In my last post, End of Year Review- 2018 Genealogy Goals, I reviewed my 2018 goals. Now, I present my 2019 goals and some insights.

Why set goals for your genealogy research? The terms ‘focus’ and ‘guide’ come to mind. Focus implies a specific area for your attention. A synonym for guide is ‘direct’ which also means ‘showing the way’. Goals help you stay focused and direct your path. Annual genealogy goals should also be flexible. Circumstances, such as time and money, change. New opportunities and challenges present themselves. Be prepared to change or delete. Be open to adding new goals.

Goals can be broad or narrow. I believe that broad annual goals serve us better. Although, some specifics are needed. Example: “Order birth/death/ marriage certificates” is probably too broad. “Order at least 4 birth, death or marriage certificates for Tucker-Maurer ancestors” gives direction and is measurable.

COMMENT: My teacher persona now kicks in. Most people use the term “goals” in the same way as the term “objectives” . I view goals as broad statements with a long term focus such as goals for the year, quarter, month or project. An objective (or step) reflects a short term focus—what do I want to accomplish today, this week, or during this work session. Objectives are more specific than goals. “Order death certificate for Anna Klee Maurer from New York in January 2019” is an objective. Enough of the soapbox. Don’t fret about which term that you use.

I found this blog post helpful: Setting Genealogy Goals by Jennifer Patterson Dondero. [1] She suggests five steps:

Previous year review
Broad interest or goal identification
Refining your interests/ goals
Correlating your previous year review with your refinements
Finalizing your resolutions/ goals

I have already reviewed 2018 (see last blog post). Based on that review, I wrote an initial set of goals (step 4). So, back to steps 2 and 3. My broad interest areas are mom’s family (Tucker-Maurer) and husband’s family (specifically Ellerbee). We are tentatively planning a genealogy field trip to Alabama and Georgia in summer 2019. Purpose is to visit areas where Ellerbee family lived during pre-Civil War era. I reviewed Ellerbee family research in 2014 before we made a trip to east Texas. Ellerbee family review was done December 2017 through January 2018 as I prepared a scrapbook for father- in-law’s 80^th birthday. I think that initial goal refinement is needed to set aside mom’s family for now and focus more on Ellerbee family.

Here are my refined 2019 goals:

Tucker-Maurer family (mom’s family):

Continue paper & digital file clean-up. Timeline: January 2019.
Defer remainder of work as needed.

Ellerbee-Simmons/ Johnson-Reed (husband’s family)

Purchase notebooks for Ellerbee-Simmons & Johnson-Reed certificates, photographs and other memorabilia.
Send in husband’s DNA test.
Begin paper & digital file clean-up for father-in-law’s and/or mother-in-law’s family.
Plan field trip to Alabama and Georgia to trace Ellerbee family migration. If time and geography permit, follow migration of Johnson-Reed family.

Posten-Richards family (dad’s family)

Copy paper BMD certificates from Posten relative to digital files. Place originals in Posten BMD notebook.
Submit at least one article to a local genealogical society for publication in their newsletter. Priority: Use information from 2010 Posten family history (continued from 2018).
Assist nephew to combine family trees of his parents (continued from 2018).
Revise at least 4 chapters of Posten family history book. Explore publication options for 2020. (One chapter done in 2018).

Genealogy Blog:

Post on regular basis, optimally every 2 weeks.
Post at least 2 stories about each family- Posten-Richards (Dad), Tucker-Maurer (Mom), Ellerbee-Simmons (Father-in-law), Johnson-Reed (Mother-in-law).
Limit each post to about 1500 words.
Purchase or download software to post GEDCOM family tree. Add at least 2 family trees to blog.
Address Genealogical Proof Standard in reports/ posts.

General items:

Create master lists of To-Do/ BSO items and questions for each family. Begin with Tucker-Maurer and Ellerbee families.
Send for at least 6 BMD certificates. If budget permits, request one certificate per month.
Add to Research Toolbox: Book about “Dating Vintage Photographs”; possibly Dragon software.
Continue volunteer genealogy work with Daughters of the American Revolution.
Enroll in at least one genealogy-related webinar or online class, topic to be determined.
Review Genealogy Proof Standard. Buy book on this topic. https://www.genealogyexplained.com/basics/genealogica

Budget:

Printer & ink             $  60.00
Paper/ Notebooks          $  10.00
Books                     $  50.00
BMD Certificates          $ 120.00
Personal education        $ 150.00
Subscriptions             $ 600.00 
TOTAL                     $1040.00

Want more information about research goals? Look at these websites:

Thomas MacAntee, Genealogy Do-Over, Month 2: https://abundantgenealogy.com/genealogy-month-2-february-2018/

Legacy Tree Genealogists: https://www.legacytree.com/blog/setting-smart-genealogy-research-goals

Family Tree Magazine: https://www.familytreemagazine.com/articles/news-blogs/family-tree-university/genealogy-goal-setting/

REFLECTION:

I have learned so much in the past two years from the Genealogy Do-Over. My file clean-up efforts will eventually pay off although progress sometimes seems very slow. My research habits continue to improve. My family feels a little neglected at times. I need to balance my genealogy and family time better.

My husband suggested that I can earn money with genealogy. To do that, I need to pursue certification. I am not adding that to my goals for 2019 but will keep it in mind.

What I learned: Define broad interest/ research areas. Some of my blog posts meet the ‘reasonably exhaustive research’ standard and some do not. I use the blog as a sounding board for questions and brick walls. The work doesn’t have to be complete for posting here.

What helped: Finding blog post about Setting Research Goals from The Occasional Genealogist. I reformatted my initial scattered list into broad interest areas/ categories. I believe this organization will help me to focus in 2019.

What didn’t help: My background as a teacher wanting to separate goals and objectives. Not everyone needs to make that distinction! It’s a matter of semantics.

To-Do: See my 2019 goals.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[1] Jennifer Patterson Dondero, “Setting Genealogy Goals”, The Occasional Genealogist, December 2017 (https://www.theoccasionalgenealogist.com/2017/12/genealogy-goals-new-year.html : accessed 20 December 2018).