RLP 79: Getting Things Done Part 5 – Engaging

Nicole (1s):
This is Research Like a Pro episode 79: Getting Things Done Part five, Engaging. Welcome to Research Like a Pro a Genealogy Podcast about taking your research to the next level, hosted by Nicole Dyer and Diana Elder accredited genealogy professional. Diana and Nicole are the mother-daughter team at FamilyLocket.com and the creators of the Amazon bestselling book, Research Like a Pro a Genealogists Guide. I’m Nicole co-host of the podcast join Diana and me as we discuss how to stay organized, make progress in our research and solve difficult cases.

Nicole (41s):
Let’s go. Hi everyone and welcome to the show. I’m Nicole Dyer, co-host of The Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast and I’m here with accredited genealogists, Diana Elder. Hi Diana.

Diana (55s):
Hi, Nicole. How are you doing today?

Nicole (57s):
I’m doing well. Yeah, I’ve been making some progress on some of my next actions and my Getting Things Done. So I’m feeling pretty good.

Diana (1m 7s):
Isn’t that a great feeling when you feel like you’re getting yourself organized?

Nicole (1m 10s):
Yes. Especially on those big projects that have been on my mind, like certification and I’ve been making some plans for ordering original records that I need to do for my kinship determination project. So it’s fun to dig into that.

Diana (1m 25s):
Great. I’m excited for you to work on that because I think you’re doing our family for your kinship determinations. So I think I’m going to get a really great report from you about this, right?

Nicole (1m 35s):
Should be really great. So what have you been working on in your professional research lately?

Diana (1m 42s):
Well, I am just working on a project right now that’s a return project. This is a client project that I did several months ago. And since I did that project, I have done so many other projects. And when I was reviewing my previous report, I was so grateful again for having put in their ideas for future research, because you know, my brain hasn’t been on this project for a month and I would have to spend a lot of time going back and reviewing everything to try to get ideas for what to do next. But instead I have a whole nice list of future research and I have the report written, so I can quickly scan through it.

Diana (2m 21s):
Kind of remember what I was thinking and just go to work. So such a great part of the process, writing up the report and putting in future research.

Nicole (2m 30s):
That is really nice, because like you said, you were working on so many different things in the meantime that it’s not fresh on your brain. So yeah, it’s great to have that reminder in report form because reading through a research log is a lot more difficult than reading the narrative of a report,

Diana (2m 46s):
Right. And then having the citation right there to remind you of exactly what document you’re referring to or where to go look at it again and having the maps and the tables and information put in bulleted form, it really makes it very accessible to remember the research and your reasoning.

Nicole (3m 3s):
So do you think you’ll be able to make progress on the same question again?

Diana (3m 6s):
I think so because there were a lot of avenues for future research. So one of them was using the FAN club. And so I think that’s what I’m going to do. One of the tricky things with the future research is trying to focus in on which one to do, because this is only a 10 hour project. So I can’t do all of them. They all kind of go in different directions. And so I’ve been really contemplating which one to take on. And I’m thinking of doing the FAN club, because I think that might be the most beneficial for this part of the project. That is the other thing you have to do. It’s like you have to set a new objective for this next part of the project, even though the overarching objective is the same to find the father of the client’s ancestor.

Diana (3m 48s):
I still have to have more of a focus. So I’m going to do the FANs.

Nicole (3m 52s):
Good luck, I’m sure you’ll make excellent progress. Well, let’s do our listener spotlight today. We have a review from Ancestors With In. They said, I only discovered Genealogy about a year ago, but have been obsessed and trying to learn as much as I can. Oftentimes when I try to learn new things, I get discouraged thinking I’m too late in the game or that there’s too much to learn. So I should just give up and let the pros do it. But that’s why I really love your show. You make genealogy feel accessible to all. The podcasts are this great tool that pushes me to learn, but also feels low pressure and fun to listen to. I know that I have found my kind of people when I get inspired by a conversation about list-making.

Nicole (4m 34s):
I have gained so much knowledge from you and we’ll stay a dedicated listener as I continue this genealogy journey. Well, yes, you’ve definitely found your people because we love lists. And we’re going to be talking more about lists today because we’re continuing on our discussion of getting things done. Thank you for leaving that review and for telling us more about your journey and your genealogy education. And we’re glad that the podcast feels accessible. We are really hopeful that it is something everybody can learn from, and don’t worry. We all get discouraged sometimes. So just keep plugging along.

