I absolutely love that there are so many different ways to learn about genealogy. I swear I could easily spend 40 hours a week learning about family history research (and researching my family). Unfortunately, I don’t have that kind of time to devote to it.
Over the past year, since I’ve become more serious about genealogy, I’ve signed up for courses, purchased books (even read some), subscribed to online services like Ancestry.com, Fold 43 and Genealogy Bank, visited online forums, gone to a conference and I’m starting to feel a little overwhelmed by all the ways there are to learn.
Family Tree University (FTU) has many, many interesting courses. They have ones you take online at your own pace in a given period of time. They have live webinars. They have recorded webinars. They have virtual conferences. They have video classes. It makes my head spin a little.
What I’m come to discover is that it’s much easier for me to make the time for a learning opportunity if it happens at a scheduled time. It may be the former writer in me, but I’m very deadline driven. I signed up for a FTU virtual conference last winter, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to participate live but being satisfied that I could download the videos of the classes. Have I watched all of them yet? No.
As I ponder this, I realize what I need to do is to create a list of the resources I’ve downloaded and schedule time to watch/read them. And I need to make a commitment to not purchase any more until I’ve watched what I have.
While I’m at it, I’d be smart to create a list of free online learning opportunities–or those I’ve already paid for by virtue of a subscription, like Ancestry.com’s Learning Center,and try to make a point of perusing those. I’ll also be sure and post that list here once I’ve compiled it.
Family history research can be really overwhelming, in my experience. This is one aspect that’s teetering on the edge of making me feel overwhelmed and I’m bound and determined to get a handle on it!
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