Why Genealogy In Action?

Let me tell you a story.

I consider myself a lifelong learner. I guess that’s why I enjoy genealogy so much; there’s always something new to learn whether it’s a skill, a method, or a record type.

But here’s the problem.

There are dozens of educational opportunities available to us as genealogists. From online to in-person, from books to blogs—pretty much anything imaginable. All of the options are extremely overwhelming!

And, it’s frustrating when we don’t know where to start or can’t afford the conference we want to attend or books we need to improve our skills.

Creating an education plan does help, forcing us to focus on specific goals to keep the overwhelm at bay. But…

I found a bigger problem and perhaps you’re in the same boat.

Progress. Do you feel like you consume a ton of information and never make any progress on your actual research?

I did…until I took action.

For 12+ years, I’d taken advantage of any learning opportunity that suited my goals (when I could afford to do so, that is). Over the last few years, I cut back on genealogy education considerably because I felt like a sieve—information in, information out. I wasn’t retaining anything!

It began to feel like a waste of time! And, not to mention, the frustration that came along with it—the ability to recall a certain book or lecture, but not the actual information!

Then having to waste more time going back to the lecture handout or book to reacquaint myself with the material…ugh! And wouldn’t you know that half the time (maybe more than half!) I’d get sidetracked or run out of time and never actually apply what I’d just reviewed! I simply wasn’t making progress on the research I intended to do!

I felt like I was going backwards.

Does this sound like you? I mean, I can’t be alone in this, right?

So what did I discover that led me to take action?

Back in 2018 I decided to revamp my business. I won’t bore you with the details, but realize that I was reading a lot of books and participating in various online courses and events all related to business and book publishing.

Innocuous enough, right?

Wrong!

Many of these books and courses present a concept and then provide a list of action items. Even some of the traditional one-hour lectures I attended were delivered almost like a workshop and encouraged either short activities during the presentation, or a list activities to perform afterward. I found that I was learning AND taking action at the same time! I was progressing forward—not learning something only to regress later.

This is when I realized that the way in which we learn in the genealogy community needed to change.

Why?

Because most methods of learning curb the ability to retain and recall what we’ve learned because we are not applying it in a practical manner.

Huh?

Most of us learn better when we can apply a concept to a practical situation.

The genealogy community does offer some learning opportunities that are practical in nature. Institutes, for example, are a great way to dive really deep into a particular subject, and in most cases there is some level of practical application.

The problem is, most of the practical application is on a particular case study that the  instructor provides, and therefore we’re not getting the opportunity to apply what we’ve learned to our own research.

BUT, learning in this practical way does help us with retaining the information and recalling it later on.

So, using what I had experienced while educating myself on business and publishing, I began wondering how I could apply it to my genealogy education. How could I apply what I was learning to my own research immediately after I consumed the information?

I devised a plan to make the educational opportunity more action-based so that I was taking some sort of action. This is easier to do in some cases rather than others, but here are a few examples.

If I watch a recorded webinar or video, I schedule an extra hour so I can take what I learn and immediately apply it. Sometimes, I consume the whole video and then apply what I learned, while other times I work along with the video, pausing it and practicing the concept just explained before proceeding on to the next concept. Similarly, when I’m reading a book I read one chapter at a time and take what I just read and apply it to my own research before continuing on to the next chapter.

This is not easy! It takes a lot of discipline to stop watching or reading to apply what you’re learning, and more often than not, YOU have to figure out how to apply it.

What I mean by this is that there aren’t any action items or activities presented to you—you have to come up with those yourself. And depending upon how the content is presented, it can be hard to figure out practical ways to apply what you just learned (especially when the topics are focused on strategies and methodology).

But by forcing myself to consume new information in this manner, I quickly discovered that learning a concept and then immediately applying it to my own research kills two birds with one stone. It allows me to take action and make progress on my own research, and it helps me retain and recall the information the next time I need it.

So I got to thinking…why can’t I produce a educational materials for the genealogy community that provides action items or activities, along with inspiration, for genealogists to take action on immediately?

With that thought in mind, Genealogy In Action was born.

This is not to say that the genealogy educational opportunities out there are of no benefit. On the contrary, its a great way to learn something new or expand your skills, especially if you can figure out a way to apply it right away.

I just want to provide something a little different that can help you easily take action. I'm also hoping this will inspire others teaching in the community to apply the same strategy in their own educational offerings.

All of my educational offerings, will inspire you to take action.

These educational opportunities will provide prompts that will allow you to easily make progress with your own research. You will learn a concept and apply it immediately. This will also help you retain the information and recall it later.

Genealogy In Action is all about taking action with your research. Because without action, there is no progress. And without progress, there is no solving those long-standing family history mysteries.

Are you with me?

If so, your first action step is to sign up below so you can be the first to know when new educational opportunities are available!

And, be sure to take your second action step and follow this new blog! Similar to the courses and books, each post will focus on one concept and provide an activity or two so you can practice what you learn on your own research.

So, what do you say? Are you in?

Head over to my Facebook page to discuss!

© Julie Tarr. This article was first published at Genealogy In Action; appearance of this article elsewhere, without my permission, violates copyright.