Here’s the next in my occasional series of bite-size Quick Tips. Click on the Quick Tips tag for my other Quick Tips. Because I tend to write longer posts, I wanted to provide a quick-to-read (and quick-to-write) post every couple of weeks on a small topic that pops into my head. This is one that I tell my clients (and myself) over and over.
Let go of the word “should”
Should is one of my least favorite words. My advice: Don’t let anyone tell you how you should organize your research, how far you should go out on your tree, or whether your Ancestry tree should be public or private. You do you.
That said, there are a few actual shoulds in genealogy. You should cite your sources. You should evaluate everything critically. You should do your own research, rather than just copying someone’s tree. You should be polite to your fellow genealogists.
But so much is optional in this wonderful hobby. I encourage you to follow your own sense of the way you want to do things. Particularly when it comes to organizing your research, the only should, in my opinion, is that you should use a system that works for you.
Photo by Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash
Love this post, Janine! As a licensed counselor, I used to always encourage clients to take the word “should” right out of their vocabulary and replace it with the word “need”. It’s not what you SHOULD do right now, but what do you NEED to do. Thanks for the reminder!
Thanks for your supportive message, Connie! It’s especially nice to hear this compliment from a counselor!