The new year is here, and for many of us, it’s a time of self reflection and a chance to make plans for the future.

For me, it’s a great time to revisit my family history goals from the past and tweak them for upcoming projects.

2020 was rough (that’s an understatement, right??) and some of my projects slipped to the wayside. If you are like me, don’t worry – you can always start again, right from the beginning or from where you left off. Work on an old project or create something entirely new – it’s up to you!

Need some ideas? Here’s a list of some of the projects I hope to work on in 2021:

*Transcribe interviews with grandparents from several years ago and get copies to family

*Finish digitizing all the old photos I have inherited

*Organize my family history keepsakes – including descriptions of items (what they are, who they belonged to, etc)

*Tidy up my digitized family history files (I spent a lot of time in 2020 cleaning out paper files!)

*Recognize my (U.S.) Civil War ancestors by sharing their stories in 2021 – the 160th anniversary of the start of the Civil War

*Continue to seek out workshops, conferences, and webinars to learn about topics of interest

It really does help to have a purpose in mind when researching your family and preserving what you find. If you’ve ever fallen down the proverbial family history “rabbit hole” while seeking out your ancestors – you already know what I mean!

Once you know what you want to do, create steps to help you get there. The goals I shared with you today sound pretty vague – but as I develop realistic plans to help me accomplish realistic goals, I will have the tools I need to succeed. That might look like selecting specific ancestors or specific stories to write, on a specific timeline. It might look like planning ahead and penciling in my calendar a workshop or webinar to attend every week or month (virtual classes sure make this a lot easier!). It might look like scheduling blocks of time specifically to work on transcriptions when I know the house is quiet and I can concentrate.

Now it’s your turn! What family history goals do you have for 2021? What steps will you take to make those goals a reality?

You can do this! Good luck – and have fun!