Solving my biggest problems with genealogy research

I've tried the shaky leaf, and the exhaustive searching......so now what?

This is the question I am asking myself in my research today.  Do I continue to visit the same sites and research the same names & keep running into the same information or do I try something different?

Even if I think I'm right about some of my information, I can't help thinking I'm completely wrong about others.

So I'm turning over a new leaf.

 (Ancestry members will find that funny.)

Here are my new rules of research:

1. Use my "know how".  I've tried to take a different look at my research.  Talk it out even.  Sometimes the records don't add up to what I already know or what I should know.  I have to go back to the beginning of my tree & review what I have versus what I need.  (Maybe it's time for a to-do list.)
2. Watch out for those shaky leaves.  I've screwed up so much of my tree saving info from someone elses tree.  I've spent months trying to decipher between what I've been able to prove and what someone else has guessed and saved to their tree.  
3. Get off my computer and go to the library.  I'm a teacher, so I know how much more I can get done with real books and library resources.  I can't let my Ancestry membership keep me from really researching my family tree.
4. Put away the old and look at the new.  Maybe the reason I can't find what I'm looking for is that I'm trying to hard.  I need to start looking for something new and maybe I'll find something I've been looking for.  (It works when I'm looking for my car keys.)
5. Treat my genealogy research like my second job.  I spend so much time trying to remember what I was working on last, that I don't get much done when I do have time.  I need to have a "research day" each week.

Any suggestions to add to my list?
Leave a comment below.