It’s time to look at goals for the New Year, which is almost here.

I reviewed my 2025 goals ten days ago and did well attaining most of them.

Since my goals were more long-range task completions, I can’t leave them just yet since there is more to do.

To recap:

Goal #1 (2025) is to attack my software cleanup month by month, beginning with Generation 5.

I actually finished Generations 5, 6 and 7. I need to get through the rest of my tree. I have to say, though, that with the progress I made, I feel like I can move on through the remaining generations. Those last few will be very easy because the facts often are found in one or two professional articles treating the earliest record. I am not dreading this work the way I have in past years.

Goal #2 (2025) will definitely be to continue my “12 for” series with 12 for ’25. I’ve loved working this format and will continue it in 2026.

Goal #3 (2025) – I’m going to bring back a goal I had left behind a couple of years ago. I need to again beef up the number of comments I leave on other’s genealogy blog posts. I did leave comments, but everyone loves feedback and I know I could do better.

I’m still not happy with the number of comments I’ve left, especially when compared to all the terrific posts I highlight every Friday. I will continue with this goal, too.

Goal #4 (2025)– This goal is very specialized. A second cousin asked for help researching the side of his family that we don’t share.

I had a lot of success helping my cousin fill in ancestors on his mother’s side of the family, so this goal has been completed.

A new Goal #4 for 2026?

What I’ve discovered cleaning up my software and source citations is that not all, but many, ancestors need a rabbit-hole dive with full-text search to glean new facts about their lives.

Therefore, my 4th goal for 2026 is to complete those full-text searches and, when items are found, add source citations right then and there and add the images to my ancestors in my genealogy software program.

That means taking more time with some of the ancient family members, but that’s okay because it means I learn more about their lives.

Those are my four for 2026. They will keep me very busy!

It’s time to review those all important yearly goals I set for myself.

Here is my 2025 list:

Goal #1 is to attack my software cleanup month by month, beginning with Generation 5. If I stay on task, I’ll be done in August, which leaves the remaining few months to finish those ancient generations. Divvying up the generations by month also makes the job seem way less overwhelming. Completing the really early generations shouldn’t be too hard because most of my data on those ancestors come from one or two scholarly articles covering the family. No birth, marriage and death certificates for people born in the 1400s!

Goal #2 will definitely be to continue my “12 for” series with 12 for ’25. So many more records are becoming available online and, particularly with FamilySearch’s full-text search, making new discoveries is getting easier by the day.

Goal #3 – I’m going to bring back a goal I had left behind a couple of years ago. I need to again beef up the number of comments I leave on other’s genealogy blog posts. I did leave comments, but everyone loves feedback and I know I could do better.

Goal #4 – This goal is very specialized. A second cousin asked for help researching the side of his family that we don’t share. I did a fair amount of work on his lines before our cruise, but there is still more to be found. I’m going to devote some time in January to working on those lines.

How did I do? It’s a bit of a mixed bag.

Goal #1 – I haven’t finished, but I made really good progress during the second half of the year. I’ve finished Generations 5, 6 and 7 and have begun Generation 8. Gen 8 began with the rabbit hole of proving John Adams’ parentage, which I did, thanks to FamilySearch full-text search locating a deed in which John was named, but not included in the deed index. Therefore, with my success, I’ll keep going with this in 2026.

Goal #2 – 100% met. I really like the “12 for” series. My only problem is having to choose one family over another for the major focus of the month.

Goal #3 – I’d give myself about a B on meeting this goal. I’ve left many comments on others’ blogs, but I’d still like to increase that number.

Goal #4 – 100% met. I found all kinds of documented information about my second cousin’s mother’s family and have been writing about the discoveries. Now, his lines head into Scotland and I don’t use Scotland’s People so he’ll have to decide whether to pay and research further.

I’m very pleased with all I’ve accomplished this year, but now need to think about what formal goals I’d like to set for 2026.

We are half way through 2025 and it’s time to take a look at progress towards 2025 genealogy goals. We’re also heading into summer and hot days bring inside activities, so it’s a perfect time to take measure of New year’s plans for genealogy success.

First, this review isn’t so much a review of New Year’s genealogy resolutions as it is taking a deeper look at how we might attain success, both materially and educationally.

I don’t know about you, but my genealogy budget, while generous because I scrimp in other areas, is still limited. I try to stretch my dollars as far as I can.

Here are some suggestions for self evaluation and activity modification, so to speak.

1. Take inventory of supplies that you need to be successful. That might mean paper and printer ink for writing and publishing a family history or books and research materials that will further success.
2. If your budget is limited, are there free resources that can replace those that are money based? Can vital records, wills, deeds, city directories, etc. be accessed on free websites?
3. Perhaps in support of #2, take the time to search out at least five online collections that your neglected for a while or find five new collections to investigate.
4. Do you need archival materials to preserve paper artifacts? Check out companies like Gaylord Archival and University Products for sales. How unique and important are the items to be preserved? If they are irreplaceable, remember that there is no government control over the word ‘archival.’ It might be wiser to spend the money on products used by the Library of Congress and top university libraries (from the two companies above) rather than the local store-bought products, which might be fine for less valuable mementos.
5. Improve your research skills for free! Pick a new county/state or country pertinent to your genealogy research. Explore libraries, archives and societies located in that area. Check out websites that have free photos and postcards from the area. Local historical societies, state libraries, genealogy societies, EBay, Dead Fred and Ancient Faces are possibilities to investigate that have free access to view.
6. Run new searches on ancestors who you haven’t worked on for a while. New record collections come online all the time. FamilySearch full-text search can be really helpful. Remember to go to your local FamilySearch center if the collections you want to view are locked on the regular website. They will be locked in full-text search, too.
7. Do you have mystery photos – unknown subjects and/or dates and places? Try the MyHeritage Photo Dater. Try TinEye and Google Images to see if your photo already appears on the internet. A distant cousin might have the same photo and know the who-what-where and when. Check the FamilySearch family tree, too, to see if someone has posted the photo in Memories. You’ll need to have an idea of the family members to search people in that collection.
8. Catch up with emails and other correspondence related to genealogy research.
9. Check FamilySearch, Internet Archive and Google Books to located digitized versions of books on your research list.
10. Last, but not least, do take a look at your genealogy New Year’s resolutions and note your progress, lack thereof and any adjustments you need to make to those goals.

As for my own goals – I’m failing miserably at updating my software sources and notes. I began the year with a bang, but late in January we decided to get the inside of the house painted. That led to really high estimates and I decided to un-retire my house painting skills and painted all of the areas where the ceilings weren’t super high, plus all the closets, bathrooms, pantry and three bedrooms. That took until April.

However, with the summer heat here and I’m back on my blog writing schedule, I think I can make real progress on the software. There’s something to be said for staying indoors and having hobby fun when it’s 108 degrees outside!