Keeping up with the . . . BEARDSELLs, KRIEBELs, LEARNs, LINDSEYs, RAMERs, STARRs . . .

Some people spend their days keeping up with the Jones(es); you know, they always seemingly have the latest and greatest . . . and, we need to have it too.  But, if you are, like me, a genealogist, you know that we spend a lot of time keeping up with . . . or trying to keep up with, our family research.

Sometimes my ancestors and their families are cooperative.  The research, the documentation and the information gleaned, steadily flow and you can methodically plot their timeline and their stories.  And, you keep up, until you’ve reached that point that the information – for the time being – has dried up.  You then move on to the next ancestor and their family. 

But, sometimes genealogy moves fast and furious.  You are working on your research of an ancestor - you’ve come across a wealth of information - and suddenly a wealth of information comes in on another ancestor and another and another and . . . While you appreciate all the information that is daily becoming available, you quickly become overwhelmed and are having a hard time keeping up with it.  And, them all.

Throughout this year I have had this happen to me time and time again.  And, there have been times – I am currently at this point – where information coming in is at a virtual standstill, but more often this year, I’ve had the opposite experience; information becoming available online or I’ve had reasonable to great success in locating and obtaining information when I have traveled to my ancestral locals for more traditional research. And, that information at times comes in, at what seems to me, record speed; I try to keep up but review of documents and recording confirmed information, etc. takes time and sometimes it seems that I am getting this information so fast that I can’t keep up!  So much so that I have come close to yelling STOP!  Don’t worry, I never do, because I am very aware that others do not have this happening for them right now, and I am really, really, grateful for my research successes this year.

Right now, information flow on my ancestors is at a virtual standstill; it has been this way for over a month and I am currently struggling to stay excited about my research – have I reached / has my research reached burn-out?  I find myself, and I think this post was motivated by my wanting to remind myself, that I have had a lot of successes in researching and documenting my ancestors and their stories this past year; and, that this slow period will pass.

How do you all handle the ebb and flow – which sometimes happens at an accelerated pace?  How do you keep yourself motivated and excited during the slow times?