2018 Genealogy Goals Wrap-up

A lot has changed in the last year! In February 2018 I moved to Northern Indiana and started working as a genealogy librarian there, which has been a wonderful opportunity to serve genealogists in the community and hone my skills in areas unrelated to my own family tree.

All year I was conscious of the goals I set for myself last January and while I didn’t accomplish them all, I was pleased to find myself revisiting the list often. I knew from the outset I was being ambitious and I am satisfied with what I was able to accomplish. Just having a list has helped me stay focused and motivated to chip away at each goal. Through the process of setting and tracking my goals I have become better organized, learned more about managing my time and about what aspects of genealogy are most important to me.

Here are my results:

Projects – 1 out of 3 goals achieved

• Preservation Project SUCCESS The project was interrupted by my move but with a few weeks of solid work, I have managed to sort and rehouse many family heirlooms this year. In the process, I managed to discard a lot of research clutter and consolidate my collection. There will always be more work to do, but I am ending the year in a great place.
• Scanning Project FAIL Not having enough space to spread everything out has really put a damper on my scanning efforts. In the meantime, I have developed an organizational system and naming pattern for my electronic files. This system has made what I did scan much easier to keep track of. Perhaps I’ll share it in a blog post this year.
• Research Trips FAIL After moving and starting a full-time job it was pretty much impossible to complete these trips. I did discover using online research that the Henry County trip is unnecessary, so that is crossed off the list. I’m hoping to plan a long weekend in Columbus in the spring. A trip to West Virginia is not likely to happen for a while though.

Education – 3 out of 3 goals accomplished

• #Genchat SUCCESS I think I almost attended one a month, and a few twice a month. Since my new job has kept me away from most of my beloved hockey games I’m no longer busy during Genchats so it has been easier to attend them.
• Webinars SUCCESS My trusty Family Tree Webinar subscription has kept me rolling in webinars this year. I also attended some webinars from the Guild of One-Name Studies, which were very interesting.
• Book Study SUCCESS I checked this one off in the spring. The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine Bettinger is an excellent book. If you have not read it already, I recommend it.

Service – Not applicable

I had 3 goals in this category, all were canceled due to my job change.

Writing – 2 out of 3 goals accomplished

• Blog – SUCCESS I only missed one blog post in 2018 (due to a plane mix up after RootsTech) and I will count that as a success. Some weeks I have scheduled posts a month in advance and some nights I have stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, but I always got it done. Thank you for reading this year!
• Content Calendar – SUCCESS I implemented one early in the year and it has been very useful in keeping my blog post ideas organized.
• Ancestor Stories – FAIL I managed to write 2 out of 4 character sketches this year. One in the form of a video and the other as an obituary. I started writing the other two, but realized one will require additional FAN club records, which I have ordered, and the other is better combined with the history of a family business. I am planning to complete them next year.

6 out of 9 goals accomplished is not a bad outcome for the year. Next week I’ll share my new goals for 2019! How did you do on your genealogy goals this year? Tell me how it went in the comments!