Ready to get started on putting together your family tree? I’ve been intending to start mine, but so far, all I’ve managed to do is dabble in it. Perhaps if I decide to write about my progress it will inspire me to make the time to finally get started on my family tree.
I’ve been writing for the genealogy blog for a few years now. In 2010, I decided to make my very first genealogical New Year’s resolutions. One of them was to finally put together my family tree.
It is now 2012, and I realize that I haven’t made any progress on that particular goal. Sure, I have scraps of notebook paper, here and there, that contain a partial sketch of a branch or two of my family tree. But, so far, the information remains disconnected, unverified, and unfinished.
I think the biggest reason I am having this problem is due to time. It takes quite a bit of time to do the research that is required in order to make a family tree. Taking on this project, while I have so many other, non-genealogy related projects going on, seems impossible. I come from a huge family, and have tons of living relatives. I am already feeling overwhelmed by how big this family tree could turn out to be.
So, this is my plan. I am going to start small. This will make it easier for me to actually find time to work on it. I might not have an hour to devote, but, fifteen minutes could be possible. Taking a huge project, and breaking it into several, smaller, goals, makes things less overwhelming.
The other part of my plan involves accountability. This can be done in a number of ways. For example, a new genealogist could set up a regular time to meet with another family member who also does genealogy. You could share your research. This will, of course, require you to actually do the research, so that you will have something to share.
As a writer, I find that I thrive on deadlines. Tell me when something is due, and it is amazing what I can come up with in order to meet that time frame. Leave me to do something, “whenever”, and “whenever” never comes. I don’t have a family member who does genealogy that I can meet with on a regular basis. Instead, I am going to blog about my progress here, and share it with all of you.
A good place to start is with a family tree template. There are several ones online that you can download for free. I have decided to use the “7 Generation Family Tree With Vital Statistics” template that I found on the Family Tree Templates website. My mini-goal for today was to find a good template, and to print it out. That is all I will have time to accomplish today. It isn’t much, but it is a start!
Image by blue2likeyou on Flickr