My New Year's Resolution - Singular not Plural!

Every year I think about what I want to accomplish in the upcoming year. I used to make long lists - 5, 10, even 12 goals sometimes. But I never accomplished them all! So a few years ago I decided to make one goal - one important goal - that I could focus on.

A single goal sounds easy, right? But it's not! At least, not for me, because usually that one goal involves being more organized or knuckling down and finishing a project. Because I have so many irons in the fire, it's not easy for me to devote the time needed for goals like those.

You know what they say - "A goal without a plan is just a wish" So I need to plan before I set my goal and then plan how to achieve it.

Where to Start?

I have so many projects to start or finish or re-organize that I hardly know which one to choose for 2019. For example I'm not finished editing my second mystery novel involving genealogist Janie Riley, called A Grave Secret. I need and want to finish it! It will make me so proud to see it along with my first mystery Death Finds a Way.

Speaking of my first mystery, if you've read it and liked it, could you take a minute and leave a review on Amazon? Reviews help authors and I'd really appreciate it.

But I also need (desperately) to organize my folders of family photos and genealogy documents. They're a mess. There's really no other way to describe them. I need to make sure  all genealogy document images have file names (not numbers assigned when I downloaded them), organize them, file them properly in clearly labelled folders, and save them to my WD Passport as a backup.

I'm behind in my goal to write more New Netherland Settlers books. I have two that are almost ready for publication. Should I focus on them? They would be the fastest, easiest to accomplish....

Aha - the Light Bulb Goes On

Writing this blog post has helped me to figure out what my goal is going to be. I have decided to focus on finishing A Grave Secret and get it published! If I finish it before the year is done (and I'm pretty sure I will) I'll get cracking on those two partially completed New Netherland Settlers books. Unless of course a bright shiny object should appear in front of me!

Wish me luck! What are your goals for 2019?

2018 Goals and a Recap of 2017

2017 GOALS RECAP

My goals for 2017 were easy to formulate. I planned to focus even more on my writing. I was 3/4 of the way through a first draft of Janie Riley's second adventure which I hoped to publish in 2017. "A Grave Secret"  follows Janie's journey to the most haunted village in England as she searches for her 4th great-grandparents.

Of course I planned to continue my genealogy research as well.

2017 GOALS - HOW DID I DO?

I did finish the first draft of "A Grave Secret" but sadly was not able to publish it in 2017. I was laid up with quite a bit of pain for 6 weeks last year and that impacted my writing greatly. As well my health issues and physical issues continue to challenge me. But 2018 is around the corner - a new year and as always, I will continue to forge ahead as best I can.

2018 GOALS
 

We bought a cottage on an island last fall so I could have a writing retreat and I can hardly wait for Spring so I can get back full time to my writing! Yes, that's my main goal for 2018 - write, write, and do more writing.

My New Netherland Series of books on 17th century settlers in what is now New York is also going well so I plan to publish several more in that series in 2018.

You can see the list of New Netherland books I have published so far, on my New Netherland section of my Olive Tree Genealogy website.

And now it's your turn! What are your goals for 2018?

New Year's Genealogy Resolutions for 2017

At the end of 2015 I wrote a blog post How Did I Do in 2015 and New Year's Resolutions for 2016

What were my 2016 goals and did I achieve them?

2016 GOALS & RESOLUTIONS

One of my goals in 2016 was to continue growing my Twitter profile with quality followers, and find time to work on Instagram and Periscope. But mainly in 2016 I resolved to continue to focus on my writing - both non-fiction and fiction.

DID I ACHIEVE THOSE 2016 GOALS

1. Twitter
I started 2016 with 10K followers on Twitter. I continued to work to grow that number with quality followers and as of December 2, 2016 I have reached 11.8K (11,800). Growing my Twitter reach is important to me but it was not my main focus in 2016, nor will it be for 2017

2. Instagram & Periscope
After a great deal of study and applying myself on both these Social Media outlets, I determined that, while they are fun, they are not a useful part of my business model. I believe Periscope could be but due to my limited physical mobility, the optimum way of using it is too challenging for me.

