It’s no secret that I haven’t always been fond of planning. For the first decade or so of my family history journey I was a fan of the “wing it” approach. That kind of worked when I was new to researching and making discoveries on a regular basis, but I crashed and burned when I tried that with my creative projects.
I get it. Planning isn’t everyone’s favourite activity. It looks like a boring cousin compared to the exciting “wing it” approach, but appearances can be deceptive. Especially when talking about planning your creative family history project.
Just like Clark Kent was hiding some pretty impressive superpowers, so is the skill of project planning. It’s not just nice to have when it comes to your creative family history project but the foundation of everything you do. You wouldn’t set off on a journey to an unknown destination without a map, so you shouldn’t dive into your projects either without a solid plan. Done well, it will be the roadmap that guides you on the journey and, dare I say it, makes it an enjoyable process rather than one laden with stress and overwhelm.
If you’ve struggled with planning in the past or just don’t know where to start, keep reading. Here are three easy-to-follow tips to help you start your planning process and ensure the success of your creative family history project.
Tips for Planning Your Creative Family History Project
1. Brainstorm Before Planning
Before you dive into the details, start with a brainstorming session. Gather your thoughts, goals and ideas about what you want to achieve with your family history project. Capture everything you know and whatever comes to mind when you think about your goals and the journey you’re going to embark on. This can be a solo activity, or you can involve others. If you plan to collaborate with family members on the project, then include them in this process for more input and creativity.
There is no right or wrong way to complete this session. I like to set a timer for 10 minutes and write down everything that comes to mind. It doesn’t need to be in a specific order, and it will be an incomplete list because that’s how brains work. Put the list aside and keep coming back to it for the next few days. The initial brainstorming sessions act as a key to unlocking the creative part of your mind, so it’s likely that more ideas will pop up, ready to join the others on the list.
Related Article: How to Quickly and Easily Create Family History Mind Maps
If you’re anything like me, as soon as you sit down to brainstorm ideas, your mind goes blank. Suddenly, a tumbleweed rolls through the space where dozens of thoughts were hanging and collaborating just seconds earlier. To coax those ideas back out, try asking yourself a few questions about what you want, what you have, when you need it, etc.
Examples
Here are some examples to get you started:
- What do you want to create?
- Who is it for?
- When do you need the finished version done and dusted?
- How much time can you dedicate every week?
- What tools or software will you need?
These are just the tip of the iceberg; you can come up with a bunch of other questions to get the ideas rolling.
PRO TIP: Your list of ideas might also include questions that you don’t have the answer to yet, such as ” How long will printing take?” Capture these and all the other thoughts to sort through and categorise for action later.
2. Organise Your Thoughts
Having the ideas isn’t enough; now you have to do something with them. Take the list that you created and sort your thoughts, ideas and questions into categories. If you wrote the list by hand, this is a great time to type the ideas up or use voice-to-text to add them to a digital document.
This might seem like a daunting task, but it’s easier than it looks, not to mention crucial for turning your chaotic list into a coherent plan. Start by grouping similar items together and considering the purpose or action required for each thought, idea, or question.
For example, you might sort all:
- questions into an “Info Needed” category
- notes with dates into a “Milestones” category
- items you’ll include in the program go in a “Content” category.
You get the idea, right? If a category contains a lot of information, consider breaking it into specific areas. For example, for Content, you might have subcategories for photos, memorabilia, stories, interviews, etc.
At the end of this process, you’ll have established your starting point for the project and what you currently know or believe needs to happen.
Apps to use
You can use any method you like to organise the information. I typically use Microsoft Word or Google Docs for this step because I can use formatting to show categories, sub-categories and tasks. Apps like Notion, Evernote, Trello or Asana also work well. You could even dump everything into a spreadsheet if Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel are your favourite programs. All you want is a program that allows you to show hierarchy and be able to move tasks around. Don’t go for anything fancy; pick a program that you already use.
3. Create Your Basic Plan
You’ve established your starting point and understanding of the road ahead for your creative family history project. Now, it’s time to build a basic plan that leverages this groundwork to guide your project from start to finish.
Start by reviewing your categories and subcategories. These will form the foundation of your plan. Each category represents a key component of your project, and each subcategory outlines specific tasks or elements that need attention. Here’s how you can proceed:
- Identify Key Steps: Use your categories to outline the main steps of your project. For example, if your categories include “Content,” “Milestones,” and “Info Needed,” your key steps might look like this:
- Content Creation: Scan photos, write stories and photograph memorabilia.
- Milestones: Set dates for when each section should be completed.
- Info Gathering: Identify what additional information you need and how to obtain it.
- Break Down Tasks: List the specific tasks involved for each key step. Under “Content Creation,” you might have tasks like “Interview Aunt Mary for family stories,” “Scan and digitise old photos,” and “Write the chapter on the family’s migration history.”
- Create a Timeline: Assign deadlines to each task to create a timeline. Be realistic about how long each task will take and consider your availability. If you have a category for “Milestones,” this step is already partially done.
- Allocate Resources: Identify what tools or resources you’ll need for each task. As a starting point, use the items you noted down in your initial brainstorming sessions and build on them with new ideas. For example, you might need a scanner for digitising photos, or software like Canva for creating your book artwork file.
By the end of this process, you’ll have a structured plan for successfully completing your creative family history project.
Not all heroes wear capes
Planning might not be the most glamorous part of your creative family history project, but it is undoubtedly one of the most important. By brainstorming your project, organising the info, and creating a basic plan, you set yourself up for success. These steps transform your project from a daunting task into a manageable, enjoyable journey.
Remember, the goal of planning is not to restrict your creativity but to give it a clear path to follow. With a solid plan in place, you can focus on bringing your family’s stories to life in a way that honours their legacy and creates a treasured memento for future generations. Happy planning!
