Tags
family history, family stories, genealogy, Memory card, Organization, Post-it note, Writers Resources, writing
It’s time for our Must-Do list for January! We spent December carving out a little niche for ourselves to be able to think, reflect and write. Then, did our best to update and renew our contact info and address books. Finally, we tried very hard to spend a lot of time Listening in order to learn. How would you rate your effort? Don’t be too hard on yourself…there were an awful lot of distractions
For January, since we have a bit less harried schedule, lets dig a little deeper into what was vaguely hinted at on December’s list. Lets start really getting organized. Again, we will do this as three separate activities, and check them off as we go (or keep going if need be).
1. Take an Inventory of your Tools and assess their condition. This may sound odd, but what do you use to write with? Is your lap top a frustrating heap? Would you like to have more pens just like your very favorite before it’s lost or emptied? How is your supply of printer cartridges, paper protectors, memory cards, and hot cocoa mix? This is about disallowing any small distractions and annoyances you can. Writing is work and you need to have the best tools you can afford to have to do the work. In my own writing, I have a penchant for a big cup of matching and needle sharp pencils with a big stack of post it notes.
2. Choose and Commit to a specific family branch to write about. See my December post titled #1 Pair Tree Way to get started. Just the act of deciding who exactly you are going to focus on, will free you up to organize all of your “extraneous” stuff. This Must-Do is essential to complete before moving on to #3
3. Ask for help. I know how scarey this sounds. Who you choose is up to you. You must decide on who is the best match/choice for you. Would you work best on this project with the biggest neat-nick you know, or the most patient person in your family? Doing my organization project with a helper will save you from a huge headache. Additionally, if you have already squared away your decision in Must-Do #2, you won’t start second guessing yourself as you work through the piles and stacks.
Second Guessing is the absolute demon of Organization for a Family Historian! Out Demons! Poof! Be Gone!
So start working on these the big 3 Must-Dos for January. Next Post I’ll reveal the sort, stack, and box method that works wonders in my stuff. As a bonus, you may find that you can reclaim your dining room before Valentine’s Day
Boy am I in on this! I have a neat-nick who just reorganized our whole house and is dying to get at my “stuff”. He is very supportive so this sounds like a win-win.
Sounds good! Focus is always hard for me!
Thanks for the encouragement, We think along similar lines.
I always start my organizing by making a list……with the first item being “make a list”.
Me too! I love making lists of the lists I need to make