No Goals for 2012

I've been reading others' blog posts about their goals for 2012. It's made me want to go back to bed and cover my head with a pillow until the middle of January when that subject will have been overtaken by newer topics. (Except it won't because Stephanie of Corn and Cotton has invited bloggers to write monthly --monthly!-- goals and publish them as Motivation Monday posts.)

I know that for most people setting goals helps them accomplish objectives but my experience has generally been that when I set goals life gets in the way, the goals go out the window, and I feel like a failure. I do make daily "to-do" lists which I generally complete. And I do have ideas of things I'd like to accomplish. Instead of goals, I'm going with to-dos this year.

• RootsMagic (RM). I bought RM when it was on sale a few months ago and received a free upgrade in December but didn't have time to install it. I want to learn more about the program and continue to enter data. James Tanner of Genealogy's Star has written numerous posts in which he encourages his readers to choose some other genealogy program than Personal Ancestral File (PAF). I'm comfortable with PAF but as I learn more about genealogy I realize that PAF's offerings are rudimentary and limited. RM was my program of choice because it syncs with NewFamilySearch and makes working with that website easier. I have a lot to learn about the program before it becomes comfortable. The RM website has a series of webinars where I can learn about specifics and I know Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings has written a series of posts about about various aspects of the program. Surely with those excellent guides I can make progress.
  
  
• Organize my family history photos. Many are scanned and organized; just as many are still in the files the scanner puts them into when I save them. It makes it hard to find them. I've bookmarked several posts about organizing photos. I'll dig those out and read what others have found successful, unsuccessful, and what they recommend.

• Continue learning. Brigham Young University offers free online courses, 10 of which are family history/genealogy courses. "German Research" looks like it could be helpful since I have ancestors from several areas in Germany.
  
  I will investigate others opportunities to learn, including webinars, books, and online sources.
  

• Continue searching for my ancestors, both online and at libraries, archives, and family history centers. I haven't been to FamilySearch for a while and I know they've added new records. The Family History Centers (FHC) also offer free access to some of the paid sites. And of course, their library catalog is online and I hope to find films that will be helpful and which I can rent copies to be sent to the local FHC.

• Transcribe Ellis Bickerstaff's Civil War Pension File. This arrived in December, a month earlier than I anticipated. I perused it when it arrived and I'm looking forward to delving into it and learning more about Ellis and his situation toward the end of his life.

• Continue blogging. I'm such a tiny minnow in a sea of whales, and yet I continue to enjoy the blogging experience, both writing and reading. I hope to keep that up this year.

• Maybe (just maybe) I'll participate in Amy Coffin's meme, Abundant Genealogy. I'm not much of a memer (I may be a little too independent) but this looks helpful.
  

That's it. That's my big to-do list for the year. Now maybe I can break those down and consider monthly to-do lists to participate in Stephanie's Motivation Monday.