I promised myself I would get some research done yesterday. (Not organizing, research.) I knew there was some barrier to getting started and on Sunday I created a little mind map to try to figure it out. That made me realize that my problem was that I didn’t know just what to work on and perhaps there was some lingering fear that I’d choose the wrong thing. (Of course that’s ridiculous, but emotions aren’t always reasonable, are they?)
In my mind mapping/journaling I reassured myself that it didn’t matter what research I did, I just needed to do something. I committed to starting some research by 10 a.m. yesterday (Presidents’ Day). Dutifully at 10 a.m. I sat at my computer and tried to figure out what to work on.
I was still a little paralyzed, so I came up with a little method that worked for me. Here’s what I did. I’m sharing it with you now in case you ever find yourself in a similar spot.
I looked at my genealogy to-do list and I created a numbered list of 10 possible research tasks. I made sure each one was something I’d be happy to work on. Then I went to the Random Number Generator website and came up with a random number between 1 and 10 (inclusive). I took that number and did the corresponding task on my list. When I finished with that task, I did it again.
I basically needed to take the choice away from myself, for some reason. Once it was out of my hands, I had no trouble getting started on the tasks that had been randomly selected for me.
I feel so much better for having gotten started! I have some more time for family history research today, so I’m going to go back to my list and the RNG and see where it takes me.
I feel a little pathetic having to resort to this but, hey, whatever works, right?
That was brilliant! There is an entire Freakonomics podcast episode devoted to the fact that exactly this kind of “coin flip” decision can be the very best one of all.
And soooo fun!
Thanks! It’s all about fun, isn’t it?
Mindmaps! Random number generator! You’re a woman after my own heart! New happy reader (and brand new genealogist) here!
Welcome to genealogy! I can tell from your picture that you’re going to have a great time. I’m so glad you’ve found this blog. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if there are topics you’d like to see me cover!
I too get overwhelmed with where to begin. This is an interesting way to end that.
Thanks, Betty-Lu! I blogged about another great idea (from a reader) here: https://organizeyourfamilyhistory.com/using-calendar-introduce-variety-research/.
I used to get overwhelmed at where to start. What solved it for me was keeping a research log and noting next steps at the end of each session. I love the guidance that habit provides!
I see applications here for any number of tasks!