27 June 2011

11 for 11 Progress -Motivation Monday

It is hard to believe the year is almost half over.  I decided to check up on how I was doing with my 2011 goals so I could plan my summer genealogy projects and stay motivated. 

My 2011 genealogy goals are:
  1. Scan pictures!  This is going very well.  There are always more pictures to scan.
  2. Work on my brickwall, Daniel Fenn.  I worked on this for awhile, but put it aside as it frustrates me and I believe a visit to Vermont is needed.
  3. Make a concentrated effort to source every fact as I add it to my software program.  This is one I am doing very well on; it doesn't go into my software without a source.
  4. Visit Miami County, Indiana to research Casper and Mary Graf further.  I thought I would do this during the summer, but our summer seems to be filling up.  I guess I will have to make this a priority in August.
  5. Obtain my grandfather's, Otto August Fredrick, obituary.  Completed.
  6. Attend a genealogical conference.  Almost completed, I am registered for FGS in September.  Hope to see you there.
  7. Start researching my son-in-law's ancestry.  Since I wrote 'start researching', this is completed.  I have researched his father's side and am working on his mother's.
  8. Talk to my mother and find out about family heirlooms in her possession.  Completed, now she brings me stuff she thinks I might like to have from my aunt and others.
  9. Carve out a regular research time. This is the one I still struggle with.  I feel I could do better.  I have been having some thyroid troubles which causes me to be unmotivated at times, so I will attribute it to that! 
  10. Make contact with newly discovered cousins and share information.  Continuing to do this, and hope to continue discovering more cousins.
  11. Research myself! Add my personal facts to my genealogical software.  Completed
I feel very good about 8 of the 11 goals.  Number 2, I know, will not be completed.  Number 4 needs to be scheduled and then I will get it done.  And, number 9 is one I think I will continue to struggle with, but as long as I keep researching I don't think it matters if I do it on a regular basis or not. 
This was my first year of setting goals.  I have learned a lot.  I think some of my goals were too general.  I will set yearly goals again, as it truly motivates me and gives me a focus in my research.  This isn't the only research I have done.  So far 2011 has been a good genealogy year.

6 comments:

  1. Great job so far. I love that your mom is now giving you heirlooms you might enjoy. I really need to ask my grandma about any heirlooms that she has, just to get the stories down.

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  2. Tina, It is a good idea to talk to your grandma now. I didn't think of this until my mom sent a box of stuff to donate to charity home with me. I asked about some of the items and said, "you can't get rid of this, it's special." So now I get it and she explains where it came from. I love it!

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  3. Great goals, Brenda, but I have to say I am most impressed by #3. What a good habit to get into. I also like the fact that you mom gives you heirlooms along with the information about them. If only I'd started family history before my parents passed away! And #9--when you don't feel good it's hard to do more than the essentials sometimes. I hope you have more good days than bad. Take care.

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  4. Thank you Nancy. I am feeling much better and looking forward to summer research.

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  5. A very impressive list of goals and even more impressive is the progress! I like goal number 8 myself. You will be glad you know what the heirlooms are in your family and what their story is.

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  6. Thanks, Michelle. I am thankful my mom is still here to share the stories of the heirlooms.

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