welcome to the ancestral findings podcast this is episode 221 it is not uncommon to get genealogy
burn out every now and then when you are doing a lot of research fortunately staying motivated or
getting remote evaded is easy today I'll give you some common sense tips for staying motivated as a
genealogist genealogy is a wonderful pastime and profession and it can become a grand passion for
many who are involved in it however even the most passionate of genealogists can become burned out
or lose motivation this usually happens if too many hours a day are spent doing nothing but
genealogy or if one stands too long in front of a brick wall if this happens to you don't
be concerned it happens to the best genealogists all you have to do is get re motivated and it is
easier than it sounds here are some vibrant tips on staying motivated with your genealogy research
first decide why you are feeling burned out or unmotivated it can be a simple fix if the reason
is simple you probably already know why you are feeling this way but if you do not give it some
thought it will come to you usually easily for example are you mentally or physically burned
out usually it is mentally but you can become physically burned out by too many hours sitting
in front of the computer sitting in itself can be exhausting so it is important to get
up periodically and exercise or walk around spend a few minutes or however long you need to doing
something different you can also get physically burned out by looking at the computer screen for
too long it can hurt your eyes make them dry and uncomfortable or watery and sore try adding a
glare protector to your computer screen to protect your eyes or take periodic screen breaks this will
keep you physically feeling good and motivated to continue doing your genealogy research if
it is a mental type of burnout decide what is causing it is it too much research reading too
many family histories figuring out complex cousin relationships or working out how many neighbors
your ancestor had and how they may be connected to each other or have you been trying to get past
the same brick wall for a long time without working on any of your other fan lines each
of these common causes of mental genealogy burnout has simple fixes of their own often simply getting
more organized is key to overcoming genealogical burnout and stay motivated creating a timeline
for brick wall ancestors is a helpful method with a timeline of all of the important events in that
ancestors life you will have a clear picture in front of you of what additional information
you need and what sources you need to consult to find it looking at a timeline may also give
you additional ideas of different approaches you can take to your research things you may not have
thought of without your ancestors life laid out in front of you on a timeline timelines can actually
be real creativity boosters you can also take a different approach to your research instead of
focusing on one particular ancestor you may be having trouble with shift your research
focus to those around him or her research their children extended relatives neighbors business
associates church members soldiers they served with and anyone else with whom you know they
had a personal connection if the trail has run dry on your brick wall ancestor researching the
people who knew them can often provide clues sometimes you will even get direct clues such
as mentions of your brick wall ancestor in the Wills or land deeds of other people tax records
marriage records church membership roles and other similar things can also give you important
clues on your brick wall ancestor once you get past a brick wall or get any clue that gets you
closer to getting past it you will usually become reinvigorated in your genealogical research and
your motivation returns as healthy as ever get a little help from your friends believe it or
not this is an excellent way of keeping up your genealogical motivation this means putting out
inquiries about your family line or brick wall ancestor on genealogy message boards and even
social media look for groups on social media that are searching your family line or the area where
your family line lived join those groups and ask for the information you need you never know who
was out there and who has the exact information you've been searching for because it was handed
down to them and has never been in a record repository the more people you ask the greater
chance there is of you finding what you need a marriage record burned in a courthouse fire there
may be a distant cousin somewhere who inherited the original the same thing goes for photos of
ancestors if they didn't come down your branch of the family tree asking online can find the
branch who got it which can get you a copy of it getting new information this way is incredibly fun
and motivating plus you get to meet new relatives take a break sometimes you just need to step away
for a little while you have been concentrating on one genealogical issue for so long you can't look
at it clearly anymore and you just keep going in circles with your research stepping away for a
while and doing something completely different can give you the clarity you need to look at
the issue with a whole new set of eyes when you return to it once you give yourself the space you
need to make new discoveries your motivation will return you may even think of new research avenues
to explore while you're taking your break which will make you eater to return to your research
genealogical burnout is not uncommon especially for people who do a lot of it if you spend most
of your time doing genealogy you might experience burnout which comes with a lack of motivation
don't be concerned your motivation will come back and likely some amazing discoveries along
with it all you need to do is give yourself the space you need to be your best as a genealogists
everyone has to start somewhere and in the area of modern genealogy you can do
much without having to leave your house join me next time and I'll suggest 10 beginner websites
to get you off to the best start copyright by ancestral findings all rights reserved
you