Dealing With the "Impossible"

I have had a project I wanted done and wanted to keep up on for years. I wanted some way of putting together binders or scrapbooks for my children that I could truly keep up on. And I did great. Until life came along and I was too busy, tired, overwhelmed, and just plain depressed looking at this huge project for so many years. So, then I got behind on keeping up and "never falling behind" on this project.  And it became the most overwhelming, panic-inducing thing I could think about. Because it needed to be done perfectly, and today, so therefore, not doing anything was the best choice for me to deal with it. 

Until I made two choices about this project that truly is important to me:
First, I put it on my rotating chores list twice a week: Spend 15 minutes scrapbooking/organizing the pictures and memories for my children. 

I can often force myself to do anything for 15 minutes. And once those 15 minutes are over, it becomes easier to say, "Good job, I'm done with that today" or "I can do a few more minutes". Either choice was good with me. Sometimes I could not force myself to spend even a minute thinking about it. Sometimes I would just be so busy and it really was just too much to deal with at times. For almost a year I allowed myself to do nothing on this project, even after I had in my task list "15 minutes scrapbooking". It was hard to just check that off every week and tell myself, maybe next time, but I really did not have a good way to deal with that obstacle and yet I did not want it falling off my radar, so I kept it on my list. 

Second, I listened to people who do what I wanted to eventually do and figured out their tips. It still took me a long time to find this gem, but I started using an app to organize and electronically scrapbook all of my children's memories. I have now been spending 15 minutes (or 45) taking pictures of my children's artwork and projects and loading them into this app. After I take a few pictures I can just walk away for the day if that is all the time I have to give. If I find I have some more time it is easy to pick up where I left off and spend time loading and organizing pages to print for each child. 

The point is not that I didn't work on a project for so long; the point is that I am finally starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel of this project that is really important to me. It may still take me six months or a year to fully catch back up on this project, because it was on the back burner for so long. But finding the right tools for me is making a huge difference in what I am able to do for just "15 minutes". 

Whatever your projects or goals, consider that perhaps you may need to listen to others or do some more research on what your options are to help you accomplish your goals and dreams. If something has not worked in the past, consider that you may need to do things differently to get the result you actually desire. 

In case you happen to be in the same boat as me, here is the app I have been using. I searched and tried out several apps before going back to this one that my friend recommended almost a year ago. Sometimes it is nice to know you are using the best and sometimes it is easier to just trust others. 
Good luck reaching your goals this week!