Here’s the next in my occasional series of bite-size Quick Tips. Click on the Quick Tips tag for my other Quick Tips. Because I tend to write longer posts, I wanted to provide a quick-to-read (and quick-to-write) post every couple of weeks on a small topic that pops into my head. I hope this one will help you treat yourself with kindness and get past overwhelm.
Start where you are
I hear from a lot of people who feel overwhelmed by the thought of transitioning from organizing their genealogy documents in paper form to digital form. The notion of having to scan everything gathered over years of research is truly daunting.
Here’s the advice I give: Just start where you are and from this point forward process new documents digitally. Then, slowly, you can make your way through the backlog, perhaps scanning a few documents each day and using a timer to keep you on task and keep you from burning out.
This advice can apply to doing other new things as well. Let go of any pressure to do everything at once or do everything perfectly. Start where you are at your current level of knowledge, and move forward. Perfectionism can be paralyzing (as my co-host and I discuss on our podcast, Getting to Good Enough, every week). Don’t let it stop you from pursuing a goal!
Photo by Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash
Hi Janine,
Thanks for sharing these quick tips. I’ve been collecting them as you post. My collection says this one’s tip #19
#18 was Let go of “should”
Cheri, thank you so much for pointing that out. You would think an organizer could keep track of that! I’ve made the correction. I appreciate your taking the time to tell me!
This is a way less depressing way to go, and scanning/saving/uploading paper docs is a great 30 in 30 project. (Or two depending) And I love the timer method (aka Pomodoro method) I used it for scanning (and naming) photos of my kids.
So glad you found the tip helpful, Janet!!
I’m with you on trying to let go of perfectionism. That’s a job in itself! Love your suggestion on using a timer. Thanks!
Thanks so much for your comment, Connie! If you’re not already listening to Getting to Good Enough, I encourage you to check it out.