It is said that each year goes a bit faster than the one before as we age and that is certainly true for me this year. Days, weeks and months have been productive, but time has flown by and it’s time for my 2017 genealogy resolutions.
Last year, my list was in a calendar format, trying out different software programs, Pinterest, History Lines, Evidentia, GenDetective and a few other programs and websites. How did I do? I actually kept mostly ahead of my calendar items. I have more or less committed to RootsMagic 7 as my go-to genealogy software program, mainly because there is a local users group here in Tucson. Having said that, I am STILL playing with Legacy and Family Historian 6. The main drawback to Family Historian is that it doesn’t have source citation templates in the Evidence Explained format.
My list was also driven by my desire to learn more about the tech items and lesser known websites that are out there for genealogists.
My 2017 resolutions have a different focus and have more to do with regular research, continued genealogy education and giving back to the genealogy community.
- Attend RootsTech 2017 in Salt Lake City.
2. Make a research-only trip to the Family History Library, since RootsTech doesn’t leave enough time open! I have over 40 items on my “to do” list and many of them require searching multiple resources, like land deeds.
3. Giving back to the genealogy community is something everyone should be doing in some way – indexing records for FamilySearch, serving in an office in your local genealogical society, helping others through online groups, teaching others, visiting cemeteries and documenting grave sites – the list goes on and on. Everyone can help in some way.
I’ve been teaching a group of ladies through one of the welcome clubs in the area for the past 6 1/2 years. We meet once a month and, beforehand, I write up a handout with details about the current month’s topic or lesson. I enjoy teaching, the ladies seem to all enjoy learning and we have a fun time. I will continue teaching through 2017.
It’s also been quite a while since I’ve done any Family Search indexing. I need to put that back on my list and spend some time helping out. I have had so much success with my Danish and Swedish lines because of a LOT of help from the Scandinavian staff in Salt Lake. This is a great way to pay it forward.
4. Continue with daily posts on my blog. I love writing this blog. Besides having (virtually) met many cousins, I find that blog posts that focus on one person or one family are a great way to update my research. As I’ve been working on the family tree for 36 years, there are many branches that haven’t been put under the spotlight for a while. Blogging gives me the opportunity to share new finds and discover new branches on the tree.
5. Continue cleaning up my family trees by renaming photos and images in a set pattern. This is mind-numbingly boring so I either need to commit to it or keep things as they are. Hmmm.
That’s the 2017 list – short and to the point. It should be easy to keep all of these New Year’s resolutions. 🙂
Nice! And, I hope you have a wonderful 2017! I was just writing my own goal list, and I think I was trying to put too much into it. I might need to simplify a bit and keep it “doable.” 🙂
Happy New Year, Linda! Good luck with your resolutions. I’ll look forward to following your progress on the blog.
Can you give an example of how you are labeling your photos and images. I always like to get ideas from others on how they go about doing this.