3. Writing Genealogy & Mystery Books

I'm very pleased that in June 2016 I published my first fiction - a genealogy mystery book about a middle-aged genealogist who has a penchant for stumbling on dead bodies as she researches her ancestors. In "Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery" readers meet Janie Riley. Janie and her husband head to Salt Lake City Utah to research Janie's elusive 4th great-grandmother. But her search into the past leads her to a dark secret. She must solve the mysteries of the past and the present before disaster strikes.

Death Finds a Way is available as a paperback on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and the CreateSpace eStore  Also available as an e-book on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

As well as my venture into mystery novel writing, I completed and published several genealogy-history books in 2016.

2017 GOALS

My goals for 2017 are easy to formulate. I plan to focus even more on my writing. Presently I am 3/4 of the way through a first draft of Janie Riley's second adventure which I hope to publish in 2017. "A Grave Secret" and follows Janie's journey to the most haunted village in England as she searches for her 4th great-grandparents.

Of course I will continue my genealogy research as well. I look forward to new challenges and opportunities in the New Year!  What are your goals for the coming year?

5 New Year’s Resolutions Every Genealogist Should Set

For those who missed it, here is a link to an article I wrote for MyHeritage on December 31st. Hope you enjoy it even though we are already 11 days into the New Year!

New Year's always seems like a good time to make resolutions for doing better in our personal or business lives, or for accomplishing goals in the year ahead. But how many resolutions should we make? How many are we going to realistically keep?

Enthusiasm for change runs high in January. We are full of renewed energy. It’s a new year with the opportunity for new beginnings, and it is easy to become caught up in the fervor. But February and March often bring different emotions and our enthusiasm for the work that lies ahead can wane or drop off completely.

Continue reading at 5 New Year’s Resolutions Every Genealogist Should Set

Remember, it's never too late!

How Did I Do in 2015 and New Year's Resolutions for 2016

On December 29, ,2014 I wrote a blog post New Year's Genealogy Resolutions for 2014 - Did I Achieve Them?

At the end of reviewing my 2014 resolutions and deciding I was writing too may resolutions and expecting too much of myself, I set one resolution for 2015.

 "So 2015 will be my year of writing - novels, tutorials, family histories - I plan on writing and creating ebooks and paperbacks. It's going to be my fun year."

HOW DID I DO?

 2015 is almost over. So how did I do? I'm pretty happy with my progress. I focused on my writing and am pleased to say I accomplished quite a bit. In March I published the first two volumes of my planned series on the Loyalist Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick and his children.

From Van Valkenburg to Vollick: The Loyalist Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick and his Vollick & Follick Children (Volume 1)  and From Van Valkenburg to Vollick:  Cornelius Vollick and his Follick and Vollick Descendants to 3 Generations (Volume 2) are both for sale on Amazon.com 

A third volume about Isaac's son Storm Follick is almost ready for publication and I feel very good about that.

I also published several private family history books which are not for sale but I distributed to family members. My 4-volume set of books on the McGinnis family (my maiden name) is finished and each of my children has copies.

Work on a book of the Beardmore family is in progress for my nephew's wife. It's almost done and that's another achievement I feel very good about.

BLOG POSTS

I stuck to my commitment to write a daily blog post on Olive Tree Genealogy - another thumbs up because it was not always easy.

Many days I did not feel like writing or I couldn't think of anything to say! But I like the discipline of meeting the commitment and I love writing so I was able to see even the bad days through.

EXPANDING MY WRITING VENTURES

 My writing took off even more when I also began writing articles for Legacy Family Tree in 2015. That has been a wonderful experience and a different style of writing which I am thoroughly enjoying. Then just last week another well-known Genealogy company asked me to write for them. That recognition is very gratifying, and the topic for January is a fun one.

The one area of writing where I failed miserably was in getting my Genealogy Murder Mystery Novel finalized for publication. Life and my health got in the way and I simply could not set aside enough quality time to focus on that task. To be very honest I am a little nervous about publishing it. What if no one likes it? What if it gets panned? What if it's not as good as I think it is? What if.......

