Sorry for not posting for a bit, but this pandemic is making it hard for me to focus on anything in depth, the longer I self-isolate. I’m sure eventually it will be the new normal, but right now… not so much.

Instead, I’ve been trying to work on genealogy things that take less focus. Listening to webinars, connecting to other genealogists (for the sanity of both parties), cleaning the office, things like that.

But it occurred to me that there are more things that all of us could be doing during this enforced down time. Things that don’t require focus.

1. Deal with photographs!

Processing that big shoebox of photos, for example. If you’re anything like me, you’ve got one (or two, or several) of these. Do you know who the person was in the photograph? Label it! With a photo-safe pen, of course. Have you scanned it? Scan it (and label that file with the info you just wrote on the back… or scan the back and merge the two images.

2. Digital Housekeeping

Speaking of correctly labeling your files… maybe it’s time to revisit how you’re storing things online. Is everything in the correct spot? Or do you have a “to process” pile there too? I do. Oops.

And are you backing your files up? I use iDrive which runs in the background so I don’t even need to think about it. I love not thinking about things! 😀

3. Take advantage of a captive audience

Another thing that you can do is take advantage of those folks trapped… I mean, stuck… er, isolating? yes, let’s go with isolating! with you. You can tell them all about their family history, if that’s what you’ve been researching! You can share some of those scanned photos with folks who are quarantined elsewhere.

4. Write your own history

And don’t forget the future genealogists. Journal for them! It will never feel as real as it does right now, so write down what is going on in your head. If you feel the urge to wallow in your roots, record that. I have my great-grandmother’s record of her time homesteading in rural Saskatchewan and it’s fascinating to hear about living on the prairie before barbed wire divided it up and changed a lot of the way of life for the people there.

This book isn’t by my great grandmother, but it’s a fascinating explanation of how that lifestyle went away.

In this post, for the first time, I am using Amazon affiliate links. I make a tiny little referral fee if you click the link, but it’s pretty darn small. The price to you is the same, regardless.