30 x 30 challenge: Mid-month check in

We’re 18 days into the August 2017 30 x 30 challenge, in which participants are trying to do 30 minutes of research (or organizing or anything else genealogy related) for 30 days. How are things going?

I’m delighted to report that I’ve not missed a day of research. This feels especially good because this past week I had a huge team organizing project–a whole-house transformation that took my team and me four full-day sessions to complete. I had to leave the house at 7:15 am most days and didn’t get home until after 6. But I got up a little earlier than I otherwise would to get my research in. On a couple of days I did just ten minutes of research to get the ball rolling and finished the other 20 minutes in the evening.

Here’s what I’ve noticed: Since I’ve been too busy to do research for more than 30 minutes at a time much of this month, I find that I’m staying a lot more focused. I don’t have to worry about falling down the rabbit hole of chasing shiny objects, because I just don’t have time. Instead, when I come across something new, I take a note of it in my research log so I can check it later. Every morning, the first thing I do when I start my research is check the log, so I’ve been able to stay focused.

How about you? Nine readers jumped on the bandwagon in the comments when I posted the challenge on August 1. How’s it going? Have you been able to keep it up? If you missed a day, did you go right back? I’d love to hear about your successes and about any challenges I might be able to help with!