Diana (5m 10s):
Well, great. Let’s dive into our topic for the day, which like you mentioned, is part of our Getting Things Done series. It’s actually part five, our final episode, and this is all about engaging. When we sit down at our computers for a family history session, we have to make some decisions. What are we going to do? Should we work on a research project? Should we watch a webinar? Should we look at our new DNA matches? Should we get lost in our emails? You know, that’s always my question is, what should I be doing right now? So if you’ve been following the Getting Things Done method, you’ll have a task list of next actions for various projects.

Diana (5m 50s):
Now it’s time to engage and choose the next action and go to work. I love this whole concept of having the next actions and then being able to look at my list every morning and picking out the one or two or three things that I really want to do that day. So we’re going to talk all about this step of engaging, but first let’s just do a little bit of a review. Nicole, why don’t you just take us through the first four episodes we did on this.

Nicole (6m 17s):
Sure. The first episode we did about Getting Things Done was capturing, and that’s where you get down all those ideas in your mind of things that you want to work on. All your family history projects, large or small. And then part two was clarify, prioritizing the projects, brainstorming ideas for them, making plans and identifying the next action. Then part three was to get organized and creating a trusted system for organizing your papers and all of your processes, part four was reflecting. And this is where you do a weekly review to get clear, get current and get creative and make sure that you’re up to date on all the new projects and ideas that have come to you since you last clarify it.

Diana (7m 3s):
Okay, great. So in our final step that we’re talking about Engaging, just talk for a minute about exactly what that means. Well it’s all about making the right choice of an action at any given time. David Allen, the author of the book, Getting Things Done, suggests thinking of this in terms of context, time, energy, and priorities. I think we often do this subconsciously but making a conscious choice can eliminate guilt and help us feel good about what we’re doing. So we’re going to go through each of those elements and talk a little bit about that in terms of our family history and genealogy. So let’s start out with context, how you choose to spend your family history time will depend on where you are.

Diana (7m 47s):
I have a nice laptop that works really well, but it’s just one screen and it’s not as large as my desktop monitors and it’s not my optimum scenario for doing big research projects. I like to use my two monitors so I can have a document open on one and my research log open on the other, or my research log open on one, and my research report template open on the other. Two monitors is where I make the most progress in my actual research. So if I am at my desk with my monitors, I do my billable client research time and I also have my fast internet connection and it helps me to work the very most efficiently.

Diana (8m 30s):
Now, if I’m away from my computer, there are other things I could do. I could study an article in the NGSQ, I could listen to a podcast or I could read a book, and these are all things that I can do maybe when I don’t feel like being at my desktop, you know, I’m waiting for an appointment or I’m on a vacation or I’m in the car. These are all things that can further my genealogy work, but I don’t have to be right at my desk for those. Now, what if I am visiting a relative? Well, if I have taken my little scanner or even if I have my phone, I could be scanning photos or digitizing photos.

Diana (9m 11s):
I could be recording stories, doing interviews, and I can feel like I’m making progress on my family history whenever I’m visiting someone that could have a story about our family. So choosing an action from our task list that matches the context of where we are physically makes perfect sense.

Nicole (9m 30s):
It does. It’s really good to have a list of reading material that you can take with you to doctor’s appointments or places where, you know, you’ll be waiting so that when you are sitting there waiting, you’re not wasting time, but you can just pull out that article that you’ve been trying to finish reading and just get 10 minutes of reading again. So it’s great to have an idea of different contexts where you can do different things. But let’s talk about time. Choosing a next action will depend on the time available. So what if you only have 15 minutes at your computer? That might not be the best time to start doing a research project. I’ve had that come up before where I just have a few minutes before I need to run an errand and I want to get something done in that time.

Nicole (10m 12s):
But I know that if I started a research project, it will be hard to tear myself away or I’ll just get frustrated that I can’t keep working on it. So it’s better to just find a short action on my next actions list. So maybe I could send a message to some DNA matches, or I could order that record on a website where I just need to go in and put in the order form. It’s really good to consider how much time you have. Maybe you have a whole afternoon that is free and you can block that out on your calendar to go research at a repository. Maybe you have more than 30 minutes, so you could follow the next step on your research plan. So matching the time that you have available to a task can help eliminate wasting time because you just have 10 or 15 minutes and you’re not sure what to do during that time.

Diana (10m 60s):
I really love this idea. I think that we often waste those little blocks of time scrolling through Facebook or looking at Instagram or Twitter because we know we only have a few minutes before we have to get in the car and go do whatever we’re doing. And so if we could maybe have some ideas of the short tasks that really are only 10 or 15 minutes, that would probably really help us to get more done. I tend to fill up my task lists with kind of big things. But as you were talking, I was thinking, I need to have little reminders, that little short things that I could do when I’ve just got those small bits of time.

Nicole (11m 34s):
Right. And he talks about that in the book about how you need to have like a real next action, not just like a nebulous idea, like kinship, determination project, no, that’s overwhelming. Write down order original birth certificate for whoever. And then when you see that on your task list that seems like a doable action instead of this huge project.

Diana (11m 58s):
I totally agree with that. I have the syllabus that I need to get done for the NGS conference kind of hanging over my head. And I have been guilty of that, putting that on my task list, do the syllabus for those class. And it’s just so overwhelming. I don’t want to do it. So I finally put it on my calendar and said, okay, just do the outline, just do an outline. I can do that. So I think even though we know these concepts, we slipped back into our habits of putting on these big projects on our task lists. That’s why we keep working through this process. So let’s talk a little bit about energy. This is one of the key players in figuring out what to do at any certain time of the date, how much energy we have.

Diana (12m 40s):
We are all so different with when our brain works the best. And I’m like you, Nicole, I think you inherited it from me. It is first thing in the morning when I’m planning my day. I like to have my heavy lifting in the morning. That’s when I tackle complex DNA analysis, or writing a research report, you know, anything that’s really going to take using my brain. Then in the afternoon when I am more tired and I have less mental energy, then I can do something like searching a microfilm. Cause I’m following my research plan. And I’m just scrolling through images and taking notes and that doesn’t take as much thinking or processing. And then if it’s a time of the day where I’m really not feeling like I have much brain power, I can do something that’s just simple, like filing papers.

Diana (13m 25s):
And that takes even less brain power or maybe I’m printing out something and just doing some organizational things to get ready for another project. So I think we have to really take a look at our personal energy and when we are feeling the best and when we are thinking of best and match that to what we need to get done, because I know with client projects, I could spend two hours when my brain is not working as well, or I could spend one hour where my brain is working really well on doing the exact same thing. And so I need to make sure that I am using my energy to the best of my ability.

Nicole (13m 59s):
That’s a good tip. And I think it’s nice to consider the idea that we can separate our next action list into different categories like this. Maybe we would create one that says next actions for when I have a lot of energy and then separate out when I’m tired here, I can do these things because these are just easy. So having them separated into different next action categories or separate lists can be helpful for determining what to do in the moment, but we should also consider our priorities. Maybe a certain task will take priority based on a deadline or a commitment that we have made with ourselves or with someone else. So if we promise to give a presentation at the Genealogy society, maybe our next action should be to create an outline or practice giving the presentation.

Nicole (14m 49s):
So if you don’t feel like you have enough time for the project you really want to do, maybe you need to make a commitment with yourself to work on it one hour a day and then make that a priority. I’ve done this before, where I’ve made a commitment to research 30 minutes a day or an hour a day. And often I will try to get that done in the morning before anything else. But then if I reached the end of the day and I still haven’t done it, I know it’s a priority to get it done every day. So even when I’m tired, I’ll still try to do it. So making things a priority like that, especially when you have a deadline can really help you to accomplish things that are really important to you.

Diana (15m 26s):
I agree. And I think sometimes we fill up our schedules with so many things that we never get to the things we really want to do. So I like that you mentioned to make a commitment to ourself and make that a priority to get something done that we really want to do. And for me, this is often my own research projects and I need to make those a priority. So let’s talk about the research notebook. This is something that I started doing when I very first began my genealogy journey in 2003. I had attended this class and the speaker suggested keeping track of what you did at each research session so you’d know what to do when you started researching the next time. And I loved that idea.

Diana (16m 7s):
So I got a little spiral notebook and I would write the date and write what I did and what I needed to do the next time, make myself any notes. And it literally took me years to fill up that notebook because at that time I was doing it like maybe an hour in the mornings and maybe I’d miss a few weeks here and there like entire months in the summer, but then I gradually filled that up. And then I got a new notebook. Now, the new notebook I got when I started doing accreditation. So it’s kind of fun to flip back and look and see what things I was working on when I first started this notebook. So how do I use it? Well, it’s, it’s a physical spiral notebook and you know, you could do this on a Google sheet or a doc or whatever, but I kind of like my physical notebook, and I have it sitting on my desk and every morning I write down the date and I look at my task list on my Google calendar and Google Keep and my Gmail, it’s all the same task list.

