January. Another year in the rear-view mirror. I tend to reflect on last year in terms of what I got right and what was… not so good. I also am an over-committer, and it was never truer than in 2023. I hear the words, “You’re too hard on yourself” from family and friends a lot, and I mean a lot. By the end of the year, I was stressed and beating myself up over things that weren’t completed and, looking back, weren’t important. Genealogy, a great joy in my life, fell to the back burner. Boo. Personally, my resolution is to do more things that make me smile.
If you need to recommit to your family history, like me, here are some of my own goals for the new year that may help you too.
— Organize what I have. I keep a basket in my office to catch new information that needs to be added to my family tree. My first resolution is to scan and organize this years’ worth of documents, burial cards, birth announcements, etc. that fill it. Organizing what we already have gives us a fresh start to the year. Be sure to note the source of each item too!
— Keep learning. I’ve been at this a long time, but the truth is, the deeper I get into my family research, the more questions I have and more skills I need. With so many online courses available, there’s really no excuse not to expand your repertoire. I’ve already sat down with my calendar and started mapping out my learning plan for 2024 and I hope you do too. Check out www.conferencekeeper.org for a free calendar of genealogy classes and events.
— Make the time. Early on in 2020, my employer suggested we each pay attention to how we use the extra time that working from home had allotted us. He said, “Use it to feed your passion”. No longer spending two hours a day in my car has given me extra time each day as I’m lucky to be permanently working from home. Instead of filling those hours with laundry or other chores, I’m reminding myself of that advice and will make the time to do genealogy. Doing anything that brings us joy makes us better in so many ways and I’ll be forever grateful to my employer for the wise words.
— Read about the places our ancestors came from. Local history books can give such a feel for the day-to-day life our ancestors lived. You may also find answers to looming questions. I had looked for a connection between my grandparents’ families that had three marriages on the same day. (Two brothers and a sister married two sisters and a brother). I found a local history book published on the small town’s 200-year anniversary and found that my grandfather’s family owned the town bakery while my grandmother’s family, bakers by trade, were employed there. I like to think my grandfather saw my grandmother when she was visiting her brothers, and it was love at first sight. If a croissant was involved, all the better.
— Don’t attempt to do all the above at once. Pick one manageable project and stick with it. I have known a few people who have “completed their genealogy.” They printed their book and put genealogy aside as “done.” For most of us, it will never be completed. It is an ongoing project — for every ancestor you discover, that means there are two more that need to be found.
My resolutions aren’t as painful as the age-old promise to exercise more. I mean, really, who has time for sweating when there are ancestors to be found? Whatever resolutions you decide on, remember to have fun. Wishing you an abundance of genealogical success in 2024!