I recognize this anxiety. It is the same anxiety I felt at the first (and only!) showing of my artwork. I was very worried that viewers would say it was terrible and not fit to be hung in the show. It's a type of stage fright and I have to work very hard to overcome it. I actually sold a painting at that show so I guess my nerves were not warranted. That is something I need to work on next year - overcoming that anxiety hurdle and finishing my novel. 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

One other quiet goal I had was to focus more on Social Media, in particular Twitter. I set a goal to reach 10,000 followers on my Twitter account (@LorineMS) by the end of 2015. I'm happy to report I now have 9,922 but somehow I doubt I will have 78 more followers in the next 4 days. I also joined some new Social Media channels, namely Instagram and Periscope but I have not been able to devote as much time to them as I'd like to. 

2016 GOALS & RESOLUTIONS

I'll make that one of my goals in 2016 - continue growing my Twitter profile with quality followers, and find time to work on Instagram and Periscope.

But mainly in 2016 I will continue to focus on my writing - both non-fiction and fiction. Of course I will continue my genealogy research as well. I look forward to new challenges and opportunities in the New Year!  What are your goals for the coming year?

2015 Goals & Dreams

2014 is over. It was a pretty good year other than my health and mobility issues. I have a lot of genealogy ideas, plans, hopes and dreams for 2015. As I mentioned in my previous blog post New Year's Genealogy Resolutions for 2014 - Did I Achieve Them? this year I'm focusing on one goal - to write more genealogy books. 

One of my Facebook friends mentioned that she doesn't like the word goals so she calls hers "Things I hope to accomplish" That's not quite strong enough for me (it's the "hope to" part I don't care for personally) but I thought I'd list a few things I'm going to try my darndest to accomplish this year. 

My One Main Goal for 2015

Write more genealogy books. Specifically I plan to finish my murder mystery novel set in Salt Lake City (it's almost done, I'm on my 20th edit!), finish my book on Genealogy Activities for Children, and finish up the half-dozen eBooks I have in the works sitting on the back burner. 

Things I'm Pretty Determined to Do in 2015

I am determined to learn how to design my own covers for my paperback books without using the online cover creators. I want more control over fonts, placement of images, etc

Things I Am Going to Work Very Hard to Complete But Realistically Might Not Get Done

I'd love to finish the last volumes of my Peer Family in North America series. Descendants have been asking for them for a few years now.

I want to find a program that will allow me to easily set up a website I bought years ago for my Lost Faces photo albums. They are currently on a section of my main website but I want them on their own site, where I can freely share them with other genealogists and descendants. I do not want to do that site manually as I have over 3,000 photos and it's overwhelming to begin. So far I've not found a program that will create what I want.

Things I Dream Will Magically Happen

I will wake up one morning and all my digital photos will be labelled, tagged and organized

I wish someone would redesign my website Olive Tree Genealogy and surprise me with it. It desperately needs a makeover as I created it in 1996 - some 19 years ago!! It needs a facelift badly.

Summary 

I'm pretty sure I won't get all the above items done. But isn't it fun to plan and set goals? What do you hope to accomplish in 2015?

Credits: Image by noppasinw on freedigitalphotos.net

New Year's Genealogy Resolutions for 2014 - Did I Achieve Them?

Last year (as I do every year) I posted my Genealogy New Year's Resolutions/Goals for 2014. They can be read at Genealogy Goals for 2014

My 2014 goals were to complete my unfinished 2013 genealogy goals! Again, I have  health issues which do interfere with my ability to work as hard as I'd like, but let's see how I did.

The leftover 2013 goals to finish up in 2014 were:

1. Finish and publish my genealogy murder mystery novel.  I get a big FAIL for this one and will add it to goals for 2015. We have already cleared a spot in our home for me to work in private on this in January and February with the goal of having it on Amazon in March 2015.

2. Finish and publish my book for Children's Genealogy Activities. It's done and it's in ebook format, just waiting for my proof-reader to finish it and let me know if it's okay to go!

3. Finish my next two volumes of the Peer family in North America. Another FAIL. I've not touched those since I wrote last year's resolutions/goals. They are on the back burner for awhile and I'm not even going to say they are a goal for 2015.

On the SUCCESS side are a number of things that I had not planned for or set as goals. 

1. I learned how to publish an ebook and have written and published 7 genealogy books this past year! See the list on my Books page.

