Goals for 2013

Goals achieved in 2012 (from my Goals for 2012)

• Organise a new family history folder arrangement on my computer hard drive. In 2012 I finished organising my genealogy files from a 'to sort' folder into a Genealogy folder arrangement on my hard drive (as described in January 2012 in my 21COFH Week 2 post).
• Organise my Bookshelves on Google Books. 
• Sort out all the items I have saved in my Ancestry Shoebox.
• Learn to use all the features of Adobe Photoshop Elements 10.
• Buy an Android Smartphone and use it for genealogy research.

1. Organsation

Organisation goals in progress in 2012 and ongoing in 2013

• Organise, tag and label the photographs on my computer (digital photos as well as scanned photos and documents). I am progressing with this goal. In 2013, I hope to continue adding tag keywords to the files metadata with relevant names, places, events etc.
• Set up template spreadsheets to record all research and correspondence. I have  set up templates, but I have not yet started to implement them. 
• Start my new Legacy file beginning with myself and working backwards methodically, recording all sources, attaching relevant source documents and attaching photographs. I started this new file during 2012 and I hope to continue with this goal in 2013.

Organisation goals 'to do' in 2013 (recycled from 2012)

• Photograph/scan all the family history material I have storied in hardcopy in folders. 
• Work out what to do with my collection of genealogy magazines, books and CDs. 
• Sort out the 'family history box' - the general place I put family history related clippings from newspapers etc. 

2. Education 
Education goals in progress in 2012 and ongoing in 2013

• Reacquaint myself with the features of the various genealogy software products I have on my computer (Legacy 7.5, RootsMagic 4, Family Tree Maker 2012, Family Historian and Personal Historian 2)

3. Correspondence and Writing Goals (Recycled from 2012)

• Try to reply to emails and message board posts in a more timely manner. This is a very important goal for me. I am quite behind in correspondence and I apologise to anyone whom I have not yet been able to send information to. I will try to get back to you very soon. 
• Try to write on my blog at least once or twice a week. I hope to post many more Trove Tuesday posts in 2013. 
• Make plans for my Fullerton family history book. Use Personal Historian 2 to help organise the story structure.

4. Research

Research goals in progress in 2012 and ongoing in 2013

• Look into the possibility of using DNA in my O'Brien/Breen research. I progressed on this goal in 2012 and I hope to continue exploring genetic genealogy in 2013. 
• Continue researching the various Hehir families who came to Australia and are likely related to my ancestor Susan Hehir. 
• Newspaper research on Trove and at the library.

Research goals 'to do' in 2013 (recycled from 2012)

• Do more offline research in libraries, archives and cemeteries.
• Visit more of my ancestors grave sites. 
• Visit relatives to scan photograph albums. 
• Develop research plans and begin using my research logs.

5. Giving Back

Giving Back Goals in progress in 2012 and ongoing in 2013

• Continue participating in the Genealogists for Families Project on Kiva.
• Contribute text corrections more often on Trove.
• Add many more Church photographs to my Australian Church photos on Flickr.

Giving Back Goals 'to do' in 2013 (recycled from 2012)

• Join the local family history group. 

My most important goal in 2013 is to keep focused and discipline myself to organise what I already have and contact the people I have neglected to contact. I need to organise and use the family history data I already have and not acquire more without definite plans or written research objectives - no matter how tempting it may be to go off on a tangent and search the web...not this year. 

I will be continuing with my Motivation Monday posts on the first Monday of each month this year to help me keep focused and motivated. 

Happy New Year everyone and I wish you all success with all your goals for genealogy research and your life outside of genealogy in 2013. God bless.

 © 2013. Australian Genealogy Journeys by Aillin O'Brien is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License.Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://ausgenjourneys.blogspot.com.au/p/copyright-terms.html. Clip art from Open Clip Art Library.