A few days ago, I wrote a wrap-up post for 2010 and now it’s time to put my 2011 genealogy goals to paper (well, blog). I’m deliberately keeping these goals broad, even vague. The details will come out in my monthly to-do posts, which gives me some flexibility throughout the year. I’m also not putting down things that I think are important, but for which I already have a good routine in place; e.g. cleaning up my genealogy database (a never-ending job) and writing “On This Date” posts. Instead, I’m focusing on a few big-picture categories that encompass the direction I want to go with my genealogy.
Research
- Explore record groups that I’m less comfortable with; e.g. land records, probate records, etc. The NGS Home Study course will drive this.
- Use a Research Plan. I keep saying I’m going to do this and I just can’t seem to get started. Some of you know that I’m very goal-oriented and tend to beat myself up if I don’t accomplish written goals. By putting it down here, I’m drawing a line in the sand for myself. In fact, I’m going to make that line even bigger by saying that I will write one research plan every month. There.
Writing
- Write 150 blog posts, with a minimum of eight per month. 150 posts was one of my goals last year, but I’m afraid if I don’t put it out there again that I’ll slack off. I also want to keep posting on a regular schedule. Last year I had two months with only 4 and 5 posts; I’m upping the stakes a little with the minimum eight.
- Do some non-blog writing. This could be for newspapers, genealogical society publications, magazines, etc. (print or electronic).
Organization
- Set aside some time each week to deal with my desktop. I’m not even going to pretend that it will get cleaned off; I just need to get a routine down so that the piles don’t get any higher.
Education
- Finish the NGS Home Study Course. Technically, I have three years to do this, but I really want to complete it in one, so September is my personal deadline. I’m working on Lesson 4 right now (out of 16).
- Watch online videos, such as those at Roots Television and FamilySearch.
Other
- I want to do some speaking on genealogy this year. I’m not sure yet what format that will take, but I have some ideas for topics.
So, that’s my plan. Check back to see how the year unfolds.