Diana (17m 3s):
And I look at that task list and I try to think about what I want to accomplish that day. I look at my calendar to see what things I have put on there that I need to do in light of context, time, energy, and priorities. And then I choose what I need to get done that day. So often it’ll be like two hours on this client project. One hour writing a blog post, one hour working on a presentation, one hour responding to emails. So I also try to put a time limit on it so that I don’t let myself just go on and on and on doing something, and that really helps. Now what about interruptions? So I often have this nice little list and I have my day planned out and then I get an email that takes an hour to respond to, or I get a phone call, or I get a text, there’s wonderful and not so wonderful things that interrupt our days, but we are going to get interruptions.

Diana (17m 59s):
So if I don’t get to something on my task list, I can just evaluate and move it to the next day. Or maybe I can just eliminate it. Sometimes there are things we put on there and then we realize we really didn’t need to do them, but it does help me keep track of what I’m trying to do each day and what I didn’t get to, what I need to do the next day. That’s my system. It’s simple, but it certainly works for me. How about you, Nicole? What do you do to kind of help you keep track or to plan what you want to do for each day?

Nicole (18m 29s):
Well, right now I have a list in Trello of things that I’m currently doing today. And if you’ve never used Trello, the way that it works is you have a board and I’ve just titled mine Daily Tasks because I tried before having a bunch of different boards for different projects, and I wasn’t looking at them all regularly. And that’s one of the things David Allen recommends is putting all their to-do items at the same place so that you trust the system and you look at it every day. So I have my daily tasks board and I have several different columns and each column has a card that is a task and you can move them around.

Nicole (19m 8s):
So I have to do later list, a to-do soon list, and then the doing list. And then I have a Done. And actually started separating it out into Done for the week of whatever date it is. And then I have a list for Deleted for those things that I thought I wanted to do, but then I decided I don’t need to, or don’t want to do so. What I do every morning is I get up and I look at my list of things to do soon and to do later. And I choose some things to move over to my doing list. And then I try to work on those that day. When they’re done, I move them over to the done list. So I like it because I can see what I’ve done and I get to move things around depending on what comes up.

Nicole (19m 50s):
So if I didn’t get to those things, on the doing list I’ll just leave from there for the next day. Cause I know that there’s something I need to get done soon and I can see everything that’s coming up and start to move things over when I’m ready. So that’s what I’ve been doing in the past, but I’m actually getting ready to switch over to a little bit of a different method because I have been studying the Getting Things Done list. And what I want to really do is have my to-do list separated out by context, which is what we talked about today. And I think I’ll put some tasks into a, to do when tired list and it to do when I’m only have 15 minutes. And I think that will help me to have them separated like that.

Diana (20m 33s):
I agree. I’m kind of excited to revisit my task lists and kind of think about what I can do a little bit differently to make that work a little bit better for me. The thing that I really love about the Getting Things Done method is that we can work through it once really looking at each section and do it on whatever level we are ready for then, and then we can go back and do it again. And like you are kind of revisiting it, changing things up and I’m doing the same thing. And each time we go through it, we can get better and refine so that we feel like it’s meeting our needs at that specific point in our life because things might change in our lives.

Diana (21m 14s):
So we need to change things up a little bit with our processes, our systems and our methods. I am currently just starting reading the book again. And so for 2020, I’m going to go through each part again and really look at what I’m doing and see if I can refine, maybe do things a little better. So since this is our last episode, I’m just going to recap the five sections and then we’re going to let everyone just go to work and have fun learning how to do this on your own. The first step was to capture everything that you’ve got on your brain about family history and genealogy. And number two was to clarify those projects and brainstorm ideas for them, make a plan for them and identify your next action, which is so important.

Diana (22m 1s):
Step three was to get organized. Maybe this is the year you are really going to get a system for your papers and processes. Number four is reflecting. That’s learning how to do a weekly review to get current because new things keep coming into our lives. And then what we talked about today, which is engaging, and that is thinking of what we should be doing at any certain time of the day, depending on the context, time, energy, and priorities. So we hope everyone listening can have fun listening to these episodes and thinking of how you could use some of the concepts to get more things done with your family history and genealogy.

Nicole (22m 40s):
Great. Well, we hope you enjoyed this series about getting things done and let us know in the comments, how you organize your system. We’d love to hear from you and we can read it on our podcast as a listener spotlight. So have a great week and we will talk to you guys again next week.

Diana (22m 55s):
All right. Bye bye everyone.

Nicole (23m 4s):
Thank you for listening to Research Like a Pro with Diana Elder, accredited genealogy professional and Nicole Dyer. We hope that something you heard today will help you make progress in your own genealogy research. If you like what you heard, please leave us a review on iTunes or Stitcher or visit our website, FamilyLocket.com to contact us. You can find our book Research Like a Pro a Genealogist’s Guide on Amazon.com and other booksellers. We hope you’ll start now to Research Like a Pro.