Worth repeating: Finding time to do the things you love
I wrote this post in July of 2012 and it still rings true. When the fun or rewarding parts of life become just aspirations, rather than reality, we miss out. The special project that I referred to at the end of this post was my blog, Organize Your Family History that I debuted that summer. It has provided lots of motivation for me to pursue my genealogy research!
For more than ten years, I’ve been interested in doing family history research. I would dip my toe in the water every now and then, but would get overwhelmed and withdraw it. Mostly, I just didn’t feel I had the time to do it properly. So I didn’t do it at all.
Mind you, I didn’t have a lot of time. I’ve been pretty darn busy building my business and fulfilling some pretty major volunteer duties. But now those volunteer commitments are over and I’m under less pressure. So when my scheduled lightened up, guess what I turned to? Yes, the family history research.
I’m enjoying my research so much that I’m kicking myself for not finding time earlier. It’s one those things (like decluttering) that you feel you need a giant block of time to do, so you never do it. (Because, really, who has a giant block of time?) But it’s just not true. You can make progress in little chunks of time.
With genealogy, talking with older relatives is really helpful. So it’s the kind of hobby that’s really beneficial to work on sooner, rather than later. I’m visiting my parents soon, armed with all sorts of questions. I kind of wish I’d asked them ten years ago when my parents memories’ were probably better.
So here’s my point: If you have a something you’ve been waiting to find time to do, stop waiting. Just get started. Maybe all you have is a spare hour, rather than a full day available. That’s okay. Use it. Maybe you’ll have another hour tomorrow. And you can use that. Just getting started can be the hardest part. And it feels so good to get started!
By the way, I’m discovering all sorts of interesting things about my family history and I’m working on a special project surrounding that, which I will discuss here soon.
Tagged with: 15 minutes, family history research, organize your family history, time management, worth repeating
Comments
Thanks for your comment, Tiffany! That’s great that you were able to get through all those photos and that you’re now reaping the benefits. Doing a little at a time can be so powerful!
Janine Adams March 24, 2014 03:11 PM
About Janine
Hello! I’m Janine Adams — a certified professional organizer based in St. Louis, and the creator of Peace of Mind Organizing®.
I love order, harmony + beauty, but I believe that the way that you feel about yourself and your home is what truly matters.
If you’re ready to declutter with a purpose and add more ease to your life, you’ve found the right blog — and you’ve found the right company.
read more »Links
- Ravelry
- NAPO St. Louis
- Getting to Good Enough podcast
- Metropolitan Organizing
- Organize Your Family History
- National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals
- Shannon Wilkinson, life coach
- Institute for Challenging Disorganization
- Are you interested in becoming a professional organizer?
You are right, Janine. It feels great to get started on something you have been putting off. About a year ago, I made a commitment to scan all of my printed photos and organize them electronically.
I made a pact to myself that I would scan 8 photos every day. Some days, I would do a little less and some days I would do a little more, but it took about 2 months.
When birthday’s, anniversary’s and other special occasions arise I am usually the first person family member’s turn to, to produce a little video or photo album to celebrate the occasion.
Now, it is so much easier to sort my photos by date, or event, or person. It makes putting together these mementos so much more enjoyable now that all my photos are under one “roof.”
Great post!
Tiffany Lynn Lepp March 24, 2014 12:48 PM