Watching April and Other Distractions

April the Giraffe
Youtube Live Feed

All over the world people are watching a giraffe named April as we wait for her to give birth to her 4th calf.
It was supposed to be in March they said, don't tune out you will miss it they said....here it is the beginning of April and we (read that ME) are still watching!
I have her next to me as I research, well, as I try to research.
Then something catches my eye...oh, what's she doing now? Is that a contraction? Why is someone in her pen?
Oh, look, they are feeding her carrots!
 Arg!!

 We all get distracted and go down rabbit holes or chase after that darn squirrel every once in a while!
It happens when we get an email with a new DNA match or a message from a cousin who has information we need to take a brick out of a wall.
 It can be a Bright Shiney Object (BSO) in the form of a new DNA tool, an update to your genealogy computer program with new features to play with, or a new app to learn.
Some days things just don't get done as we fall in those holes, chase those clues and are blinded by the sparkly.
Our to-do lists don't get to-done.

There are a few things that have helped me stay focused and on track.

First, I set up a schedule for the day. What and when I am going to work on certain tasks. It is a flexible plan that can be tweaked as the day moves forward. The schedule may show two hours to work on a particular project, but sometimes, ideas flow, and there's a need to extend a little instead of stopping to work on something else.

Second,  I looked for tools that help me stay on track with my day and my projects. I use Evernote, Trello and Google Calendar.
These hold my schedules, notes and to- do lists and checklists. They each can be used on my computer and on my tablet and smartphone to be consulted where ever I am.
Trello boards are a great project management tool and help me to plan step by step in order to complete assignments and tasks.
I review them before getting to work to help me know what to do with my allotted time.

Have you ever decided to use a time management program or app, put all your info in it and then never open it?
A system and a routine for when I check my tools and what action to take helps me to use them to get the full benefit and be productive throughout the day.
In the morning my Google calendar events and Evernote to do lists and help me remember what I have to do.
In the evenings, it's nice to go over my schedule for the day and see the things that I have worked on and perhaps completed before planning the next day.

To all of this, I have added a Bullet Journal. Writing down my daily, weekly and monthly tasks has helped to process what I need to do and the best way to get it done. These items are then placed on my web based tools for easy access everywhere.

I have been trying harder to not go off the path after those BSOs and slide down deep rabbit holes. The goal is to add them to my to-do lists and project schedules.

I said I have been TRYING-but some days, you get this

April Saying Hello!

and it's so hard to look away! "Giraffe, Giraffe"!!

What helps you stay on track and focus on finding your family?

Helping you climb your family tree,
Cheri

New Year, New Approach

Getting Organised with a bullet journal could help me Build a Family Tree Book 

So another year has flown by and it is that time of the year again when we resolve to get things straight and write that Family History book we have been promising. So here is what I plan to do this year and a bit about how I am changing the way I tackle the organisation challenge.

At the end of last year I discovered Bullet Journaling and decided that this year I was going to give it a try. I hope that it will help me to become more organised and allow me to look back at what I can achieve. Several others are also starting this so you may see posts from them on genealogy blogs.

I have gathered some useful links in a collection on Google+ if you think you might be interested.

As part of this I had to decide how I would approach this and what tools I would use. I started with a cheap notebook but soon realised that the pages were too thin. 

I then ordered a relatively expensive notebook known as a LEUCHTURM 1917 which has numbered pages. The order could not be fulfilled so I had to find an alternative. 

The idea of having a book I could add to and customise appealled to me but the Levenger system that some in the US were using was not available here in the UK. Staples do a similar system known as ARC and I was looking at this as an alternative. 

Before, I purchased what I would need, I was discussing what I wanted to do with others. It was at this point that it came to me that, what I needed I already had, sitting in a drawer at home, waiting for me to use it, a springback binder. These are sold to family historians to help them create their own books. The same company also sell archival quality paper and other items to help us preserve our history.

Now I have spent time creating pages for my journal and using it to help me with my organisation schedule. It is a project which will evolve. When I originally bought my binders I also obtained a set of preprinted Family Tree Book Pages included with these was a discount code to order a pdf copy of the pages to use for additional pages. I bought a copy yesterday and had thought I could just print the pages for me to fill in by hand. However on further investigation today I find the sheets are fillable pdf and I can cut and paste information from my family history software program.

Since the older family members may prefer to see my research in book format I hope to use these forms as a starting point. The one thing I do like with these forms is the emphasis on adding the sources.

I am hoping to produce hand written pages for people I am currently working on so I can see where there are gaps. 
I started doing something similar in this book.

If I can easily translate the information into a page which I can printout, and replace if I need to, it will be more flexible especially if I later find I have missed something. I can easily correct without having to rewrite a whole section.

Working with paper rather than just in the digital can help with thought processes and creativity.

Next month I will report on how the bullet journal has progressed and if I have found it useful for my genealogy organisation.

If you are using a bullet journal have you found it helpful particularly for genealogy projects. 
Please share any thoughts you may have on this topic in the comments.