Tuesday’s Tip – Life in Small Bites

I’ve talked about this before but again I’ve come to realize that I can only do life in small bites. What I mean is, I have these grand ideas of projects such as organizing files, scanning old photographs, etc. but I can only do so much at one sitting; especially when the world of present living gets in the way of exploring the past.
Take the other day for instance, I had this idea for a blog post which entailed a couple of historical items I had on hand. I scanned those first. One bite down. Then I had to go make breakfast for my children (who all happen to be home this weekend). Much later after the girls drifted off to other events and projects of their own, I was able to work some more on my blog post. Another bite taken. The girls and I had plans for getting back together later in the day, so I only had so much time and had to finish up my blog project another day.
I am meant for a lot of things: not just exploring the past, but making memories with my children, impacting my community for good, even just “being.” I used to be terrible at starting some big project and finding it difficult to tear myself away from it long before I was finished. I would get grumpy about making dinner when I was in the middle of finding dead ancestors. Now I’m getting better at understanding that all these things I want to do take time. I need to exercise self-control and take it all one bite (or day) at a time.
I realize that this blog itself is an excellent way to do my focus on my research one bite at a time. Each post can be just one bite of part of a larger project I am working on. For instance, I am planning a post of my Bird Hardy Family Record and its provenance (which I mentioned in my post here and another post here). This goes towards my projects of getting my photos and records digitized and compiling an inventory of them. It’s a small bite, but it certainly helps keep me from biting off more than I can chew!

Comments

  1. Queen BeeFebruary 27, 2012 at 9:53 PM

    I can identify with your post as I have had the same experience. It can be so difficult to tear yourself away from genealogy research when you want to complete a project or find that next ancestor. I've had to learn to balance my priorities. It's still a challenge at times, but I don't want to have regrets later on because I've spent too much time on genealogy or anything else. Family needs to come first, thanks for the reminder.

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  2. DawnFebruary 28, 2012 at 7:16 AM

    You're welcome, Queen Bee, and thanks so much for your comment! "In all things balance" -- a motto I am reminded to live by time and time again. I'm just a little impatient sometimes :)

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