January To-Dos

I shelved this because with the holidays approaching I wasn't getting any genealogy work done.  Hopefully, now that things have settled a bit I can get back to it -

Writing and this blog:
Try and write at least six posts this month (minimum).  Do more work on the Berger book and begin work on the Shinn journal project I've had percolating in my mind for a long time now.  Also, see 2011 goal below.

Research:
Try and actually do some this month!  Also, see 2011 goal below.

Organization:
File and purge the leftover piles from last year.  Go through flash drives and clean off ones that have information that isn't worth keeping then repurpose (for use when going to the FHC or research trips).

Other:
I've been inspired by We Tree and Family Curator and their goals.  So, here are mine for 2011:

• Research Goal: Find my great-grandmother's parents.  I know my great-grandmother's last name (or at the very least have an idea as to what it is) and where in Italy she was NOT from so that is something, I guess.  
• Writing Goal:  I have many but the main one is to create a family record (like the ones found in Bibles).  I'd like to have both a hard copy version and digital version.  I'm not a scrapbooker (I have neither the patience nor creativity for it) so this won't be anything fancy, but I do want to get into the habit or recording events as they happen.  Since this is something I hope to keep at for many years, the goal for this year is just to get into the rhythm of recording and organizing.  Hopefully, creating these good habits will keep me invested in the project for years to come.  I can't claim this idea as my own since the inspiration for this project came from the latest issue of Shades of the Departed Magazine (see The Future of Memories article on page 22).
• Organizational Goal:  PURGE!  Purge!  Purge!  I have a box, two drawers and a paper bag full of notes and scribbles and rudimentary family trees and who knows what else.  I haven't touched any of it in years so I'm both dreading and excited to see what might be lurking in the recesses of that mess.  My ultimate goal is to cut my paper files in half and only keep what I look at the most.

Considering January is almost half over, I better get a move on it!