Hopefully you will have a productive year of searches and travels. Remember that everything is not on the Internet.
Most of us who have been doing this for 30, 40 or going on 50 years plus started before computers or the Internet. We had no choice but to write letters with SASEs (self-addressed stamped envelopes), travel to libraries, archives, cemeteries and anyplace else we could think of to do our research.
We got to see places where the ancestors lived and were buried. We might not have visited these places otherwise.
We had to be patient because we had no choice. We all have high hopes with our research but, we also have to be realistic. This is where we have to deal with delayed gratification or just plain disappointments.
Enjoy your searches and may they be fruitful.