Search Results for: genealogy goals

Creating a research log habit

December 27, 2016 By Janine Adams 11 Comments

I’ve been doing genealogy research long enough to know the value of keeping a research log. Yet I really resist it. I’m not sure why and it’s driving me a little crazy. I was thinking about it this morning as I was walking my dog and I vowed to amend my 2017 genealogy goals to add this important goal:

Create a habit of logging each research session

I think one of the reasons I’ve resisted using a log is that I find myself a little intimidated by complicated spreadsheets. The research log created and shared by Thomas MacEntee is a thing of beauty. Used regularly and properly it would elevate anyone’s research. Yet the idea of filling it out is just too much for me. And so I’ve been very hit or miss on writing down what I’m researching.

On my walk this morning, it hit me that a research log is like any organizing system: The very best one is the one you will use. It’s not a one-size-fits-all thing. There’s no right way to do it. The important thing is to just do something.

When I got home, I mindmapped what a simple research log I might create for myself would look like. Then I looked back at my previous attempts, all in Evernote, and I realize I actually have something in place that I can just pick up and start using again.

Back in late 2013, I partnered with the personal organizer app Springpad (RIP Springpad!) and created a Family History Organizer custom notebook. Part of it was research tracker template, a very simple form to track what you’ve done in each session. A Research Log Lite, if you will. I think I never felt my research tracker template was good enough to qualify as a research log and I didn’t fully commit to it. (I’ve blogged about my attempts.) But now I feel that if I use it regularly, I’ll actually have a nice body of knowledge. I’m going for it.

Today’s the first day of a new focus on keeping a research log. I created a 2017 Research Log notebook in Evernote, which is my preferred place to keep track of information (genealogy-wise and otherwise). I revised the original research tracker template a little and placed in my 2017 Research Log Notebook. (That’s the template, in its entirety, up in the top of this post. Click on the image to see it larger.)

I created my first note in the notebook, titling the note with today’s date and the names of the ancestors I researched. I copied the template into the note and filled it out. I tagged it with the ancestor’s surname (Adams) and created an “Adams RL tag”, so I can easily pull up all my research log notes about the Adamses. I hope this is the beginning of a wonderful habit.

Bonus! I made the research tracker template, public, so you can add it to your own Evernote account if you want to give it a try. Just click on the link and it should open up in Evernote for you. (I’m a novice at public Evernote notes, so if it doesn’t work for you, please let me know and I’ll figure it out.)

I’m always excited about creating new habits in the new year; I hope to be reporting here that it’s become ingrained!

I’m curious: Do you keep a research log? If so, in what format?

What does success look like in 2015?

December 19, 2014 By Janine Adams 1 Comment

Setting genealogy goals I’m an unabashed goal-oriented person. I don’t always achieve all my goals, but I love having something to strive for.

I’m realizing, though, that I don’t really have goals for my genealogy research. I think if I had them, I’d feel better about my progress. So before the end of this year, I intend to put together a short list of genealogy goals for 2015. I think it will help motivate me to do research when I don’t feel like I have time. And it should also keep me focused in my research.

What will my genealogy goals look like? I don’t know just yet. But the things I’m going to consider are:

Building my family tree up (into new generations) versus building it out (adding more collateral lines)
Visiting more cemeteries and/or research libraries
Attending conferences
Reaching out to cousins
Getting and keeping everything organized (that’s a work in progress, of course!)

While achieving goals is important to me, I believe in rewarding myself for progress, rather than results. Along those lines, I think would also be wise for me to set a goal for the amount of effort I put in. So I think I’ll include something like, “Spend at least 30 minutes twice a week” on genealogy. That could be doing research or organizing my research. Thirty minutes twice a week doesn’t sound like much, but it amounts to 52 hours over the course of a year, and 52 hours is significant!

On or before January 2, I’ll post my short list of goals here. What about you? Do you set annual goals for your genealogy research? If not, do you think you might start?

Focusing my efforts in 2014

December 26, 2013 By Janine Adams 4 Comments

My strategy for focusing my genealogy efforts in 2014 In December every year, I take some time to set some goals. I set them for my organizing business and for my personal life. This will be the second year I’ve set goals for my genealogy research. (If you want, you can read the goals I set last year.)

In thinking about my genealogy goals for 2014, I realized that I really want to be more focused and organized in going about my research. I still struggle with not knowing what to work on in any given session. And that lack of focus makes it hard for me to actually get started.

I just hit upon an idea that I think I’ll try. I’m going to assign a family line to each quarter of the year. In this structure (which I just thought of, so it’s still evolving in my head), I won’t be limited to working on that line necessarily, but if I don’t have something else specific I want to do, I will work on the family line assigned to that quarter.

I’ve decided that the schedule will be as follows:

1st quarter: Adams (my father’s father’s line)
2nd quarter: Brown (my mother’s father’s line)
3rd quarter: Rasco (my father’s mother’s line)
4th quarter: Jeffries (my mother’s mother’s line)

At the start of each quarter, I’ll take stock of where my research lies. I’ll use my progress tracker to see what census, vital and military records I’ve already located.

During each quarter, I’ll try to do the following for each of the lines:

Fill in the gaps on my progress tracker
Make sure my surname files for that line are organized on my hard drive
Ensure that everything in my paper files for that line is also organized on my hard drive
Fill in collateral relatives on my family tree in Reunion
Search for sources for unsourced data provided to me by cousins
Go up at least one generation in verified information
Attach photos to my family tree in Reunion

What I like about this idea is that it should keep me more focused. And help me feel less overwhelmed. It should get me past the “what should I work on today?” question that can be such a barrier. And, perhaps best of all, it gives me some specific goals and a deadline–the end of the quarter. (I love a deadline!)

Taking stock of my records

December 18, 2012 By Janine Adams Leave a Comment

I love the last couple of weeks of the year. This is when I set goals and resolutions. And I also typically try to do some decluttering and organizing around my house. I’ve already started the goal-setting process for my genealogy work. But I realized this morning that I needed to spend some time organizing my genealogy records and see where things stand.

I started doing genealogy research back in the first part of the 21st century. My records then were all paper. In fact, I hand wrote my ancestry charts. Since taking up the research more seriously this year, I’ve done more electronically (my family tree is now entered into software), but I do have a tendency to print things out and file them. I blogged awhile back about how I organize my genealogy files.

Above is a photo of the file cart that holds my genealogy files. As you can see it’s looking a little unruly. During that lovely week between Christmas and the end of the year, I think I will go through those files, see what I records I have and what’s missing and tidy things up. I’ll also explore the contents of the files I created years ago called “Census possibilities,” “Places to go,” and “Research tips.” By the end, I hope to feel like I know where things stand with my research. I suspect I’ll end up with a list of things to research, mysteries to solve and holes to fill.

If time allows, I’ll also spruce up my electronic files. They’re in decent shape, but there’s definitely room for improvement. I’ll write a post when that process is over and share the benefits I gained from this effort!