2. I learned how to format a genealogy book for a paperback version and have published one already. See it here

3. I made good progress on labeling, tagging and organizing my digitized photos

4. I wrote a plot outline for a second genealogy mystery novel featuring my heroine Janie Riley. Yes this is a downfall for me - jumping to another project before the first related one is complete. But I do feel excited about starting the second book and that will motivate me to publish the first one. That's how I work best - dangle a carrot that will entice me to finish something that has begun to overwhelm me. 

And believe me, as much as I love my first novel about a murder in Salt Lake City, after 2 dozen edits, I'm growing tired of it.... I want it done but I can't publish it until I am absolutely 100% satisfied that is it the absolute best I can achieve. Hence the carrot - the anticipation of wanting to start the second book in the planned series.

So 2015 will be my year of writing - novels, tutorials, family histories - I plan on writing and creating ebooks and paperbacks. It's going to be my fun year. 

What are your genealogy goals for 2015? And did you achieve the ones you set for yourself for 2014? I don't feel bad that I marked two goals as FAIL. Not completing them indicates to me that I am expecting too much of myself, not that I am lazy or a failure. I keep thinking I'm 30 and in perfect health and I can be super woman. Reality check - I'm over 65, have a compromised immune system, several health issues and while the mind is willing and eager, the body is not. As my brother would say "Embrace it and do what you can with what you have"

Wish me luck in 2015!



 

New Year's Genealogy Resolutions for 2014

Yep, it's that time again! Last year I reviewed my 2012 genealogy goals and decided I needed to set less lofty standards for myself! So I ended up with one goal in 2013 - to complete unfinished projects.

I listed 4 projects I wanted to clear off my desk and my mind. Here they are along with my review of how I did:

2013 Genealogy Goals - How Did I Do?

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.



Unfortunately this did not happen. I could make all kinds of excuses - I've had a bout of ill health that has been my top priority since March 1st (and still is) but the bottom line is my final edit is not done

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.


I  worked on this throughout October and November but it's not ready for publication.

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!



Success! Done and given to my sister-in-law PLUS a second one on her family genealogy

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.

Partial Success. The next two volumes are completed and are in the final editing stage. So I had some success but could not accomplish all my goals. With my various health issues and workload, it was just too much. That's difficult for a high-achiever like me to admit. I'm the student who was never happy with "just" an A. It had to be A+ or it felt like I had not tried my best. For the coming year I have decided I will have to be content with carrying on with the uncompleted 2013 genealogy goals. One step at a time. Hope that my health issues will lessen or be resolved, and plug away at one project at a time. I think basically I can sum my goal(s) up with this sentence:
DO NOT GET SIDE-TRACKED!
I plan to start in on one project and stick with it until it's completed. Easier said than done for someone like me! I tend so jump around from project to project. As one becomes tedious or begins to bore me, I work on another one for awhile. But I am convinced I have to change that for 2014.

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.

2012 New Year's Genealogy Resolutions

Every year I set my genealogy resolutions. Jan. 2011 Resolutions consisted of one goal - seemingly a simple goal. That goal was to stay focused on one genealogy project at a time.

I didn't meet it. In fact I didn't even come close. I tried. Believe me I tried. But if there's one thing  I learned from this "failure" it's that I am an impulsive genealogist.

Getting Side-Tracked 

I get side-tracked easily. Repetition bores me, so a project that begins as a fun genealogy project quickly becomes a tedious task for me.  I love the challenge of the hunt! I grit my teeth when I reach hour 3 or 4 of entering the information that I found in my research.

I can happily spend 10 hours researching and not notice the passage of time. But show me the results of my 10 hours of research and tell me it's time to enter all that data, and the moaning and groaning and whining begins.

So much tedious time-consuming W O R K when I  could be having F U N doing more research, finding out more about these new ancestors!

A Typical Example

Let's look at a few examples - I started a project to look through Poor Law Union correspondence and extract the names of poor people being sent from England to Canada in the mid 1800s. Then I did some research in census records to find more information on these individuals. It was so much fun. What wasn't fun was organizing it and creating the webpages to put it all online! I did finally finish it but only through sheer will power and a lot of stern scolding from myself to myself.

While working on the Poor Law Union records, I began concentrating on putting all my old cemetery photos into videos for Olive Tree Genealogy YouTube Channel. I love doing that. But that's my problem - creating Cemetery Walks became my "break" from the Poor Law Union records.

