One Session → Three Actions: A Simple Way to Make Conference Learning “Stick”

If you’ve ever finished a conference session feeling inspired and then watched that inspiration dissolve into a pile of bookmarks, you’re not alone.

Online events like RootsTech are amazing, but they can also be a lot. When there are hundreds of sessions available, it’s easy to slip into “content collecting” mode: watch, save, star, bookmark… and then never circle back.

So for conference season, I’m trying something different: turn every session into three clear actions—one tiny, one deeper, and one saved for later. That way, even if I only watch a few sessions, I still end the week with real progress.

The method: Quick Win → Deeper Task → Someday

After a session, I pick:

1) A Quick Win (15 minutes)
Something small I can do today that creates momentum—like testing one search filter, renaming 10 downloads, or adding one citation.

2) A Deeper Task (60–90 minutes)
A focused block where I apply the idea to one real research problem—one person, one place, one question.

3) A Someday Item (park it on purpose)
This is the secret weapon. Instead of keeping the idea floating in my head, I file it somewhere specific with a tag so I can find it later—without feeling guilty.

The next two pages of this handout will let you capture every aspect of a session.  What the main point was, any questions you had – and the three next steps I described above.

For RootsTech 2026, I’m coupling that with the goal of completing one quick win every day for thirty days.  It’s my RootsTech Challenge!  Check out the sheet on page 4.

And of course, no conference would be complete without discounts & freebies!  Instead of scribbling discount codes on random pieces of paper, use our organized list on page 5.  It will make sure you don’t miss a thing!

Download your free conference pack here!

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