Finding the time for research

I love doing family history research, but I have to admit that it can be challenging to carve out the time to do it.

Part of the reason is that I always think I want a large chunk of time to work with. I know that once I sink my teeth into a research challenge, it can be hard to stop. But I also know that if I wait until I have a large chunk of time, I may be waiting a very long time. (This is true of so many things, especially decluttering. On my organizing business’s blog, I’ve talked about the power of working on things just a few minutes at a time.)

Yesterday, I had an afternoon without outside obligations. I’m just back from visiting my parents and I have a (non-genealogy) to-do list as long as my arm. But I decided to take some time out to check out the genealogy room at the newly re-opened Central Branch of the St. Louis Public Library in downtown St. Louis. The library was closed for renovation for over a year and it’s a sight to behold. I took the opportunity to acquaint myself with the genealogical holdings of the library and am very excited to make use of this resource.

Another day soon I want to check out an LDS FamilySearch Center here in St. Louis. Taking the time to actually leave my office to check out resources or do some research sometimes can feel really challenging. But I know it’s how I’ll actually manage to make some real progress in my family history research, something I really want to do in the coming year.

Making time for family history research (or any other hobby) is about priorities. I want to make this a big priority for 2013. And I look forward to talking here about some of the progress I make!