What do you choose to save?

“I didn’t think it was possible to pack 12 years into 3 crates, but apparently it is.” That was the caption when I originally posted this picture in 2015 and and as I reflect on that today, I’m struck by how my definition of what is important to keep has evolved (or hasn’t) in the last decade.

10 years ago I experienced my first major corporate change when my division was spun out of Kimberly-Clark (which was the reason for the picture).

10 years ago I kept all the slides from every training, while today I grab the occasional screenshot here and there (but in neither case do I really look at them again).

10 years ago I saved my handwritten notes from every meeting I attended, and I still do it today because it’s like a journal of my professional life (and in both cases I use them often).

10 years ago I saved data sheets, protocols, and reports, while today I save revisions of my bio and speaker sheet, a/v files from every podcast interview, and consulting contacts (and in both cases, these records become my references and starting point for future work).

I wonder what my 2015-self would think about the 3 record retention boxes that I took with me when I “retired” from corporate life in 2022 and the choices I make today when deciding what’s important.

Although the specifics of what I save have changed, the types of things I find important haven’t. I save things that help me grow, develop, and improve. I save things that help me remember and connect. I save things that inspire me.

What do you choose to save?