January 2, 2012

High Hopes for January: Motivation Monday

We’re off and running with a new year, and it’s time for me to get motivated! I’m still formulating my yearly goals, but I’ve got some ideas about what I want to accomplish in January. I’m joining with Stephanie on Corn and Cotton: My Family’s Story in laying out goals at the beginning of each month this year. There’s a great support group gathering with her, so please join us. My list for this month is ambitious, but heck, hope springs eternal at the new year, so here goes:

Research
  • Use my one remaining month of World Deluxe membership to Ancestry.com to search for and order records on: Herrel family in Germany; Evans and Hughes famillies in Montgomeryshire, Wales; and Baxter, Flack, and Carmichael families in County Antrim, Ireland
Organization
  • Organize my surname binders for Herrel, Evans, and Baxter. I find it’s easier to update the binders at the same time I’m actively researching the families
  • Start reading Organizing Your Family History Search by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack (Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 1999) and Throw Out 50 Things by Gil Blanke (New York: Springboard Press, 2009). The latter is because I need inspiration to clean out my house!
Blogging
Writing
  • Create a habit of writing for 20 uninterrupted minutes a day
  • Write an article on the 1940 Census for the Palatine Heritage (the Ohio Chapter Palatines to America newsletter, for which I am Publications Chair)
Education
  • Watch two genealogy webinars
  • Start a short online course. In keeping with my organization theme for the month, I’m thinking of taking “Organize Your Genealogy” from Family Tree University (here’s a link to a coupon code for 20 percent off any January class) 
That should keep me busy enough for one month! Do you have any suggestions for me? What are your goals for January? Let me know so we can cheer each other on! 

6 comments:

  1. Okay, Shelley, you have more energy than I do. I'm tired just reading your list! They are ambitious goals but certainly doable. I wish you lots of success!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dog gone you, Shelly, now I have to go and break down by month what I want to accomplish this month. You guys are going to get me organized yet. Love this Meme. Love my blogger friends. And now, I'm taking a look at my blog and thinking OMG how boring does that look...LOL...
    ~Kim

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love it! You are going to do so much in January. I should have written out my goals by area like you did. Next month! I'd love to know what you think of Organize Your Family History Search as well as the webinar on organization. I know that I need to do more in that area. My binders are very simple, but they need to be organized a bit better. Lots to talk about! :)

    So glad you're doing this with me!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, you are going to be one busy woman! We'll be rooting for you and your success! As to the book by Carmack, a MUST read (borrow from the library). I used it and now have a filing system that works for me (unlike the system I had before that was more file by pile)! Great goals!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the support, Nancy, Kim, Steph, and Leslie--I have a feeling I'm going to need it! I admit I kind of got on a roll, so we'll see how my energy (and time) holds out. But I'm eager to get started. Leslie, I'm glad to hear your endorsement of Carmack's book--can you believe I found it at a thrift shop for a dollar? Been waiting for the holiday rush to die down so I can get into it.

    I think I'm really going to like doing monthly goals. Feels like I'm starting the year right. Glad we can all encourage each other!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Shelley, great start to the New Year! Thanks for sharing and I look forward to following along with your process. I am curious to hear what you think about the Family Tree U course. Keep us in the loop!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for reading my blog! I welcome and appreciate your comments.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...