Get started now to benefit your posterity

Documenting your life consistently and accurately can be a great benefit to future generations. In this day and age with our current technology, it has never been easier to document your life. And though social media can be an extremely useful way to keep track of pictures and events, there may be some things that you will not want to share online with the public. Below are a few tips for documenting your everyday life and important life events to help you leave a legacy for generations to come.

Take photos and back them up!

As the saying goes, “pics or it didn’t happen!” The truth is without a visual representation, memories can easily fade and be forgotten too soon. Never miss a photo opportunity. Or if it is a moment that you need to be fully present for, i.e. a wedding, birth, etc., be sure to have someone else capture it. Share these images with family now. Keep them organized and be sure to back them up.

Be creative with your journaling.

An organized record of important details can be very helpful. Write down (or type up) experiences you want to remember. Record things as they really are and not as you want them to appear. If writing in a journal isn’t your thing, try getting creative with different types of documenting. Do a picture a day journal, a one-second video a day, a gratitude journal, or a Q&A journal. These are quick and easy ways to keep up with documenting life. Be sure to record details like important dates, addresses, and names to save your posterity some time in researching.

Document your travels.

Keep travel documents, photos, videos, and anything else that could help you to remember your adventures. Write down your thoughts, the places you visited, and when you were there. Comprehensively documenting your travels can be inspirational to your posterity and a fun way to keep track of your life happenings. In the future, your posterity may travel to these places and appreciate the legacy you’ve left behind for them.

Interview family members.

While your family members are still around, record their life stories too. Sit down and have a conversation with a parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle. Use a voice memo on your phone to record the conversation and save it for future generations! Ask important questions about their life, their childhood, and their achievements. Learn their stories and document them. There are also many apps that will allow you to dictate, meaning as your record these stories, they will type out the story for you. Getting to know the stories of your loved ones who are currently living will not only benefit your posterity but also you as you form a deeper relationship with your family.

Film important moments.

In this day and age, it is so easy to capture moments—there is no excuse not to! You may think your memory will be enough to retain these so-called memorable moments, but memories fade. And try as you might, you cannot really share a memory with someone. Film important and fun-filled moment to keep the memory alive and fresh for generations to come. Whether it’s a birthday, a graduation, a wedding, or just a family night, you will never regret documenting it. When in doubt, err on the side of recording. You don’t need to edit your video and make anything fancy out it, just a simple recording will benefit you for years to come.