There are so many factors that take us away from our passion for genealogy: lack of time and money, limited access to records, and other obligations. All of these suck the motivation right out of us and when we do find time or some extra cash, we don’t have the desire to do any research. So how can we find that motivation?
The following is a list of activities that serve as motivators. I almost always walk away feeling renewed with a sense of purpose. My perspective shifts and I’m ready to tackle some research.
- Read how-to materials, informational articles, or case studies. This can be in the form of journals, magazines, newsletters, books, blogs, or websites. Some good online materials are:
- Listen to webinars, podcasts, and radio shows. Following is a list of popular shows along with places to find webinars.
- Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- NEHGS Webinars
- Ancestry Webinars
- GeneaWebinars
- Genealogy Guys Podcast
- Genealogy Gems Podcast
- GeneaBloggers Radio Show
- Attend a local genealogical or historical society meeting. Not only a inspirational tactic, but a great networking opportunity.
- Sign up for a class or complete a certificate program. Consider the following options:
- Many community colleges offer “community education” courses and you may find that they offer classes related to genealogy or history.
- NGS Online Courses
- NGS Home Study Course
- FamilySearch Research Courses
- National Institute for Genealogical Studies
- Boston University Genealogical Programs
- Family Tree University
- Join a study group. Two that I know of are ProGen Study Group and NGS Quarterly Study Group.
- Attend a conference or workshop. Also a great networking opportunity.
- Tap the virtual world. Peruse message boards, Twitter (#genealogy), or GenealogyWise.
Heck, just writing this post has inspired me. Even thought I have a zillion other things to do, I’m going to carve out some time today and work on my own research for a bit…I found my mojo!
What are some other activities that help motivate you to dive into your research? Post a comment and share!
4 comments:
Love your blog, I'm all about writing family history, and love seeing another blog encouraging the mission.
Great list! Reading other blogs helps me get going on my own research, especially the ones that have posts about 'how-to' or list web-sites I may not have yet come across. Looking forward to reading more!
Welcome to the Geneabloggers family. Hope you find the association fruitful; I sure do. I have found it most stimulating, especially some of the Daily Themes.
May you keep sharing your ancestor stories!
Dr. Bill ;-)
http://drbilltellsancestorstories.blogspot.com/
Author of "13 Ways to Tell Your Ancestor Stories" and family saga novels:
"Back to the Homeplace" and "The Homeplace Revisited"
http://thehomeplaceseries.blogspot.com/
http://www.examiner.com/x-53135-Springfield-Genealogy-Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-58285-Ozarks-Cultural-Heritage-Examiner
Joining a local society is a very good move. You do not have to have a special research need in that area to benefit from the group.
Regards,
Theresa (Tangled Trees.
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