| Staying Focused While You Research |
| As a social media editor, distractions are abundant. While I'm browsing our profiles looking for content ideas and catching up on what our friends and colleagues are posting, it seems like there are a dozen other things shouting for my attention. Unfortunately, many genealogists face the same issue. How can we focus on a specific goal or research question while there are so many record hints, DNA matches, rabbit holes, and other things to pull us off course? In her new article, genealogist and author Lisa Alzo provides six essential tips for minimizing distractions during research. As someone who attempts to be productive online on a daily basis, I'd like to add a few additional tips of my own:
Limit. The. Apps. Lisa mentions this in her article, but it bears repeating! The data is in and it suggests that apps, specifically social media apps, are not-so-subtly designed to keep our attention as long as possible, and we’re worse off for it in many cases. I use the settings on my phone to give myself daily limits on apps like Instagram. If you need something more, or you need a solution that works on multiple devices, check out the many tools that are available. Work in short bursts. I use the Pomodoro method, kind of. The Pomodoro Technique is a time-management method that involves working in short, timed intervals with breaks in between. Traditionally you’re supposed to work for 25 minute intervals. In her article Lisa recommends some genealogy tasks that you can easily accomplish in these short sessions. I tend to want to keep working at the 25-minute mark, so I tend to work for 50 minutes with ten minute breaks in between. Take care when selecting sound. If you’re like me, you prefer to work with some sort of background noise. Podcasts, TV shows, and YouTube have all been been my co-working companions at some point, but they tend to steal my attention rather than hone it. My recommendation is to stick to calm, instrumental music or the sounds of your favorite local coffee shop. (Can’t make it to the coffee shop? Check out this website that I happened upon during the early days of quarantine.) |
