I first started researching my family tree in the basement of my home which was located in a very remote place in Northern Alberta. I was a stay-at-home mom with two young children and was a tad lonely. I found I could research in small quick moments during the day and sometimes in the evening once the kids were tucked in. I was looking for some way to channel my love of family history and took a class offered by the local genealogy society, and I haven’t been able to stop since. I have to say it was very slap-dash and as I have learned not the most efficient way to approach this hobby.
What I didn’t know when I started researching my family tree –
- how this hobby would branch out and become a full-time interest that would change the scope of family holidays, my free time, and my budget!
- how important it is sourcing my information is!
- how much I wish would have focused more on writing in my English classes…
- how much information would come on-line
- that paper-less was an option
- how much genealogy travel I would want to do
Now that I have gathered a fair bit of material, my goal with my research is to share it. And I don’t mean make my family tree public, what I am envisioning is a family history book with photographs, anecdotal stories, and some social history for context when I really don’t know all that much about an ancestor. With this in mind, I am setting my goal for 2017 to produce a family history book. How will I make this goal my focus for the year?
- when selecting courses/webinars I will make choices with my goal in mind
- the same can be said when selecting what sessions I will attend at conferences
- join Facebook groups with writing as the focus
- set specific writing goals – to sit down to work on my project three times a week
This doesn’t mean I will stop researching but the thought of having a finished product to show the next time my family gathers is a vision that I cannot get out of my head!
Setting a goal with my genealogy research was not on my radar when I first started. Now I can see how it will help me to stay the course and have a focused plan for the year.
Have you set your 2017 genealogy goals? I would love to hear what you have planned.
My Genealogy Life 
I’m going to blog more, keep working on my genealogy do-over, and fix all the sourcing issues…
LikeLike
Oh – and get more organized!!!
LikeLike
Great goals, Patricia! I managed to write a family history of my Gillespie family (my dad’s side) only because I’m now stumped in early 1800s in Northern Ireland. My mother’s family, however, go back and back and back, and the wives’ familes go back and back and back. My problem is to decide which branches to tackle!!
Thanks for inspring me – I am going to increase the genealogy blogs on inventorying each page of my great-grandfather’s souvenir album. And I’m going to pick a direct ancestor (even if I have to do a random pick!) and write at least a page or two (500-1,000 words) on him/her. Every week. 52 Ancestors/year.
Happy New Year in 2017 – may it be your best ever!
LikeLike