Thank you, Melanie, and all for the great organizational suggestions....can never get enough of those, nor the good humor! Also, the latest APG Quarterly's availability online was timely with some great articles on "productivity". I sense that part of the challenge is the type of the client load. A couple of the 6 or so projects I work on, time permitting, are southern families....you know, cousins marrying cousins and each family naming their offspring the same names, in some variation, for many subsequent generations. Whenever I step back into either of those 2, it's not so much tackling the next task on the project list but rather getting reacquainted with the rhythm of those families. They make my hair hurt...but in a good way! But maybe the relearning curve would be required whether or not I have other, less challenging, projects running concurrently or not? Mary E Hall Santa Barbara, CA ---- "Melanie D. Holtz CG" <melanie_holtz@hotmail.com> wrote: Mary, My way may be simplistic but it works for me. I keep a document for each client project within my iPad. In each document I make running notes, which is especially helpful when you are also managing the work of subcontractors. For example a current one reads, in part: 9-3-12 Salerno archives found document and requested 8 Euro by Western Union. Asked Michele to order. 9-6-12 Have report nearly ready to go. Michele checking marriage in Salerno before I send. 9-13-12 Client anxious so I sent first report. Send second when receive response from Salerno. As you can see, this helps keep the research on track. Also, if you write the report as you go along, the report can serve as a reference point when refamiliarizing yourself with the details of a project. Sincerely, Melanie D. Holtz, CG Holtz Research Services 7283-102 NC Hwy 42 W, #402 Raleigh, NC 27603 Melanie@holtzresearch.com www.holtzresearch.com > Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2012 07:27:46 -0700 > From: mehall2@cox.net > To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com > CC: transitional-genealogists-forum-request@rootsweb.com > Subject: [TGF] Concurrent client load > > I enjoy this transitional forum very much, as I've been encouraged to "go pro" and I'm exploring this option, at least part-time. > > My professional career is in finance, and as an independent contractor, I'm ever aware that each hour of our day is precious. Is there any experience based opinion on how to manage multiple client loads? I've undertaken a few projects - pro bono - and I'm finding that, not unlike my own genealogical research, I need to focus on each project one at a time or I'll lose my place and have to spend time again re familiarizing myself with where I am in the project. This wastes time. > > OTOH, it's not realistic to think one research intensive client at time is going to provide any kind of reasonable income. > > Thoughts? > > Mary E Hall > Santa Barbara, CA > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message