Organization, or Lack Thereof
Over the past few weeks I have been spending time trying to catch up on my 52 Ancestors posts. I am so far behind. There is one thing that I have learned during this process, I need to work on my organization.
For many of my posts, I needed to open several windows on my computer so I could search for new documents, pull up old documents and maybe do a google search when needed. These steps would be normal for most people, we cannot remember every single ancestor and all the information that goes with them. To be honest, I have a good memory and my family is usually shocked at what I can share with them off the cuff when they ask. But, today was different. I knew I had a document for John E Richmond pertaining to his time in the Masons. I had emailed with the lodge he was a member of, years ago, and I could not find where I saved the information.
To be fair, I recently moved to a new computer so not everything is on the new one. I checked my file folders for the different email addresses, I have two that I use consistently on this computer. I also checked my files on this computer. I checked the files on my external hard drive, once I confirmed it was not there I started to get upset. This document was the first find outside of the normal vital records and census records. So not only is it important to Johns story, its important to me personally.
From there, I went to my old laptop and did the same email searches. Nada, zip, zilch. A big FAT zero. I was getting a bit upset. I only had one other pace to look. I went to my file cabinet, remember those? They hold papers, in files! I pulled out the Richmond file and behold the second paper I looked at was the email from the Masonic Lodge with the membership card for John E Richmond. I was so excited!
I extracted the pertinent details and turned to the internet to get some more details. Sent an email to someone who is a current Mason and finished my post.
I swear, next year will will be the year of getting organized. That is computer files, paper files and my office! I must do this now otherwise, I am in big trouble and will never be able to find the things I need.
Exactly what I’ve been working on this past year. I feel I’ve made some progress but I still have a long ways to go. Too many years of not being a discipline researcher, I wish there was a magic wand but unfortunately there’s not one.
Always glad to hear I am in good company. I Moved my office after a flood in our basement awhile back and have never finished organizing everything. Plus, I am still dealing with kids moving out and having their stuff left behind. I would love to borrow the magic wand, if anyone finds it.