Genealogy Do Over: Week 1...I Have Taken the Challenge

GeneaBloggers.com Genealogy Do Over

As many in the genealogical community know, Thomas MacEntee challenged us to do a do over of our research. Week one is drawing to a close and I thought this would be a great time to share with you my progress in this challenge. The first part of the challenge was to set research aside. This was an easy challenge for me because I don't have a lot of research to date. I have names and that is pretty much it. I hate admitting it, but I was a "clickophile" when it came to my research. For me it was easy to delete all my trees and psyche myself up to start again.

The second challenge was Preparing to Research. This was a little more difficult for me as I really needed to think about what it was that I was doing wrong and how to start again. It was suggested that we write down some research "warm up" exercises and so I came up with this list:
     (1) Fill out a research log before engaging in research
     (2) Clear my desk of everything but the absolute must haves according to the second part of this exercise
     (3) Put my phone on "do not disturb" mode.
     (4) Set timer for the allotted period of research time that I scheduled
     (5) Close my eyes and take some deep breaths to clear my mind
     (6) Turn on my laptop and boot up Evernote and the website (Ancestry, FamilySearch, etc.) that I planned to use to focus on my research goals.

The second half of this challenge was to make a list of the "Must Have Items When Researching". Because I am a very literal person I had to put some obvious items down, otherwise I would not be able to focus. I have this running checklist in my head, so of course the obvious has to be checked off or my mind will wander. My list consisted of:
   (1) "Professional Genealogy" edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills
   (2) "The Genealogist's Address Book" by Elizabeth Petty Bentley
   (3) Evidence! Citation and Analysis for the Family Historian" by Elizabeth Shown Mills
   (4) Pens and pencils, erasers, refill lead for my pencils, and white out
   (5) Blank research logs
   (6) Research log for the ancestor I am researching
   (7) Laptop
   (8) Blank forms to fill in
   (9) File folder for ancestor

The final, and third part of this challenge was to set some "Base Practices and Guidelines". These would help us to become better researchers. This was the trickiest exercise for me because it meant truly looking at my research practices and admitting to myself that my practices were far from acceptable for a novice or someone planning on becoming a professional. By writing down these guidelines that I needed to follow, it made me realize just how far I really am from being prepared to work on my BCG application. It was heart-wrenching for me but it needed to be done and I needed this eye opener so that I could become a better researcher. My list consists of:
   (1) I will schedule specific set hours into my calendar for research. Those hours will only be used for research. I will not take naps, read, go on Facebook, or do housework in my allotted time.
   (2) I will begin at the beginning and work my way back. This means starting with myself and citing all sources for my vital statistics. This will also include my husband and my children and their source citations. Only when this has all been filled in properly can I go onto the next generation.
   (3) I will follow the 3 Golden Rules of Genealogy per the geneabloggers.com website. These will include:
        (a) Track all work, including dead ends, negative evidence, and non-productive searches
        (b) Cite sources, even if in a rudimentary manner to note the "what, where, when" information about a record
        (c) Make the "first pass the only pass" which means slow down and spend as much time as needed on a document or source and wring out of it every bit of information.
                                            ***The last three points were taken word-for-word from geneabloggers.com and belong to Thomas MacEntee. I only borrowed them to insure that I followed these rules to a tee.****
   (4) I will not be a "clickophile". Unless I have researched it, verified it, and cited it, it will not get added to my tree.
   (5) I will take all family lore and online public trees with a grain of salt. Until I can prove it, it is a "hint".
   (6) I will not take my aunt's research at face value unless it is sources and verified.
   (7) I will learn to better manage my time. I will utilize my time wisely to accomplish as much of my set goal as possible.
   (8) I will only work with one line and one generation at a time.

I am sure that as I get further into this Genealogy Do Over my guidelines and "warm up" exercises will change and evolve as I change and evolve into a better genealogist. In the meantime, I feel that this is a great start to my do over. From here on out, on Wednesdays, I will be updating my blog to include my progress in this challenge. I would love for you to use the comments section to include your own progress in the challenge or even a link to your blog about the do over challenge. I am a firm believer that there is strength in numbers and that with a little support from each other this challenge can make us all better genealogists and more aware of what we are doing wrong or what can be improved.