I've really struggled lately to do the things I set out to accomplish. I have many items on my list, and they are certainly not all about genealogy, as I have many other interests in my life, such as photography. It's becoming clear to me that I need to write my goals & "to do" list on a big whiteboard or something in order to stay on track.
I spend a fair amount of time researching our family history, but I'm not great at organizing the data. Dad is better at that. I go and find bits and pieces, and rarely keep it straight in my head. He knows instantly what goes where, and whether the information is relevant. We have binders and folders and at least 2 programs on the computer. I really need to go through each person in our main line and ensure we have the source documents in a place we can find them. Ideally, each image would be scanned and entered electronically, and the originals would be filed. I need an administrative assistant!!
I am also a procrastinator. I think we all can be at times. Mostly, I put things off when I don't know what to do, or when a situation seems uncomfortable or awkward. Right now I want to make some headway with two brick walls, but in both cases my best hope is to use DNA to determine our ancestry. In once case, I have the DNA, and just need to figure out how to use the data with a new database. In the other, I need to ask someone I don't know very well for their DNA. If I knew they shared my interest in genealogy, it would be easier, but I'm not sure. So ... I have a letter ... and my relationship with the post office has never been all that strong, so I hope to get it mailed soon. I've had the letter ready for a few weeks now. What I DO know is that nothing is going to happen if I don't mail the letter, as this person has no idea what I'm looking for.
This blog is a bright spot in all of this, however, as I like writing, and if I can commit to posting about once each week or two, I will make progress in my genealogy overall. I have many photos and memories, and Dad has written out some of the tricky parts of our family history. Many of those stories would be good starting points, and now I have decided to use this blog as a place to hold some of the memories, so it's all worthwhile.
Today I purchased a helpful book online, "The Big Genealogy Blog Book." It was written by Amy Coffin, who I met through Twitter not long ago, when I first started. I looked at her blog and commented to her that I liked it. (Check it out: http://wetree.blogspot.com/) She encouraged me, and told me it was easy to start a blog. I jumped right in and tried it out, and she was right! It was so easy! It's taken awhile to figure out how to let people comment, and how to post pictures, but over time I'll acquire new skills and I'll improve the blog. I have a lot of work to do before mine is anything great, but at least I'm getting the information down, and there is a place for family to find out what I'm doing.
I may not post regularly on my blog, and I'm not a "New Year's Resolution" kind of person, but today's a start, and I intend to keep it up. Perhaps if I make a note on my calendar each week? Amy's book will help, I'm sure, as it's a well-written, easy to read guide, and just the kind of resource I like. Not too heavy, but practical and helpful. I suppose you'll see how well it works for me in the weeks ahead. ;-)
