My work station on a good day.
Recently I watched a webinar New Tools and Ideas in Research by D. Joshua Taylor that focused largely on time management. One of his major points was something I had been thinking about, especially since turning 70 a few months ago and again with the start of a new year: what do I want my legacy to be? Mr. Taylor also stressed having manageable research goals such as working on no more than three projects at a time.
Current state
As I am retired, I think of genealogy and family history as my work. On my home office wall is a small whiteboard where I keep a genealogy to do list. Each year I buy and use a planner or agenda with a week per double page. I also put meetings or appointments into my phone. When I first started my research 20 years ago I gathered paper certificates and printed articles. I have four plastic file boxes that hold hanging files named by family surname followed by record type: births, deaths, marriages, military, etc.[i] The file boxes represent a downsizing from a file cabinet when I moved a few years ago, put what I was keeping into storage and went travelling. My genealogy computer files are also organized by surname and record type. Now I rarely print anything. In fact my printer is old and has no ink but still functions well as a scanner. When I want to print something a walk to a local mall becomes part of my daily exercise.
In addition to my membership in the Guild of One-Name Studies where I registered the name Brinston, set up a website through the Guild and write a related blog, I belong to the Alberta Genealogical Society and am currently president of my local branch. I participate in several other one-name groups and a number of Facebook groups related to these organizations and activities. Since 2006 I have published a quarterly newsletter for my maternal side and since 2009 an annual newsletter for my paternal side. I write occasional articles, usually for the journal of the Alberta Genealogical Society.
Areas needing improvement
· Priorities and focus
· Seeing my progress
· Filing downloads
· Records in one family tree database need clean up
· One file box of old genealogy background material taking up space
· Management of DNA results
· Strategies to accomplish more writing.
Desired legacy
· Book on maternal grandparents and their ancestors to update and expand on family newsletter I have done for 15 years
· My Brinston One-Name Study to include families from all relevant locations in Newfoundland and Labrador plus as many from other countries as possible
· My Astle family tree and other information from my annual newsletter added to website of Astle One-Name Study – registered by someone I have collaborated with for over a decade
· More published articles recording parts of my ancestry and research.
I am setting goals in each of those areas to move toward the legacy I want to leave. Following are those related to the Brinston One-Name Study for 2020.
2020 Goals for Brinston One-Name Study
· Identify additional regions of Newfoundland and Labrador where name Brinston occurs
· Find more contacts to provide information through websites, Facebook groups and DNA matches
· Add any additional families located to my database and website
· Find study associates as per new Guild of One-Name Studies initiative
· Complete blogging challenge[ii] of 10 posts in 3 months and thereafter do one post per month.
Knowing my priorities should improve my focus and productivity and allow me to better see my progress toward my ultimate goals, i.e., the genealogy/family history legacy I wish to leave my family.
References
Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo. Organizing Your Family History Search. Betterway Books, Cincinnati, OH, 1999.
Taylor, D. Joshua. New Tools and Ideas in Research. Legacy Family Tree Webinars. Webinar Library. https://familytreewebinars.com/authors.php
[i] This method from Sharon DeBartolo Carmack helped me organize my genealogy at the start. She also stated: “Your research is your legacy to your family.” P. 126.
[ii] Guild of One-Name Studies 10-Blog Challenge 2020. https://www.facebook.com/groups/GOONSBlogChallenge/