After covering research, writing and education goals, it's time to think about the grunt work. This is the stuff that is sooooo easy to push to the back burner and forget. Well, maybe not forget, there's always that little nagging voice in your head, but it's not that hard to ignore.
Maintenance Goals:
1. Re-organize digital files.
I haven't been loving my current file structure (which apparently made sense to me several years ago when I set it up but not so much anymore) for a long time. In addition, it's next to impossible to keep files updated and sync'ed on a desktop, laptop and netbook. I think I've decided on a better structure and a solution to keeping every computer updated (Dropbox). Once it's all done, I'll talk about the details. This job is already in progress and needs to be completed by the end of January.
2. Clean-up information and add events for certain people in my database.
I switched to Legacy Family Tree software almost three years ago but I still haven't updated every person in my database to take advantage to some of the features. (I told you back at the start of this series that I'm terrible at finishing things.) Mostly this entails creating specific events for information that was previously just in notes. In my defense, most people have been done but there are still a few hundred left. The good news is they are tagged so I know who needs work. The goal is to complete 10 people each week.
3. Clean-up sources.
In June 2008, Legacy released version 7 of their software which included source templates based on Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills. You guessed it. I still haven't converted all of the old style sources to the new format - there are 551 of them left. The goal is to convert at least 10 sources each week.
4. Scan everything that hasn't been scanned.
That probably sounds like a bigger job than it really is. I have always scanned records or anything that's just a few pages and I quit printing records that could be downloaded years ago. What hasn't been scanned is mostly copies of pages from books and legal size documents. There are about 300 legal size pages from court cases to be scanned and several notebooks full of the other documentation from books or hard copy reports received from other researchers. The goal here is really to become completely digital. I can hear the gasping. I won't actually throw away all of the paper but I do intend to store it in the basement and free up some space in my office.
5. Print out all information in my database.
That probably sounds like a conflict with becoming completely digital but there's a purpose for these printed reports. I wrote "Preserving Your Research for Posterity" in July and came to the conclusion that I really need to have a hard copy of my data. As usual, I started this project off with a bang and printed everything for my paternal grandmother's line by the end of August. That means I've completed roughly 1/4 of this project.
Whew, I'd better get some rest. I've got a lot of work to do in 2011.
Genealogy Goals for 2011 is a series. Other posts in the series are:
