In my role as a professional organizer, I often help people deal with an overabundance of items. Our work together allows my clients let go excess and organize those meaningful things they decide to keep. It’s very rewarding work and it’s led me to believe fervently that one’s life is easier when you streamline your possessions to those you use and love.
I’ve learned that when I have too much of an item–even something great–it becomes much less meaningful. Years ago I noticed that if I had a Costco-sized package of Oreos I wouldn’t eat any of them. But if I bought a small package of a treat, I’d enjoy a few at a time until they were gone.
What does this have to with genealogy research? Well, believe it or not at the moment I feel like I have an overabundance of death certificates and they’re stressing me out a bit. My September research trip resulted in my putting my hands on a few death certificates. Those led me to others and right now I’m looking at a small pile of five death certificates. All of them came my way as paper copies, so I need to scan them and file them electronically, in addition to filing the actual pieces of paper. I think I’ve gleaned all the information off them and put them into Reunion, but I want to take another pass at them to make sure I’m not missing anything.
If I had just one death certificate, I’d get the task taken care of lickety split. But since I have five, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed and dragging my heels a little. Crazy, isn’t it? Overabundance can lead to paralysis.
I love finding death certificates. I’m fortunate that I have Missouri ancestors and here in Missouri it’s incredibly easy to download death certificates. Yet here I find myself not appreciating my bounty just because I have too much.
The solution? Like any big project, I need to do a little at a time. I could break the project down into steps (scanning, for instance) and do that step for all the certificates, then move on to the next one. Or I could just process each certificate separately. Or I could stop overthinking this and just do something. (In order to get the photo for this post I needed to take my death certificates to my ScanSnap SV600 contactless scanner, so I went ahead and scanned all of them. At least I’ve done something!)
All this speaks to the benefit of handling my genealogy findings as soon as they come in. If I let tasks pile up, they turn into chores instead of treats.
Ha! I can certainly relate. I am so close to starting the actual process of redoing my sources. I have been in the planning stage for a few months. I jot down notes (into my Notes app) when I can’t sleep at night because my mind is full of all sorts of questions and ideas on how best to find out MY way of organizing all my genealogy papers (digital and paper both). I came up with a workflow. I have started another Reunion tree that is devoid of sources just so that I can begin anew. But have I entered one source yet? NOPE! I am finding all sorts of other things to do. I’m stuck. I know that I will take the plunge very soon but that first step is hard. I don’t know what to do first in spite of all the notes and workflows I have jotted down. But I can do it. Just like the Little Engine That Could, I think I can, I think I can, etc.
Judy, here’s my brilliant advice: just start somewhere. Don’t worry about it being the perfect place to start. Maybe you can just enter sources in the first person on your tree. You definitely can do it! Please keep me posted.
I will keep you posted! I’m doing my first baby step tomorrow-it will be a rainy day & I will get up early & do SOMETHING.
Go, Judy, go!
One strategy I sometimes use is to set a timer. For example, I give myself 10 minutes only to do something – even if it’s just assembling a neat pile ready to scan. Then I can feel a sense of accomplishment and also make the next task ready to go.
I so agree, Lynda! A timer is my best friend. It really gets me past the barrier of getting started and it also keeps me focused. Thanks so much for commenting!
Well, I took the plunge and did it! I started yesterday and scanned many things and threw some away. The papers I threw away were very old emails and contained information that I know now is incorrect or I already have or is information that is unproven (no sources listed). I have 2 sources. I have a pile of papers to go through that are unrelated Masters names-I am going through them carefully since I did find one thing that was a copy of a family bible and some of the names are ones that are of my ancestors. What was unrelated 20 years ago may no longer be unrelated now! So I feel good, real good, about the progress I have made. Thanks for cheering me on!
That’s fantastic, Judy! It’s a such a big deal to get started on a project list that’s been looming for awhile. Congrats!! I look forward to hearing about more progress.
Overabundance – my mother moved (downsized) eleven years ago and gave me a few boxes of stuff. She downsized again six months ago and gave me some more. I also have gotten a bag of stuff from my husband’s aunt who died a couple of years ago, as well as photos from my in-laws, who know I have the interest in the material. I have so many little (and big) projects that I have trouble knowing where to start.
I like your idea of breaking down the big projects into small projects, and writing down timed tasks – something to think about… Thanks!