns and textures. We gain inspiration from seeing our supplies. However, we also live in the real world, where too much clutter can add to an already overwhelming day. Let yourself play, but try to set boundaries (time and space) and make sure to pick up what you get out. If you need to, use pre-designed or self-created kits to help manage projects.

Once you've coordinated a selection of products, put away the excess for enhanced focus and efficiency.

3. Let go of perfection

It's far too easy to get roped into a test of mental fortitude with lining things up just-so. But life isn't that way - it doesn't come with perfect focus or hospital corners. Life can be messy - so why should your scrapbooking be anything else? The easiest way to make memory keeping feel like a walk on the breach to treat it with the same easy, breezy attitude.

4. Bathe in inspiration

The most productive scrapbookers never run out of ideas but also do not let too-many-ideas feel overwhelming. They soak up inspiration and let the excess run off, knowing there will always be more to come. You can achieve this balance by selectively consuming information, keeping track of ideas that stir your soul, and then consciously saying "no more".

5. Try new things

Every expert began as a novice and every great discovery started as an experiment. By trying new techniques and approaches to your craft, you sharpen your creative saw and gain even more experience. Also, in knowing that things will be OK if your experiment flops, you'll develop an essential confidence to keeping trying new things and always be in learning mode.

6. Embrace shortcuts

Rulers are there for drawing straight lines and album templates to help you quickly create a beautiful photobook. You don't lose brownie points for leveraging solutions and tools that make scrapbooking easier. In fact, you gain time for recording more memories. Shortcuts can help you navigate mojo-drowning creative and logistical hurdles.

Always be on the lookout for simple solutions, such as printing multiple photos on one sheet.

Every day as we live life and strive to document it, we're evolving and growing as photographers and scrapbookers - as documentarians. Challenges and roadblocks are a certainty. With simple mindset shifts, however, you can leave behind feelings of anxiety and self-doubt and feel more joyful ease in your memory keeping.

Jennifer Wilson offers solutions for stress-free memory keeping at Simple Scrapper, including downloadable products and inspiring e-courses.