Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

The research log habit: Could you use some accountability?

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Earlier this week, I blogged about how I’m trying to create a research log habit in 2017. A couple of commenters mentioned that they, too, would like to create a habit of logging their research every session and have found it difficult in the past. One of the commenters, Barbara Schmidt, suggested that perhaps a peer support group would be helpful. I think she might be onto something.

I know first-hand that accountability can be very powerful for creating habits. So I’d love to offer a simple way for readers of Organize Your Family History who are so inclined to get that accountability for creating a research log habit.

Here are a few options. Could you let me know in the comments if you’re interested in participating and, if so, which format you’d prefer? I’ll probably go with the one that gets more votes (unless it’s trumped by an option that is easier and more sustainable for me). If you have an idea not mentioned here, please let me know.

  • A monthly accountability blog post from me in which people can check in via the comments all month
  • A weekly post on the Organize Your Family History Facebook page in which folks check in
  • A closed Facebook group where people post when they’ve used their research log. That could also be a place where people bounce around ideas for research log formats.
  • I pair you up with one other person with whom you can become accountability partners and communicate privately
  • Another option I haven’t thought of but you have

If this appeals to you, please comment on this post and let me know what option would work best for you (or if you have a better idea). In the next week or two, I’ll set something up. Unless, of course, no one is interested.

My genealogy research plan for 2017

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I’ve been giving some thoughts to the goals I want to set for my genealogy research for next year. I’m a big goal setter and I’ve written posts about my genealogy goals for 2013, 2014, and 2015. (I guess that I didn’t set any for 2016. I blame my puppy, Bix, who completely disrupted the 2015/2016 transition.)

I reviewed those posts this week and was struck by the fact that while I’m pretty good about setting genealogy goals, I’m pretty bad at achieving them.

So this year, I decided to keep it painfully simple. I’m setting only three four goals. And I’m narrowing my focus, in a big way.

I know that I do better with fewer options because I’m easily overwhelmed by choices. In 2014 I addressed that by coming up with a plan to focus on one family line per quarter.

In 2017, I’ve decided to take this a step further and focus on a single family line the whole year. 2017 is  going be the year of the Adams family. This feels big to me–simultaneously exciting and weirdly scary. But I feel if I keep my focus on the Adams family (starting by finishing the transcribing and abstracting George Washington Adams’ giant pension file), I will stay more focused and dig deeper. I’m a little concerned it might get boring, but I don’t think so.

You can bet that I’ll let you guys know how it goes.

The three four goals I’ve set (in concert with limiting my focus) are:

  1. Research at least five days a week
  2. Take at least one research trip
  3. Attend at least two genealogy conferences, to avoid tunnel vision and keep me sharp. (One of those will be RootsTech, since I’m speaking there. I haven’t yet determined the other(s).)
  4. Create a habit of logging each research session. (I added this goal after my ruminations on December 27 that led to this post.)

How about you? Do you set goals for your genealogy research? If so, do you care to share them?

My moratorium on new information

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stoplightI love attending genealogy conferences and learning about new opportunities to learn more about my ancestors. I sat in on some of the National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair and learned about new-to-me records I might explore for information on my ancestors. I got really excited about the possibilities. And then I was struck by revelation:

I will benefit more from processing the information I’ve already found than from seeking out new information.

I’m speaking personally, of course. For me, I think one way I can avoid being blindsided by overwhelm in my research is by focusing on the (not-unsubstantial) documents I’ve already found. I want to examine and evaluate them, keeping track of the clues contained in them and taking note of new avenues of research. I’ll keep a list of these next steps and I’ll try very hard not to explore them until I’ve caught up with what I have on hand. If I just keep gathering new documents without taking the time to analyze and benefit from them, I’ll constantly feel behind. That’s not how I want to feel about my genealogy research!

I’ve done a pretty good job of collecting military and pension files for some of my ancestors. I’m going to make processing them a priority. So far, here’s what I have:

  • Three Union Civil War pension files, which are various stage of processing, from almost complete to barely started
  • One Confederate Civil War pension file I have (from the Alabama archives)
  • A Civil War Compiled Service Record for one ancestor I downloaded years ago that I didn’t do much with
  • A newly acquired military record for my great grandfather’s service in the Philippine Insurrection

In addition to processing those documents, I’d like to continue systematically checking my source documentation.

If I focus on these resources I’ve already gathered through the end of the year, I feel like I can start 2017 with a sense of accomplishment and a fabulous to-do list of things to research. So much of the fun of genealogy research is the thrill of the hunt. But if I take the time to analyze the clues I find, the hunt will be even more thrilling.

Photo by walknboston via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License.

Letting go of should

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shouldgraphicIt’s natural to ask about questions about organizing (your genealogy or anything else) that start with the word “should.” Should I organize my documents this way or that way? Should I store things here or there? Should I focus on this or that?

When I try to answer a question that starts with should, the answer is almost always, “It depends.” Because it’s all about what will work for you.

I encourage my clients (and anyone else who will listen to me) to let go of the word should. And to also let go of asking questions that start with, “What’s the right way to…” or What’s the best way to….”

Because here’s the thing: I can’t tell you what you should do. Only you know what’s right for you. It can be much more beneficial to think in terms of what you’d like to do, or what you think will work best for you, rather than what you should do. Especially when it comes to organizing your genealogy research, the thing you should do (in my opinion) is the thing that works well for you and that you can keep up.

For example:

  • Maybe you’ve always heard that you should store your paper documents in binders, but you have trouble keeping up with that. Let go of that should and consider using file folders or scanning your documents.
  • Maybe you think you should print every document for the sake of posterity but you’re overrun with unfiled paper. You can let go of that should, particularly if your electronic documents are already organized.
  • Conversely, maybe you’ve heard you should scan every bit of paper and store files electronically, but you’re overwhelmed by the prospect. Bye bye, should. You can let your paper files be sufficient. Or just start storing new files electronically and leaving your papers unscanned.
  • Maybe you’re told you should keep a research log, but you just can’t get yourself to do it. A research log can be hugely beneficial. But don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have one just because you think you should.

In other words, set yourself up for success and do what works for you. Decide what your priorities are (accessibility for you, accessibility for others, ease of use, etc.) and focus your organizing systems on those priorities. Don’t do something just because someone told you you should if it doesn’t seem like it will work for you.

All that said, there are some genealogy shoulds that I think you should pay attention to:

  • You should cite your sources so you can find them again and know where your facts came from (but you don’t have to cite them perfectly if that’s getting in the way of citing them at all).
  • You should back up your electronic data in case of a crash. (I use an external hard drive and automated cloud storage.)

Genealogy is supposed to be fun. Don’t let the shoulds drag you down. Make your own choices and own them. And keep yourself open to new ways of doing things. (See what I did there? I told you all sorts of things I think you should do, without using that word. Take what works for you and let go of the rest.)