Frustrations Doing Genealogical Research

I've just started researching my genealogy and have discovered several things that, had I realized their importance earlier, would have lessened some of my current frustrations:

I can't rely on anyone else's work. EVERYONE makes mistakes, even I; therefore even though it's helpful to review other people's work, it's necessary to make my own conclusions.

When reviewing credible sources, it's possible to find differences in information that should be identical (again because everyone makes mistakes), therefore, from the very beginning, I should have cited sources for the information obtained. Much easier to go back and figure out what makes sense!

Even though I may not be interested in the siblings or other children of my direct ancestors, it's helpful to record their names; sometimes that's the only way to distinguish between individuals with identical names.

There's lots of information on the Internet, even whole genealogical books. Rather than handwriting my notes, it's probably better to type them (even if I have to print them out to look at them side by side). That way I can add info easily using my preferred organizational format (after figuring out theirs). I'll probably type on my laptop and review info on my tablet.

And most importantly...

I need to set a time limit each day or else I'll never get anything else done. This is great fun, but where did my weekend go!?!?

Posted by Note Taker