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Put simply, the “shiny object syndrome” is about distractions and fractions. It’s where you encounter distractions and only accomplish a fraction of what you should have. Sadly, only a fraction of your potential. Shiny Object Syndrome, as its name denotes, is the loss of focus in being distracted not by objects of worth, but of those that are ‘bright’ and ‘shiny’ and inherently specious.
If you’re reading this article right now and your mind is fading off into oblivion while thinking about something seemingly ‘easier,’ well then it’s happening to you in real time. No it’s not my writing either; I’m a damn good writer 🙂 .
Shiny Object Syndrome and Endorphins
It is a truism that you can spend the same amount of time working or slacking off. The choice is yours. Shiny Object Syndrome is also about starting new projects at the expense of others you are already working on because a new project offers you some level of instant gratification.
Say you are trying to track down the immigration forms for a great-grandfather and it’s been a trying affair over the last few months. However, finding these documents could provide you the name of the town in Europe your family emigrated from so it is literally a HUGE deal. However, while working on Ancestry you saw a banner ad about unlocking the potential for DNA matches and discovering if your eye color means anything. Well, you go to the DNA section of Ancestry and blow the next 2 hours scrolling through matches hoping that this will somehow add to your research in some bewitching manner. Wrong!
You’ve just wasted 2 hours of your time. Actually, it was your mind playing tricks on you; or, more to the point, it was your glands playing tricks on you! You were looking for an escape from your work (research) and clicking on links and laconically analyzing infographics caused a cascading response in your brain to release endorphins. This Shiny Object Syndrome made you feel good, literally.
Those 2 hours did not change the fact that you are no closer to your research goals. Been there before? I bet you have. I’ve been there too! Hey, endorphins are fun, but hardly productive.
Shiny Object Syndrome Cost-Benefit Analysis
A funny story, or idiosyncrasy rather, about me is that I love cool and interesting photos. As a writer and publisher one of my favourite phases of work is to pick out the featured photo I use for any of the articles I write. I use Pixabay as my go to (no affiliate relationship btw, they’re 100% free). As far as Shiny Object Syndrome goes I often get distracted analyzing all of the myriad of photos I can use, not just for the article I’m working on, but for future articles and I can waste exorbitant amounts of time studying photographic composition. The point is no one is immune from this. Check this cool random photo out! lol
In the business world Shiny Object Syndrome is being distracted by the latest and most popular money-making schemes. If you have a revenue stream in one market you get seduced to try and dabble in another, possibly unrelated or untested, market not knowing what you are doing. There’s always a cost-benefit analysis for everything!
For genealogy, your objectives should clear. If you do not have clear research objectives then you need to change that NOW. Research objectives and Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS) are inversely proportionate. The clearer your research objectives are the less SOS will affect you, plain and simple. The reverse is also true. The less clear your research objectives are the more SOS will affect you. This is your genealogical cost-benefit analysis.
For further reading on “The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Mastermind Genealogy Research Online”:
The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Responsible Genealogy Research Online
Shiny Object Syndrome and Procrastination
Don’t confuse Shiny Object Syndrome with anti-work flow. Don’t confuse Shiny Object Syndrome with procrastination either. Being purposefully distracted as an anti-procrastination technique is actually quite beneficial if not recommended. Scheduling your distractions are an effective way to stay focused and allow your mind to elude the buildup of “lactic acid of the brain,” as I say. Fatigue, in other words. Others call it “analysis paralysis.”
Learn how to overcome procrastination => Overcoming Procrastination: The Now Habit. Written by me, based on one of the best books I’ve ever read!
Using techniques that schedule breaks in your work you actually allow your endorphins to play freely and harness the natural rhythms of your body chemistry to your advantage. Just think of all the happy hormones that will be effusing forth when you finally do find that immigration form with your great-grandfather’s name and place of birth on it. I’ve been there in my research and let me tell you it’s a very cool place to be. Sound too hippy-dippy and ethereal? It’s not really, just read the article above to find out how.
Your Shiny Object Syndrome Cure
Thankfully, there is a CURE. The first cure for SOS, so that you don’t go hopping off in all directions, is to stay organized. Staying organized keeps you focused. Organization breeds focus.
In genealogy staying organized really means keeping good records, notes, and files. Ancestry is an organizational tool, but you should also have your own either physical notes on people or file folders on your computer you can refer back to. Shiny Object Syndrome often rears its ugly head when you are researching one ancestor and find some juicy tidbit of information you didn’t expect and then go off on a tangent hunting that down. Sound familiar?
It’s not the tangent that meets the definition of SOS, it’s how to handle all of the tangents once they become exponential. Another truism in genealogy is that for every question you answer, it produces 10 more.
That being said you must prioritize and work in spurts. As you start to build a family tree your responsibilities double with each generation as f(x) = 2. X is any new person added to your tree where each “generation” may have more than one person.
I organize all of my research according to primary projects vs secondary projects. Primary projects are the big daddys, secondary projects are smaller, supportive projects. Secondary projects often turn into primary projects.
Classic case for me was when I was just starting out researching my 2x great-grandfather from Texas and as all of our kin ultimately came from Virginia I was quite taken aback to find out his wife was from Alabama. Shiny Object Syndrome alert! I immediately had to start digging and find out what that meant in terms of my genealogy and family history. That secondary project took on a life of its own and has now become a primary project: my Alabama heritage.
When you have something of a new discovery, which are waiting around every turn in genealogy, add it to your list of research projects. Honestly, if it’s an SOS instance, or spurious, it will peter out on its own. Your records and notes will reveal themselves as to which projects are Shiny Object Syndrome and not.
Do I work on my Virginia ancestors living in Colonial times piecing together their lives and movements or do I focus on finding that collateral great-grandfather in Texas whose parents have been eluding me for five years now? Those two questions are real-life questions for me!
Those are the family history questions that drive you mad some days and invite SOS into play. The very question itself promotes distraction and that’s why it’s important to have a reference list of projects always at the ready and then allot a specific amount of time to work on that, and only that project. Again, work in spurts.
Another nifty way to avoid being distracted by genealogical detritus is to talk about your accomplishments. Talking about your successes with others (not bragging!) is a clear psychological reinforcement of your work and worth. It can remind you that you are, in fact, an awesome family historian. Talking about your latest accomplishment gives you renewed energy because, as we all know, doing genealogy requires a lot of focus. As a highly-tuned athlete feeds his/her body to refuel for the next event, so the family historian needs to stay at his/her peak by avoiding Shiny Object Syndrome, practicing organization, maintaining a healthy work flow, and touting successes.
Make it your fait accompli that you will work on a specified project at any one genealogy research session. Don’t be like the gallant young knight who mounted his horse and charged off in all directions!
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