I’ve been so focused on being focused that my brain rebelled this weekend. We had a foot of snow here in St. Louis and I wasn’t going anywhere. That meant I could spend more time than usual on my genealogy research. But I just couldn’t focus. I was all over the place.
I blogged last week about how my research log keeps me focused. This morning, I discovered that I was so scattered that I didn’t even write in my log yesterday! I was able to recall most of what I did and create a log entry after the fact. But today I was equally scattered in my session.
And you know what? I’ve decided that’s okay. I did write my next steps in my log and when I get back to it tomorrow morning (which will by necessity have to be a short session), I’m hoping to have more focus. I think it was somewhat beneficial for me to clamber all over my family tree this weekend. Here’s why:
- I’d been starting to get frustrated at my inability to find some specific documents that would help prove that a grave marker I found on Find a Grave indeed belongs to my family members. Walls (brick or otherwise) aren’t fun.
- I started thinking about other resources I have in my possession that would be helpful to review (rather than focusing on my online research).
- I certainly didn’t suffer from tunnel vision this weekend!
- I decided to give Trello a try for some genealogy to-dos, inspired by comments on the 30 x 30 challenge post from reader Jerry Hereford. (More on that when I’m able to give it a more focused try.)
- It’s always good when I’m placed in the shoes of people who are asking for my organizing help (genealogy or otherwise). If you sometimes feel unfocused, please know that I can empathize!
So instead of considering my hours of genealogy research this weekend unproductive, I’m going to embrace my lack of focus. I’ll note the ideas and clues sparked by my trips down rabbit holes and let them inspire future research. I’m not going to beat myself up. I’ll just try get back to my focused self tomorrow.
Photo by Robin Spielmann on Unsplash
We have a different problem in australia it is over 40 degrees celius in our town this week and I have trouble focusing.
You’re right–it’s hard to focus in hot weather too! I hope it cools off soon-40 degrees celcius is hot!
I’ve been involved in emergency services in a volunteer capacity for many years. The first thing that I need to do at an emergency is to look after myself. That was what your body was telling you.
Thanks for that comment, John. I agree that self care is really important!!
That’s a great insight, John. Sometimes my mind is toast and it’s just relaxing to bounce around trying new search techniques I’ve read about or whatever.
Janine — THANK YOU for sharing. It is helpful to know that sometimes we are out of “focus juice” and that I’m not just merely rebellious or something. I’ve got a log going on in life and my brain is overwhelmed this month.
Now I’m curious about Trello….
I’m interested to hear your thoughts on Trello. I’ve been thinking whether that or Asana might be good tools for my genealogy.
I promise to write a post about it soon. I use Trello for my organizing business and my personal tasks and love it. I’m excited to try using it for my genealogy tasks!
I’ve taken the opportunity provided by the snowstorm to work on Genealogy all weekend and have found it to be quite productive, even if it was a bit unfocused, too. Great minds must think alike! Hope you’re staying warm!
Thanks, Zenda! It was a perfect weekend for genealogy research! I’m staying warm inside. Hope you are too.
I love Trello! I worked on my Trello boards a bit this weekend. It helps me organize my thinking. Like you, with all the snow, I was a bit unfocused. Running to the window to see if it was still coming down. (It was!)
If you feel like sharing, Kim, I’d love to hear more about your Trello boards. Do you have genealogy boards (if so, how do you organize them?) as well as boards for other aspects of your life? Anything you’d like to share is welcome!
Enjoyed your post. Thanks for mentioning my name. Although I have stayed focused on my goals and to do list, I found my mind wondering and thinking of more genealogy related items I should be doing. I was almost to the point of thinking is this really fun. I am finally back to my normal self and doing the research and genealogy related tasks that I have set my self to do. I would love to hear your take on Trello as well as other individuals use of Trello. I am always open to new ways to do things.
I think both approaches can be useful. Generally I’m a bit too unfocused but you do sometimes bump into really interesting stuff this way, that you wouldnt have found if you’d been more focused!