There was an episode of the Organize 365 podcast that mentioned the concept of memory making and memory preserving.  The comment was in the context of a lifetime, indicating there are years that are heavy in memory producing (possibly while raising children). Then, years later you have the space and time for preserving those memories in scrapbooks or other forms.

My Perspective

The idea that memory making and memory preserving waves happen in “years” and not shorter timeframes like months or days bothered me.  With that length of time in between, wouldn’t you start to forget the memories that you hope to preserve?  What if there were another option? 

The solution to the everyday memory produce and preserve cycle could be different for everyone.  I think it’s interesting that this is a topic I rarely discuss with others.  The importance and process of memories doesn’t come up in everyday conversations. 

My Story

I’ll start my story with the breadth of my memories.  The tendency for many is to only capture home life in photos and mementos.  Yet, we spend roughly 1/3 of our lives at work. Leaving work memories out of the process misses 1/3 of our memories. I choose to capture both work and home.

Below is my process, at least right now.  The beauty is that we can change a system anytime we hear a new idea that might work better.  My process below evolves all the time as I hear and try new concepts.

Memory Producing

Memories happen every day in every part of our lives. To inspire me to capture them more regularly, I joined a free online group called 365 Picture Today.  They provide a photo prompt everyday with the intention of capturing your life, from the big moments to the tiny. You can use your cell phone or a DSLR and learn more techniques to take great photos along the way.  Each day, my photo is labeled with the date and dropped into a folder for the month and year on my computer.

As we move through 2023, this will be my sixth year in the group. I love looking back at the photos across the years.  My only regret is that I didn’t consider or try this sooner when the kids were young.

Memory Preserving

As I developed the memory producing habit, a complimentary preserving routine came into play.  On a weekend morning at the beginning of the month, I spend an hour or two preserving the memories. Home memories and big work memories are captured in a Shutterfly album.  Each month has two spreads – four pages total.  I combine the relevant photos I took with text that highlights the key moments of the month. In early January, I have a complete record of the year past that I send to print and keep with our other years to look through anytime.

On the work front, I take about ½ hour to note accomplishments from the month and things I’ve learned.  This is kept in a PowerPoint file where I can also add one-page summaries of projects I don’t want to forget.  This file also makes completing a self-review at the end of the year very easy.

Your Turn

Do you have a process of producing and preserving memories? 

Is your process on a regular cycle or spread in longer waves?

If producing and preserving memories is important to you, how might you be more intentional?