New Year's Genealogy Resolutions - Successes and Failures

It's that time. Yep - time for my Genealogy New Year's Resolutions.

Last year I decided I was making too many genealogy resolutions and not even coming close to meeting them, so I set three (3) resolutions to meet in 2012. 

Wow. Only three and I still didn't meet those goals. Let's take a look at what my resolutions were for 2012 and how I think I did with each one.

1. Focus on my genealogical strengths (researching and fact-finding) and continue to build and improve on those 

[How did I do? SUCCESS  I continue to try to improve on those skills, and have added a new one - analysis of facts found]

2. Improve on my organization of genealogical records, but not worry or stress over not entering it all in minute detail in my genealogy program

  [How did I do? PARTIAL SUCCESS I downsized my office and physically moved it to a new location in my home. I am proud of all the purging I did which helped me in my organization but I have not yet reached my goal of being so organized I can immediately lay my hands on anything I want to find]

3. Set deadlines. Make one day per week the day I work on Project A and a second day of the week the day to work on Project B. No more worrying if I jump from project to project! Allow myself to jump around as much as I want but work towards deadlines for completion of Projects A, B, C etc.  I need variety but I also need the deadline to provide structure and a timeline for completion of my multitude of genealogy projects  

[How did I do? FAIL. I can't seem to settle into a consistent work routine. I jump around from project to project. I lose interest in Project A once it's reached a certain point and then I drift off to Project B, leaving Project A in the lurch for months at a time. By the time I get back to Project A I have to spend hours, if not days, figuring out what my thought processes were!]

So - only one success out of three resolutions. That's discouraging. So it's time to take a good look at what is most important in my genealogy career and hobby.

2013 New Year's Genealogy Resolutions

I need to complete my projects and complete them in a timely fashion so that's going to be my goal for 2013. That's right - only one goal this year.

My goal is going to sound simple - complete all my unfinished projects! It's going to be tough as I have several books on the go, and more promised but not started.

Number one: I completed a genealogical mystery novel after two years of hard work. After 7 edits, I sent it to my beta readers and they returned their manuscripts this summer with suggestions for improvement. Based on comments I only need to rework the first two chapters and it's done! That's going to be number one on my list in 2013.

Number two will be the book I started a year ago on Children's Genealogy Games & Activities. It is so close to completion that I am ashamed of myself for not finishing it months ago.

Number three is a Family Genealogy book I intended to give to my new sister-in-law at her wedding to my brother.  I hate to say how long it's been sitting in Shutterfly, almost ready to publish. And now her sister wants to purchase two copies of it, sight unseen. That should be motivation for me to complete it!

Number four is the next volume of my book on the Peer Family of North America. I have done all the research and need only to compile it into the various volumes then self-publish them.

Those are my four most important projects that need finishing. It may not sound like much but it seems a bit overwhelming at times. Wish me luck! I hope that by concentrating on one goal I can complete all these unfinished works. I used to be very good at completing projects and staying on track but these days I seem to be less motivated and more scattered.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for me, please do leave them in a comment here on the blog post.