1st Quarter Goals Update

Back in January I set a long list of my genealogy goals for 2018. Now that we are three months into the year, I thought it would be a good time to give an update on my progress! Adding events to my Google Calendar has been the biggest factor in making progress on these goals. I have also been heavily using Excel spreadsheets and Word documents to track progress on all my goals as well as documenting individual goals to ensure I am making incremental progress.

Regular activities I’ve kept up with:

• Attend #genchat at least once per month.
• Attend/watch at least 2 webinars per month.
• Publish one blog post per week.

Project I have accomplished:

• Implement a content calendar to keep the blog posts on track. – Back in January I developed an editorial calendar for my blog that has been great for mapping out my years’ worth of blog posts as well as storing ideas that are still in development. I use Excel for mine and I find it works great. If you are a blogger and you haven’t developed your own content calendar, I highly recommend it!

Projects I’m making progress on:

• Complete the preservation project I began last year. – I have ordered and received my supplies, but shortly after receiving the shipment, I had to move. All my artifacts were thrown haphazardly into boxes and are living the guest bedroom of my new place. My next step will be to sort out all the contents and arrange them properly.
• Study The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine Bettinger. – I borrowed the book from the library and I about 1/3 of the way through the book.
• Write four character sketches of my ancestors. – My first character sketch will be posted on my blog next week. I’ve decided to post this one in video form after trying out the method in a course I took last summer. Stay tuned to see how it turned out!

Projects that are on hold or changing:

• Publish GAA Magazine. – I published 4 times this year so far, however in March I was without internet and was unable to publish at all. Hopefully I can resume publication soon.
• Scan the rest of my family photos and documents then organize the scans in a logical manner. – I haven’t started this yet due to the move, although I recently outlined my intended organizational scheme. Hopefully when I resume the preservation project I can get started on digitization as well.
• Complete a few semi-local research trips. – None of the three I had planned will be feasible in the foreseeable future, especially since I’ve moved an additional 2hrs away from all of them now!
• Stay on top of Facebook group files. – I have not been doing this. I was trying to use Google Calendar Reminders, however the reminders do not generate sufficient notifications. I will switch to calendar events moving forward to help keep me on top of the backups.
• Find volunteer opportunities. – I continued to volunteer at the local genealogy library through the middle of February. However, when moving came around I ceased volunteering. Now my work involves me in assisting others with genealogy on a daily basis and I am currently not feeling the need to seek out additional volunteer opportunities at this time.

What strategies are you using to accomplish your 2018 genealogy goals? Share what is working for you in the comments!