Poor Law Union boring me today?  - no problem, set it aside and work on the Cemetery Walk videos. Oh, that's boring me now because I am trying to find all the photos from 3 years ago? Okay take a break from that boredom and scan my family photos. Oops, two months has gone by and I haven't gotten back to the Poor Law Union records - ack!

You see my conundrum.  I jump from task to task. When task A becomes boring to me I'm off to Task B. Then C and D and....  on and on it goes! And so I end up with anywhere from 10 to a dozen genealogy projects on the go all at the same time.

Genealogy Strengths vs  Weaknesses

I've fought this all my life.  But I've finally learned something very important! I need to work WITH my strengths, not against them!  Instead of trying to become what I'm not, I need to focus on what I am.  That way I can improve in my strength areas instead of fighting my own nature all the time.

What are my strengths? I'm a very thorough and focused researcher. I'm good at finding information then taking taking that newly-found fact, analyzing it and figuring out what it means in the overall picture, and where to look for the next clue or fact. I also work well with a deadline.

What are my weaknesses? I'm not good at data entry. Repititous tasks bore me. I skip over tasks I find boring, setting them aside for "later". But "later" doesn't always come!

2012 Genealogy Resolutions

My 2012 New Year's Resolutions are:

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

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

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

And so I've not only come up with what I believe are more realistic 2012 Genealogy Resolutions, I've also come up with a new method of organization of my genealogy. I'll write about that next week so please do come back, read my idea and jump in with your own ideas, suggestions and thoughts!

Last Year's Genealogy Resolutions - a Big Uh-Oh!

Uh-oh. This morning I reviewed my Genealogy New Year's Resolutions from Jan 1, 2010. I didn't do very well!

Briefly, the resolutions were

1. File my genealogy papers. Oh boy. I never did get around to that.... Does it count that I filed all my PEER documents and papers so that I could organize the data to work on my books on this family? It was a pretty big job.

2. Finish books on Peer Family of North America. Another uh-oh. I did finish Volume 1 and it has been selling well! Partial kudos to me?

3. Prove my Shuart line or find supporting evidence of my theory of my Elizabeth Shuart's parents. I did find strong supporting evidence of my relationship theory! Phew!

4. Enter data same day I obtain it. Nope, didn't happen. I continue with my old habit of finding a genealogical bit of evidence, yahooing about it, then setting it aside on my cluttered desk...

5. Enter old genealogy data that I've filed away over the years. Nope - the only old genealogy data I entered was for my PEER books. Mind you that was a *huge* job! It took me over a month to complete it. Maybe that counts a wee bit?

So - those were my five genealogy goals from January 2010. I can't believe an entire year has gone by since then! And what have I been doing? It's not like I sit around all day and daydream.

I think the problem is that I'm not focused enough. I start a project full of excitement. Boredom quickly sets in and I move to another project! So the first one gets put on hold - temporarily of course.... or at least that is my intention at the time.

Out of my five rather lofty resolutions of 2010, I managed to complete one of them - and that was almost a matter of luck more than anything else! The rest were all partially completed.

Now it's time for more resolutions for 2011. I have decided to be more realistic and set one genealogy goal.

*** Stay focused! Finish one project before starting another ***

That's it. If I can stay on task and stay focused on one project at a time, I think I can complete the 2010 goals.

Sounds easy doesn't it? Not for me. I know this will be the most difficult goal I've ever set. Perhaps even more difficult than a personal goal like losing weight or exercising more!

I love genealogy. I love the research. I dislike compiling that research. I dislike entering the facts into my genealogy program. So it is easy for me to turn my attention to something more exciting or interesting and leave the first project in limbo.

It may be that I have to establish a schedule for such things as working on my Peer books or scanning family photos or creating a Family Photo Album or.... whatever genealogical tasks I'm working on. That way I will know that on certain days at specific times I am working on Genealogy Project A, not Genealogy Project B.

Wish me luck - I'm not very good at routines! I'm more of an impulse genealogist. If I feel like working on something, I do. But looking at the very long list of projects waiting for me to start or complete them I realize I'm in need of some structure.

So 2011 - bring it on! I'm ready for you. Sort of....