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Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

Making the most of RootsTech

February 26, 2020 By Janine Adams 8 Comments

RootsTech 2020–the giant genealogy conference in Salt Lake City sponsored by Family Search–starts this morning! I’m attending this year and I learned at a reception for speakers last night that 14,000 people have registered and on Saturday (Family Discovery Day) they’re expecting 24,000!

This is my fifth RootsTech conference. I also attended in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 and this is my second as a presenter. (I spoke at the 2017 conference.) I really enjoy RootsTech because of the great keynote speeches, the over 300 classes offered and the opportunity to learn about new services and products in the Expo. I also like meeting up with blog readers and doing research at the Family History Library while I’m in Salt Lake.

As much as I love RootsTech, I have to admit that it is exhausting. I’m not much for crowds, so I have to be sure and schedule down time during the conference. I went to bed really early last night–self care is especially important here. I’m giving my session, “The Imperfect Genealogist” at 3 pm on Friday, so naturally I’m a little keyed up about that. So good self care for me will be daily rehearsals in my hotel room to keep me confident.

The folks who organize RootsTech have created RootsTech 2020 Survival Guide. If you’re going, I encourage you to check it out. Here are a few things to do right away if you haven’t already:

  • Download the RootsTech app (or update it if it’s already on your phone from a previous year)
  • Select the classes you think you’ll want to take
  • You might enjoy watching the Road to RootsTech video series, which shows behind-the-scenes peek at the planning for the event.
  • If you’re a paper person, you might appreciate the printed RootsTech Conference Guide you can pick up at the conference. You can peek at an online version here.

Some of the conference will be available online to people who can’t attend in person (as well as those who can).

  • Free Live Stream. Each day of the conference five or six sessions will be streamed live, free of charge. Just go to www.rootstech.org to watch. Note that the livestreams from previous years are also available!
  • This year, they’re offering a Virtual Pass for $129 that gives you access to 30 classes for a full year after the conference, starting 10-15 days after it ends. (If you’re attending RootsTech in person, you can buy the Virtual Pass as an add on to your conference registration for $79.) I’m really excited to have the Virtual Pass because it helps me narrow down which class to attend each session. (I’ll skip the ones I can catch online.)

If you’re going, I hope you have an amazing time. This conference is an organizational marvel and the way the organizers have handled the speakers has been top notch. Feel free to reach out to me via the Contact form if you’re at RootsTech and would like to meet up.

Filed Under: Excitement, Genealogy tips Tagged With: conferences, learning opportunities, RootsTech

Comments

  1. Mary says

    February 26, 2020 at 1:32 pm

    Janine, wishing you all the best on your presentation! It sounds like an event packed week.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      February 27, 2020 at 9:36 am

      Thank you so much, Mary! Event-packed week is right!

      Reply
  2. Susan Styx says

    February 26, 2020 at 11:47 pm

    I’m here attending and the first day was spectacular! Looking forward to your presentation on Friday.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      February 27, 2020 at 9:36 am

      So glad you had a good first day, Susan! Please introduce yourself to me before or after my talk on Friday. I look forward to meeting you!

      Reply
  3. Kitty M Cooper says

    February 28, 2020 at 12:42 am

    Good advice on self care! I hate to be missing it again this year. Personally I try to only go to 2 sessions a day, spend lots of time in the exhibit hall and schedule some down time at lunch away from it all … or in the library

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      February 28, 2020 at 6:31 am

      That’s great advice, Kitty. I love the idea of not pressuring myself to go to as many sessions as possible. It is so exhausting. Wish you were here this year!

      Reply
  4. Carole Pfisterer says

    March 6, 2020 at 10:45 am

    Janine: You did a great job with your presentation and offered so many helpful ideas! Thank you for the information you post here and for all the work you do that inspires confidence!

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      March 6, 2020 at 7:45 pm

      Carole, thank you so much for your nice note!!

      Reply

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about me

I'm Janine Adams, a professional organizer and a genealogy enthusiast. I love doing family history research, but I find it's very easy for me to get overwhelmed and not know where to turn next. So I'm working hard to stay organized and feel in control as I grow my family tree.

In this blog, I share my discoveries and explorations, along with my organizing challenges (and solutions). I hope by sharing what I learn along the way I'll be able to help you stay focused and have fun while you do your research, too.

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Speaker Badge: Rootstech 2017

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