Overall, 2022 was a really great year for my family history research. Before I talk about that though, let’s review the goals I set for 2022. Here they are:

“With my business still being less than one year old and my book project in full swing, I think following 2021’s mantra of keeping plans “simple and uncrowded” is a good idea. So here is my simple and uncrowded plan for 2022:

1. Finish organizing and preserving documents and photos. I have to do that with the lines that are going into my book anyway so I think this is a good strategy.
2. Print records that are online-only so I have a paper backup in case something were to happen to my online access. Of course, these will then have to be organized/preserved but I think having a paper backup is important. The end goal will be to have a dual set of records – one digital and one paper.
3. Continue writing blog posts and commit to at least 12. That’s only one per month. I hope to do more but with all that’s going on, I think I’ll stick with this number as a minimum.
4. Have a complete first draft of my book by December, 2022.
5. Ancestral focus: my SEELY line.

I hoped for fewer than 5 goals but this is what I settled on. We’ll see how it goes. I hope that your 2022 is blessed and that you meet all your goals plus do a few things you never thought you’d get to do.”

https://honeysuckle-farm.com/2021-report-card/

How Did I Do?

• I was able to meet goal one as far as the main family I’m writing about. Beyond that, nothing else got done on goal #1.
• On goal #2, I got very little done. I did, however, make quite a bit of progress on my future son-in-law’s family tree and was able to get a bunch of his family photos downloaded for him. So again, some progress but not a lot.
• On goal #3, I wrote 29 blog posts plus 25 draft posts that never got finished/published. I also wrote 8 blog posts on my new Ink & Perfume blog that goes with my business. So, a win on goal #3 although I admit, I set my goals toward the low end on that one.
• However, I made up for that in goal #4 which was to have a completed first draft book by December. I completed my first draft on November 27th and I am so excited about that!! Several of our ancestral lines are in the book. In the end, I gave up on the idea of a non-fiction family history book (at least for this year) in favor of a middle grade historical fiction novel that my grandsons would enjoy. It was the right decision and it saved my book so I don’t regret it! The book still includes ancestors but in a way that will interest my grandsons.
• Goal #5 was to make progress on my SEELY ancestral line, which I did. I took a wonderful trip in December of 2021 to Pennsylvania and was able to do a lot of SEELY research. In the summer of 2022, I got to travel with my husband and was able to continue the Seely research following the family from Pennsylvania into Missouri. I was able to condense that research into some blog posts to share with readers.

I consider 2022 a big success as far as genealogy. I hope to finish writing 2022 blog posts that I started and even some that I didn’t start but intended to share. I got in a ton of research time and a couple of big research trips that I haven’t even shared with you yet.

2023

In 2023, I think the “simple and uncrowded” plan that’s been the norm for this decade is a good idea. This decade seems to be chaotic and unpredictable so far with no sign of changing. So here’s what I’m going with for 2023:

1. Self-education with a focus on methodology & skills, writing & publishing, organization, and DNA. I plan to try to do one training session per month equating to one topic per quarter.
2. Organization is a huge overall goal for me in 2023 so I’ll retain the goal of organizing what information I have and take it a step further to include cataloging the information so that when I’m gone someone else will be able to see what I have in my collection.
3. Writing: I’m going to retain the blog post goal of 12 posts for the year. Considering everything else I have on my plate right now, this seems like a reasonable choice. In addition to the blog, I’ll be revising/editing/publishing book #1 and finishing book #2.
4. My family focus this year will be the family of William & Hester (MITCHELL) DRAKE.

I hope that your 2022 has been a successful year in at least one area of your life. I pray your 2023 is even more successful.

Happy New Year,

Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog