I know I have two big impediments when it comes to making progress with my genealogy research. One is that I often don’t know where to start in a particular session. The other is that I think I need a huge block of time and that huge block rarely comes.
But I know better. I am a big believer in grabbing snippets of time to complete discrete tasks. For me, this is true in life and in genealogy research. But my reluctance to start a short session still rears its head.
Yesterday, as I was pondering this situation, I came up with a strategy that might be helpful. I created a form for myself where I can separate tasks by the amount of time I think they’ll take. That way, when I find myself with 30 minutes to spend on family history research, I can scan the “30 minutes” section (or the “15 minutes or less” section) and hop right into a task. The form I created has seven sections: 15 minutes (or less), 30 minutes, one hour, two hours, half day, full day, and weekend.
Since I’m trying to focus on one branch of my family per quarter, I decided to make a separate list for each branch. That way, if I come across some leads for families I’m not working on this quarter, I can put them on the appropriate list, and when that quarter rolls around I’ll already have a task list to get me started.
If I manage to use this form consistently, it should serve a few purposes:
- I’ll be able to jump right into my research without feeling overwhelmed
- My sessions should be more focused and productive
- I’ll research more frequently, because I won’t be waiting for large blocks of time to emerge
- If I hit a dead end, I can go right back to my list to refocus
I can’t wait to give this a try. I’ve started with a short list for a couple of family branches. I’m going to figure out a way to include routine tasks on the list (like updating my progress tracker and making sure that all paper documents are also properly stored on my hard drive) so that they get done relatively painlessly. I think this will definitely be a work in progress.
In the next week or two, I’ll create a template for you to use in your research and include it in the Printables section of this site. I’m going to wait a little while to do so, so that I can refine it a bit, based on my use. (An excerpt of my one-day-old version of the form is what’s pictured with this post.) I’m thinking that I may drop the final two sections, since I want to include smaller tasks, not large projects, on the list. But I’ll use it awhile before deciding.
I’m curious: Do you find it hard to figure out where to start when you have time to do genealogy research? Or is that something peculiar to me?
I am doing a reasonably large project of adding information from Australian electoral rolls to my data. The greatest amount of time is spent downloading the digital images, but once that is done, if I have 5 mins to spare, I can easily do some work on updating. If there is a repetitive task like this, it is certainly amenable to being done in short bites.
However, if I’m searching for something elusive, like passenger lists, that may be a diffferent matter. In those circumstances, it is essential to document exactly what you have done as you go, to avoid repeating work already done. I believe it could be done in small chunks. If you have AADD, it is done in small chunks.
Thanks for your comment, John. It’s definitely true that the more mundane administrative-type tasks lend themselves to little snippets of time. Others do require longer chunks, which is why I’m excited about dividing my to-do list up accordingly.
I really find it hard to find where I was working next time I come to my research as I don’t do it often enough to remember! There is too much work in between the time I am able to do my research in!
I think in my breaks at work tomorrow I might try to get some little jobs written down and try to divide them up depending on time needed to do them
I hope that works for your, Marion! Please let me know. And thanks for commenting.
Janine,
I want to let you know that your blog post is listed in today’s Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/10/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-october-31.html
Have a great weekend!
Thanks, Jana!!
I keep a list where I keep all my other lists, in ActionOutline. Each thing to do is an outline item. Notes about it go in the text section. When I leave off working on something I update my notes so I know where to start the next time.
How do I decide what to do when I have time to do something? Just scan the list. Something will pop out as most important.
If I need to limit my time I use a digital timer. For instance, a 100 hour project that I have 30 minutes for right now.
What makes this work? Being religiously devoted to adding anything that comes to mind instead of imagining I’ll remember. And reviewing the outline periodically to remind myself of what’s there.
Thank you so much for your comment! I agree 100 percent that being dedicated to using the list (and not relying on your memory) is the key. Sounds like you have a great system going. Best of luck with your research!
Janine, good ideas! I’ll give it a try. I also use a spiral notebook where I jot down the date * jot down what I’m working on each time I do some genealogy. I can go to that notebook & see where I left off. It has worked so well for me that I have two notebooks now: one for my Mom’s side & one for my Dad’s side.
I love your spiral notebook idea, Colleen. The trick to that is keeping up with it, isn’t it? Let me know if my to-do list idea is helpful to you! Thanks for commenting.
Was sent a link to your site and would like to be put on your mailing list. My genealogy research has gotten into a muddle and I need some organizational help to dig myself out! Looking forward to seeing your form for dividing work into ‘time’ segments. Thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks for your comment, Salli! I’m glad you found your way to the blog. I hope you find it helpful. And thanks for the prompt to get that genealogy to-do list done and uploaded as a Printable!
I recently found your blog and when you write: “One is that I often don’t know where to start in a particular session. The other is that I think I need a huge block of time and that huge block rarely comes” – that’s EXACTLY how I feel.
I will be exploring your blog and website and following your blog with hopes of getting more organized.
Elizabeth, thank you for your comment! I’m so glad you found this blog and that my words resonate with you. I hope you enjoy exploring more here. Please let me know if you have topics you’d like to see me cover.