This series of posts are based on the Genealogy Do-Over Workbook by Thomas MacEntee. I highly recommend it. đŸ™‚
First things first, I finally cleaned off my desk the best I could.
I will probably clean off all that stuff on the left eventually, but I need to get some more storage solutions for that. I cleaned off a ton of different books and papers. Only things I will need as I work are on the desk. This has probably been one of the most helpful things I’ve done. I’ve already noticed that I am a lot more focused than I’ve been in the past.
The other thing I did was I decided I wanted to overhaul my bookmarks. They’ve been a mess for years and I was so hesitant about it for about 5 minutes. Then I decided I would just clean out my Google Chrome bookmarks and start fresh. It’s amazing how much easier it gets to start fresh.
The fun part is I am still building that Toolbox and adding to my Genealogy bookmarks almost two weeks after I started fresh. This has also been a HUGE help in keeping me focused. I took off bookmarks to all my news, celebrity, and other time-wasting websites… Except Facebook because I use it daily to help my research. I have found that I don’t even miss those sites. If I get the urge, I just go ahead and type the address manually. I have found that if I have to go to the effort of typing it in, I don’t bother to go. That probably makes me sound very lazy!
Last but not least, is the research log. Sorry for the blurs, but I’m sure you understand. I am using a template that was generously shared by Thomas MacEntee. I have tweaked it a bit to help me use the filters feature more effectively, because I do love the filters feature. I am still trying to decide if I will be keeping just one log or doing one for each surname. Right now, I think I am leaning toward one for each surname but I just can’t decide yet. I figure I can always copy and paste later into a new file if it becomes too much to handle. I will fill you in on the research log more when I start adding in someone I don’t have to worry about privacy blurs with. Right now I am still working on adding in my living relatives.
Other posts in this series:
- Genealogy Do-Over or Go-Over?
- Genealogy Go-Over: Getting Started
- Genealogy Go-Over: Setting Guidelines
- Genealogy Go-Over: Actually Do-Over
- Genealogy Do-Over: Where I’m At
- Genealogy Do-Over: More Decisions
- Genealogy Do-Over: More Prep Work <- You are here.
- Genealogy Do-Over: My Research Toolbox
Sources:
- Thomas MacEntee, The Genealogy Do-Over Workbook (Kindle Edition);GeneaBloggers (http://www.geneabloggers.com : downloaded 31 December 2015), Month 4.
