Tuesday’s Tip: Getting Organized in Research
I have never been an organized researcher. I go from one clue to the next with no rhyme or reason. I go where ever the clues lead and I do not track my searches. Aghhh! How can I be so unorganized when it comes to something so important to me.
If you knew me, really knew me, it makes complete sense. When I managed in the retail field, I had an associate tell me that I must be so organized at home, because I kept our back room (which was office and product storage) so organized. And, if I had to be completely honest, it was more of the product storage. I planned time each week to organize the desk/office area. After the holiday season, we would go straight into sale and that is always the best time to clean up the back room. I worked for Bath & Body Works and let me tell you the mess that shower gel can make on a cement floor. Especially, if it was someplace that you did not notice and had to clean it up at a later date. Anyhow, I loved sale time! It was time to get rid of the dust as the shelves emptied out and before all the new product came in. I had a good laugh at this associate because, I am so not like that. I have never been organized at home, not really. I grew up in a house where the dining room table was the catch-all for my father, though he always blamed us. When I moved out on my own, I had a chair that was my catch-all. It held the baby bag, coats, gloves and my purse. How do I stop this madness?
Well, I am starting with my genealogy this year. I am going to be going through my files, reorganizing them, pulling out magazines and adding them to my library and finally trying to get a little ahead of the game with tracking my research.
I have started making forms on my computer so that I can try to really think about what I plan to do in my research. I let some of my family lines get ahead of me because I do not think about what I want to do, I just do. I am hoping to stop that with my forms.
I have utilized this form for a few of my research problems and the next step will be researching the documents listed. Maybe I might start using a research log as well. Only time can tell.
So that’s my tip for today, get organized. In the end it can only help you out.
