It’s the last day of April and the last day of this month’s 30 x 30 challenge, in which we tried to do 30 minutes of genealogy-related activity every day for 30 days. If you participated, please share: how did it go?
I had an extraordinarily good month. Perhaps because I was so focused on genealogy as I was getting my new guide ready to to publish next week, I actually worked on my genealogy research every single day! I averaged 30 minutes a day (33 minutes 34 seconds, to be precise) for the month, though some sessions were as short as five minutes.
My goal this month was to get through my backlog of unprocessed documents. I came so close! I started the month with 112 documents in my backlog and I now have 10. And those I think I can knock out by Monday. One of the reasons I was able to do it was my vow not to add to my backlog by downloading more documents. I did download nine documents over the course of the month, but they were necessary in order to make connections that allowed me to process the documents in my backlog. I kept a follow up note in my research log for clues to follow up on after this challenge is over, which helped a lot.
I kept a spreadsheet (in Numbers on my Mac), which I found very motivating. It allowed me to see how close I was getting to my goal of eliminating my backlog and my goal of spending an average of 30 minutes a day researching. Here’s a screenshot, in case it’s of interest. (Click on it to make it larger.)
The spreadsheet really illustrates how you can chip away at a backlog little by little. I intend to process the remaining 10 documents in my backlog and I’m going to try hard to process documents the same session I download them so I don’t build up another backlog.
I’m feeling great about my month and I hope you are too! Please let me know in the comments how your challenge went and whether you found it beneficial.
I feel good about my month even though I didn’t quite get finished either. I was able to watch one video each week from the Family Mag Winter Conference and I’ve spent lots of time researching my dad’s grandparents for the cemetery tour. I’ve discovered a lot of details I didn’t know before so I’ll have plenty of info from which to draw. Only problem is I only get 10 minutes per station to share so I’ll have to decide what to focus on. A good problem. Happy May! Z
That sounds like a very successful month, Zenda. Congrats! (And have fun with the cemetery tour!)
Best 30×30 ever! (Okay, it’s only my second, but…). I emptied my Ancestry shoe box from 19 pages to 4! The 40 odd docs left are things that could be or might not be a relative, but I won’t know until I get documents for proof. (And I updated my “To Get from Family History Library” as I went, as well as loading the files into FTM and my computer files.) To top it all off, I kept a log (in Numbers) so I know what to start on with the next 30×30.
In the meantime, well, I might chase a bright shiny object or two. (Made a list of those too.). Thank you, Janine, for your inspiration!
Janet, that’s fantastic!! That kind of progress feels so good, doesn’t it? Congrats! Enjoy those BSOs!
Great month as able to research every day. Reduced my backlog of old files to 6. Did take time an organized digital photo file labels so next month I can start to work each file reviewing labeling and content. Initial saving of files was not well organized. Spent some of my time on organizing actual pictures for scanning. I still have work ahead of me but one day at a time. Liked your idea of thee spreadsheet so I started one on my IPad.
What a productive month, Patricia! It sounds like you got so much done! Daily effort can be so beneficial.
I have managed to do good this time. I am in the process of revamping my genealogy organization. Sometimes I feel like it will take forever not just 30 days.
Revamping your genealogy organization might take more than 30 days, Carol, but if you keep at it, it will get done! I think working on it daily is really valuable because it gets easier and easier. Congrats on your success this month!
Finished a thirty + page “book” on an ancestor that I started in January. Four pages of footnotes from sources collected over the course of over 40 years, so was determined to get this done. It was amazing how many things could be found online about this one ancestor through newspaper articles, census, marriage, Find A Grave, ten children etc. Worked on it almost every morning–which helped produce final results.
Appreciate your posts to encourage results. Great ideas.
Bravo, Joan! That’s quite an achievement! So glad the my posts have been helpful!!
It was a good 30 day challenge. Managed to complete some of my carryover goals from 2019/2020. Will continue to work on these carryovers. On my to do list that I keep on Trello, I started to put dates so that I will know how long the item has been outstanding. Per your prior suggestion on listening to webinars, I have established Tuesday nights as the time to listen to webinars on genealogy. On the last day of this challenge, I wasted 2 hours of my genealogy time. I was downloading a Civil War pension file (61 pages). After I downloaded I started to check the pages and it downloaded as web pages and not by document. I am currently I am redoing it correctly. Oh Well. Live and learn.
That sounds like a great month, Jerry! Great job sticking with your goals. Even with the trouble, how exciting that you’re downloading a Civil War pension file!
I enjoy reading what everyone has been up to this month. It’s nice to think that others are working on their project while I work on my project.
I think I missed two days total for the month but that time was easily made up. I went through my mother’s maternal line updating and adding records to my tree. In the process of using online hints and then confirming them through records, newspapers, and DNA, I was able to add another sibling to a 3rd great-grandfather and one to a 4th great grandmother! I still have a lot to do before I can start doing the same thing on my mother’s paternal line. I keep saying to myself, “Slow and steady wins the race.”
You’re right–slow and steady does win the race! But it’s exciting, isn’t it, to be able to add new people to the tree. I did that this month too and it felt great. Thanks for your comment. I, too, love reading what everyone’s done this month.
I was successful in my 30 x 30 (actually averaged 2 hours/day) challenge even though I didn’t complete my research project. I discovered it will require a site visit to get the land records and tax records I need. However, I was successful with my education — watching RootsTech sessions, some of the 24 hr marathon sessions with Legacy FamilyTree Webinars, and reviewing sessions with Family Locket.
Thanks for making this 30×30 available. I’m looking forward to the next challenge.
Over two hours a day! That’s tremendous. So glad you had such a good month for your research and your education! Keep an eye out for a June 30 x 30.
I’ll be ready — that might include my on-site research to hopefully complete my current research project. Thanks so much.
Unfortunately it didn’t go well at all for me, there was too much going on in April and I didn’t managed every day, and didn’t really make progress in my goals. However, I am picking up and giving it a go for May, with more success I hope.
Missy, that’s happened to me! Sometimes the months just don’t work out. Good luck with a May reset. I do plan to do another 30 x 30 in June, just fyi.
I had a pretty good month for me. While I didn’t get the videos done, I did work on some of them and I managed to do 30 minutes of research over the equivalent of 22 days. Here’s to more research in the next coming months!
Good job giving yourself credit for all the research you did! Congrats on a good month.
I was working on a Descendent Tree for an ancestor born in Scotland in 1773. He had 4 sons and 2 daughters. So far, I have 2 sons and 1 daughter done. It’s really amazing how far the family has gone. Descendents in Scotland, England, Australia, Canada and United States. I have 434 people so far. One of the most interesting things has been reading the obituaries associated with some of these people. I worked everyday and plan on continuing until I get everybody in the tree. I am doing this for my 90 year old mother who was interested in her father’s family in Canada.
Congrats on researching every day! And congrats on getting half the sons and daughters completed! I think it’s lovely that you’re doing this for your mother. That’s beautiful.