Reflections on getting ORGANIZED

NOW THAT I AM ORGANIZED

According to Denise Levenick in her article in Family Tree magazine, "cutting clutter will make you better organized and sharpen your genealogy focus."

I am here to tell you Denise is

 "right on the money."

Using Denise's techniques for organizing  documents on my computer, I can apply them to hard copy files in my file cabinet. My hard copy files are yet to be done. 

Remember the mantra:

1) read, 2) scan and, 3) recyle

don't print... don't print...don't print 

Note what Levenick says: "If it would be a financial or logistical burden to replace the item, consider it an original."

If the above definition meets the criteria for a document, then scan, keep the original, file in hard copy file.

_______________________________

Here are some examples of success from my organization project so far:

1) When I labeled consistently I found 2, 3 ,4 or more copies of documents, placed in several locations (so I could find it and still couldn't find it.)

I had a photocopied birth record for my mother Catherine (Kata) labeled:

Kata birth, 

Binder Kata Croatia birth, 

birth_record kata 

placed in several locations/folders.

Once all the copies were opened and labeled consistently Binder, Kata birth record, the computer alphabetized them and I 
1) noted that I had several of the same document, 2) practiced consistency and, 
3) trashed two of the copied.

I can easily find that document now.

_________________________

2) The family portrait that was within hundreds of pictures in iPhoto for which I had to search and search is now in a folder called Photos under each surname folder and labeled so I can find it. 

Binder, Joseph formal portrait. 

__________________________

3) Levenick says "label so you know what is in the folder." With consistency and labeling you KNOW what is in the folder.  For example:

What was in the folder I labelled Stoner information? The item in Stoner folder is now called 

S. Dak. neighbor letter re: Stoner.

____________________________

4) Found gold!
Going through email folders I reread, labelled, and placed emails in surname or appropriate folders. 

As I organized and reread emails I found contacts. I needed to reconnect with contacts and I did! 
I reconnected and it generated  

additional surname information and photos from  reconnecting with these contacts.

____________________________

5) I was always opening folders to see what was in them and then closing them because it wasn't what I was looking for. This was a waste of time and caused frustration.

___________________________

6) I located document, emails, and items that were 

  in the wrong surname folder

____________________________

I have not finished organizing. 
I am getting organized and it feels 

Great!

Thanks Denise

Share your reorganizing thoughts, surprises, esamples of success?

See ya down the road... 

Copyright @ 2015-16 Diane McClure Lott

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Ya Gotta Get It Together - Part Two

Getting Organized—Part Two

or 

Now that I got it what do I do with it?

A  practical approach to getting organized using Denise Levenick's article "The End of the Paper Trail" in Family Tree magazine.

Step One was to get rid of my flatbed scanner and buy a sheet feed scanner.  You can use a sheet feed scanner as a flatbed scanner if this capability is needed. 

Sheet feed scanning will produce an enormous amount of digital documents and NOW to deal with naming and filing.

Step Two was creating a "file-naming scheme" Levenick suggests a system that "you know what is in the file before you open it."

Levenick suggests these two naming options:

1) date first (1930 Smith_ James_census), 
or

2) surname first (Lott_ Cornelius_Jamaica-NewYork 
or even my suggested naming option by

3) type of document (Swiss_Lacapo_lecture)

Creating the file name and folder name system is not hard. It helps you:
*pull it together 
* get some semblance of order

BUT

* Now that you have named it 

where do you put it?

Step Three was to consider the " folder system" on my computer.

I had my own "folder system" and surprisingly it was almost what Levenick suggested. (See detailed example in Levenick's article step 8.)

It is all a matter of getting a file naming scheme in place "consistently" as well as a folder system in place "consistently."

(A suggestion from Nancy Loe and Sassy Jane Genealogy, too.)

This is time consuming work especially if you have not done any organizing but it is even harder when correcting what you thought was organization.

Levenick suggests a cheat sheet with the naming scheme(s) posted near your computer.  I concur Denise.

Personal Note:

Consistency (I fall down here)...I am working on it.  

  
More of my challenges in organizing with comments from Levenick on"Adjusting your Workflow" in Ya Gotta Get It Together — Part Three.

Have you been organizing? 

Please let me know your challenges and solutions.

See ya down the road...

____________________________________
Denise Levenick, "The End of the Paper Trail," Family Tree magazine, July/August, p 21-26.