I will be the first to tell you that the organization of my genealogy research needs help! I have attended seminars and classes and I have lots of paper syllabi in folders in the cupboards of my office. I have lots of family photos in boxes and even more on my computer, on my phone, and in Google Photos. Scanned and digital family history documents are in stored in several different locations on my computer. It’s kind of a mess, really. I loved the tips Diana shared for organization in Session 8 of our Research Like a Pro Study Group. Here are a few of my takeaways/goals about organization:
1 – Create a genealogy reference center in Evernote as a place to store class handouts and helpful articles I find as I am doing my research.
2 – Decide on a naming protocol for my digital files so that I can organize and store them in a way that I can easily FIND them again.
3 – Decide on a plan for backing up my files. My husband always tells me that if my files only exist in one place, they don’t really exist. I have used Google’s backup and sync feature, but I’m not really sure what is being backed up or how often.
Thinking about all this is overwhelming, but Diana recommended doing a 30 x 30 challenge. Work on it for just 30 minutes a day, 30 days in a row, and see what progress I can make. I’m excited to begin!
Diana’s tips for productivity were also great! I am looking forward to reading a book she recommended, “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. She also recommended the Pomodoro Technique, working on a task in 25-minute increments with 5-minute breaks in between. This sounds interesting, and I plan on giving it a try! My biggest problem is knowing how to fit in the hours that I want to spend researching, so I’m hoping the book by David Allen will help me generate some new ideas.
Diana also recommended making an education plan. I love listening to genealogy podcasts and webinars while I am working around the house, in the yard, exercising, etc. Diana’s advice was to be more deliberate about education – what do I want to learn, and how am I going to learn it? I’m excited to create this plan too.
Overall, I determined that I need to make sure I take the time to get organized and make more focused plans. In the long run, a little time spent doing this will yield greater productivity in the future!
