Well, it's hard to believe that 2008 is coming to a close and 2009 is just over the next hill! Now is the time of year we all start thinking about what went on this past year and planning on what we'll do to make the new year better. Don't leave Lightroom out of you annual musings!

Make it a point to go through your collection of work for 2008. Before you press that shutter release in 2009 try and get a handle on where you are in your work. Here are a few things to do as you review:

• Look again at how you are organizing your image files on your disks. If you have been prone to spraying folders of images all over your drives and relying on Lightroom to keep it all straight now is the time to bring some order. Try organizing all your images under one main folder. You can do this in Lightroom's Folder panel or in your OS. Once everything is organized you can resolve missing indicators in Lightroom via Find Folder or Synchronize Folder commands
• One of the example smart collections that is installed with Lightroom is Without Keywords. Take a look at the image count for this collection. If it's anything other than 0 then get in there and add some keywords!
• Utilize the new filter bar capabilities to gather together groups of images and then create collections to further organize your catalog.
• Review your keyword list and delete any unused keywords. Look for duplicate keywords (like cat, Cat, and CAT) and correct them down to one version.
• Go through your 2008 images again and remove any that really aren't keepers. You can still keep the files if you don't like to delete anything, but consider removing them from the catalog.
• If you don't have a regular and reliable backup procedure WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? Backup, backup, backup! I can't stress this enough. Your images are unique and irreplaceable. ALL hard drives will fail. Don't delude yourself into thinking yours is special and will run forever. Make sure that you keep one backup offsite at all times. Whether it's at the office or in Mom's china cabinet get it offsite. The best backup in the world does you no good if your house burns down and takes your computer and the backup with it.

Lightroom is an amazing organizational tool so use all its capabilities. As you embark upon a new year of shooting in 2009, resolve to stay organized. Keyword on import. Add additional keywords as appropriate. Utilize collections. Create a folder structure on your drive and stick to it. Backup regularly and OFTEN.

Knowing that your precious images are organized, backed up, and at your fingertips with Lightroom you can expand your creative horizons and capture your most amazing images to date! Get out there and shoot and ... remember Rule 5!