Assess Your Goals Midyear to Evaluate Your Progress
Brenda Kellow
August 08, 2010

At the first of every year, I always select my goals to accomplish for the New Year. I hope that each of you has been dedicated to reaching these. Still others, like me, may have gotten off track. If that is the case, the midyear is the time for a reality check.

Did you accomplish what you expected in this first six months of 2010? Are you still struggling with some of these? I am. Many things including writing a book constantly pose problems. The progress is not what I expected, but I still work toward my goals. There is some progress. The midyear is a chance to review where we are in reaching our goals to see what we have accomplished, how much more we need to do, and how we want to achieve it.

Are you where you wanted to be at this time? Are you happy with your progress? Were your goals too ambitious for this first six months? Personally, I did not estimate the sizable amount of time I would spend away from my computer. I am not writing the six hours a day I had planned, however, I keep writing every chance that I get.

Last year I finished three books on my family history. I sent a copy of each to the counties each family lived and to the National Archives for copyright purposes. Last year I began sending a CD of each book to the Family History Library in Salt Lake in hopes they will take my electronic family history and place it on their digitized archives online. I hope to have another ready to send in December or January of next year.

I have completed one goal I did not finish last year: to organize my office, desk, and filing cabinets. I worked on the organization first because I was finding it hard to locate things. Someone asked the question a few weeks back, “Can you find anything in 30 seconds?” Of course, I could not. That statement motivated me to be consistent about tossing immediately papers or mail I do not need and file the important pieces so that I can quickly put my hands on what I need. It works. By taking control of my organization, I am spending more time writing, and less time hunting.

I went through all the old items I had placed in storage during the last five years and tossed all I did not need any more. By culling these old files, I have room to store newer items. After spending the time necessary to organize, I know where everything is located in my desk, supply cabinet, file cabinets, film cabinet and CD shelves. I have an index of content stapled to each file folder to lessen the time spent in finding things. We have to stay organized in order to continue to work. Without organization, things just do not happen.

Evaluating your goals midyear is necessary to maintain your progress. By evaluating the targets I set for the beginning of this year, I have a ‘road map’ showing where I want to be, and what I want to accomplish by the end of the year. Decide now what you want to accomplish for each of the remaining months so that each day you can work toward that objective. By using our time wisely, we can make the most of each day and month. Reaching goals is a day-by-day job.

TEXAS STONE CARVED IN ANCIENT PICTISH TRADITION: The Scottish Society of Dallas is hosting the dedication ceremony of the Texas Tartan Day commemorative stone, carved by California stone carver Mr. Frank Maurer. Maurer created a stone for each state to commemorate National Tartan Day in the United States. The Texas state stone, carved from Texas limestone from the same quarry that our state capital’s interior stone, has symbols meaningful to our state and our Scottish heritage. The ceremony will take place in the large program room in the W. O. Haggard Library on August 18 at 6 p.m. If you plan to attend, email John Aiken, president of the Scottish Society of Dallas, aitken.j@att.net.

Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: TracingOurRoots@gmail.com.