I don’t know about you, but I listen to and watch many genealogy podcasts and webinars. In addition, I’m also reading genealogy blogs, books, and articles. I often feel that I try to take in so much content that I don’t give myself the time to implement and put what I’ve learned into practice. It’s just so easy to click on another podcast while I’m driving or doing chores around the house. I need to slow down.

I recently pulled many of my New York State resources off of my book shelf to prepare for an upcoming presentation and realized that I’ve only actually read one of them from cover to cover.

I’m sure that I’m not the only one that keeps buying books when I’ve got a bunch at home that I haven’t read yet. Right?

I started keeping a log last year of my genealogy education but I didn’t keep it up. One of my goals for 2021 is to try it again. I want to keep track of what I listen to/watch/read and then take the time to reflect and put into practice and/or share what I’ve learned.

I am choosing to track my 2021 genealogy education on Google Sheets (their version of an Excel spreadsheet). If you want to join me in tracking your genealogy education this year, please do! You don’t have to keep track on a spreadsheet, you can simply write it down in a notebook. Or maybe you would like to share your 2021 genealogy education to the public by tracking it in your personal blog. There are so many different and fun options!

I hope that you consider joining me in tracking your genealogy education this year. Please comment below if you are going to try it and what format you are going to use to track. Happy Educating Yourself!

Jeanette Sheliga is the Niagara County (NY) Genealogical Society’s (NCGS) Chairman of the Board, Vice President, and Program Chairperson. She is a member of many local and national organizations and holds leadership positions with the Niagara Falls Chapter of the DAR as the Chapter Registrar, the Western New York Genealogical Society (WNYGS) as a member of the Board of Directors, and the Virtual Genealogical Association (VGA) as the Corresponding Secretary. You can learn more about Jeanette on her website and her profile page for the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG).