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| So many choices -- how do we keep our focus? Source: http://www.ghmchs.org/thisweek/photo-listing_files/GrandviewYard.jpg |
New Years resolutions. Did you make any genealogical ones?
I
will admit that a personal resolution was to start a food diary – sitting at my
computer or in an archive and doing genealogical research is not helping my
physique!
On
the genealogical front, I always start out the year by archiving all closed
client research projects from the previous year – whether paper files,
electronic files, e-mail files, etc. As
I file the paper file, I also create a
DVD backup file, make a copy of that file on what I call an “offboard” drive (a
hard drive only used for archiving), archive the associated e-mail and make
sure that I have a virtual backup copy (I use Crashplan). Can you tell that I’ve suffered a few computer
crashes in my day?!?!
Once
I’ve done all of the above, I then turn to research. A great thing about a new year is that it is
also an opportunity to start “fresh.” It
doesn’t matter whether you are continuing some research started before or
shifting to a new family, branch, location, etc.
If
you found that you felt a bit fragmented in your research approach, distracted by
records that were more interesting than helpful, etc, in 2012, then I suggest
that you read Kimberly Powell’s (About.com) post, Focusing Your Family History Search: How to Keep Your Genealogy
Research on Track
Her
intro says it all. If you answer yes to any of the questions she postulates, do
read the full article!
Have you ever begun an evening researching Great Grandma Emeline and
found yourself browsing online census records for your spouse's family instead?
Does a new message board post or other genealogical discovery distract you from
what you were doing and send you off willy-nilly in a new direction? If your
family history search has left you feeling like you're in the middle of a
tornado with papers, files, clues, and theories flying around and around, you
are not alone. For all of you family historians wandering aimlessly from clue
to clue here are some tips for pulling everything together and keeping your
research on track.
She
gives some great tips that can only “help” us as we start a new year of
genealogical and family history research.
I also
discovered a piece by Gena Philibert Ortega, FamilyHistory Expos.com, Weekly TIp: 5 Tips to Get Your Genealogy Back on Track.
Did a tip of theirs particularly
strike a chord with you? Do you have a tip for “keeping on track” with our
research that they didn’t mention? Can
you suggest resources that might help a struggling or budding genealogist
develop good focused research skills?
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