We’ve all got big dreams we never get around to doing. Between the many distractions and disruptions in our everyday life, we often delay our dreams in order to meet short-term needs.
Family history projects tend to fall into this category. You may have piles of notes from your great-aunt about the family tree, photo albums from your mother, and wonderful stories from your father sitting in boxes and files. Your dream may be to pull all these disparate parts together, into a beautiful coffee table book, or a dynamic Ken Burns–style video, but there is no burning deadline to complete it. You could do it when you retire...or for the next family reunion…after all, the stories are not going anywhere.
In Christopher Cox’s book The Deadline Effect, he talks about two kinds of deadlines, those we choose ourselves, and those we are forced into under exceptional pressure and duress. In most cases, we would like to invoke the first kind of deadline, but in reality we only submit to the second kind when our backs are up against a wall. Without the teeth of a serious deadline, how can we keep ourselves accountable to a timetable?
Here are a few tips and tricks on how to use deadlines to move your family history project forward:
Work backwards from the deadline:
Set your sights on that end goal and figure out the steps to get there, going backwards, with reasonable estimations of time for each step. If your goal is to create a family history book, start at the moment when you present the book to your loved ones and their reactions when they hold it in their hands. Really try to visualize this scene, including how it feels, looks, and even smells! You could close your eyes and describe it out loud, recording it into your phone. Once you have pictured the glorious view from that pinnacle of achievement, then go back to the previous step: getting the books from the printer; and the one before that: finalizing the layout; and so on until you get to the place you are at now. When you have visualized all of these steps, write them down with time estimates for each. Pad these estimates by a week or two. Finally, jot down a list of tasks to do for the first step.
Set a soft deadline and back it up with one or two harder deadlines:
Acknowledge that life happens and we can’t always stick to our plans. When would you really like to present your family history project to your family? Maybe there is a family reunion being planned in a couple of years, or your parent has a big birthday coming up. Whatever the ideal date is for you, that will be your “hard” deadline. Now, set another deadline a few weeks or months before that as your soft deadline. Find another good occasion (like a holiday or birthday) to have the project ready by, knowing it wouldn’t completely disappoint you if it doesn’t work out. Then, make your plans based on the soft deadline, leaving yourself room for unforeseen delays (which will inevitably happen). If you want to be extra cautious, add another intermediary deadline in between the soft deadline and the hard deadline, if it makes sense and is motivating to you.
Have checkpoints along the way:
Identify several key points in the process where you will check in with others and get feedback on your project. Most family historians will benefit from outside eyes on their projects. This could be in the form of an editor, beta readers, or a proofreader. You might want to consult with someone else who did a family history project for their advice. Or maybe you feel confident about the writing, but weak on the visuals, and would benefit from the help of a designer. Whatever the case, think about the key points in your project where feedback would help you correct your course before unalterable decisions are made.
build time into your schedule for revisions:
Going along with having checkpoints, assume you will need to make several, if not many, revisions of your project before it is done. No one produces their best work on their first try. Revision is a given, but you also don’t want to get bogged down in too much perfectionism so you miss your deadline. Balance this dynamic by putting plenty of revision time into your timeline, and setting reasonable deadlines for these revisions. Another thing you can do is break up your project into several smaller ones, allowing time for revision and tinkering between each. For instance, you could take your 200-page family history book, and split it up into a series of chapbooks that focus on one generation at a time. You can give these smaller books out to your family each year, and then compile them into one large, coffee table style book at the end. This way you get into a rhythm of production, receive feedback on what is working or not, and learn lessons along the way, before producing the big book at the end.
Commit to your deadlines, but also hold them gently.
Hopefully, with your vision of your family history product fresh in your mind, you will feel excited and ready to tackle the climb to the pinnacle, knowing that each step is its own kind of accomplishment. Commit to your deadlines, but also hold them gently. Be compassionate with yourself when you miss a date, and build in contingency plans so you can get back on track. Get feedback and seek outside advice when you feel unsure about your direction or which way to go. Finally, enjoy the process and keep learning with each revision.
If you stick to your plan, you will build momentum and your family history project dream will move from the distant future to your present life. You will be doing what you always wanted to do, and the joy your family history project will bring you and your family will be felt for years to come.
Anna Brady Marcus is a writer and media maker who helps others tell their personal and professional stories via her Beacon, NY–based company, Anchor Your Legacy LLC.