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Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

Let’s start an April 30 x 30 challenge

March 30, 2018 By Janine Adams 37 Comments

Time to start a new 30 x 30 challenge! Would you like to join me in committing to doing 30 minutes of genealogy research (or organizing genealogy research, or doing anything genealogy related) every day for 30 days? We’ll start on April 1 and end on April 30.

I’d been doing really well with daily research for seven months, into late March. But then my father had a health crisis, which caused me to drop everything and travel to Washington state. He’s fine now, but I stuck around to take him to follow up appointments and make sure he’s okay. I’ve been here almost a week and haven’t had an opportunity to do any research at all. So a 30 x 30 challenge will help me get back into the groove. I return home on April 2 and I’ll do my best to get some research time in on April 1. (I’m hampered here by the fact he doesn’t have wifi in his condo.)

Who’s in? If you’d like to join the challenge, make a comment below. Feel free to share what your commitment is; customize the challenge so it works for you. For me, I’ll either research or organize my research in those 30 minutes daily.

Filed Under: Challenges Tagged With: 30 x 30, time management

Comments

  1. Gwen Jackson says

    March 30, 2018 at 1:29 pm

    I’m joining the challenge and will work on researching my Guffy ancestors at least 30 minutes for 30 days.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      March 30, 2018 at 2:01 pm

      Excellent, Gwen!

      Reply
  2. Julie Bird says

    March 30, 2018 at 3:43 pm

    I’m in. Just what I needed and so timely for me. Fun and achievable! Thank you Janine.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      March 31, 2018 at 9:37 am

      You’re welcome, Julie! I’m all about fun and achievable!

      Reply
  3. nancyhvest says

    March 30, 2018 at 3:56 pm

    I keep saying I’m going to do it, then I don’t. It’s like a game of 52 Card Pickup with 4 decks at my house since my husband passed away. Seriously. But I will try harder to do the 30 x 30 this time. I need it.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      March 31, 2018 at 9:38 am

      I’m sorry to hear of your husband’s passing, Nancy. Any progress you make this month is progress! Glad you’re joining us.

      Reply
  4. Faye Knoblick says

    March 30, 2018 at 5:10 pm

    My plan is to do family research each and every day, concentrating on one family for two weeks, move on to another family, etc. until I have covered them all and then start over with the first family and so on.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      March 31, 2018 at 9:38 am

      Glad you’re joining us, Faye. That sounds like a good plan to maintain your focus.

      Reply
  5. Zenda says

    March 30, 2018 at 6:05 pm

    I’m going to give it a try this time. I’ll be working on organizing and uploading the documents I already have and trying to write up a supplemental DAR ancestor this month. Wish me luck!

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      March 31, 2018 at 9:39 am

      Great, Zenda! Good luck!

      Reply
  6. El says

    March 30, 2018 at 10:38 pm

    Count me in on this. I have done great at researching, but my filing and organization have gone by the wayside, so this will get me on track.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      March 31, 2018 at 9:39 am

      Excellent, El. You can get a whole lot of filing and organizing done in a month if you work 30 minutes a day!

      Reply
  7. Linda Freeto says

    March 31, 2018 at 12:05 pm

    I have done some genealogy off and on over the years, and the results are in boxes piled up all over the house — we just moved into a new house. My intent is to get everything into my new office and begin over. So I will be doing some research and a lot of organizing.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      March 31, 2018 at 3:13 pm

      Glad you’re joining us, Linda. Good luck with your efforts!

      Reply
  8. Susan R. Norwood says

    March 31, 2018 at 7:39 pm

    This sounds like a great idea! I can safely say I waste at least 30 minutes a day so this may be a good challenge for myself to stop wasting time and fill it with something I want to do anyway…but put off till after I waste time. lol I’m in for organizing and scanning and transcribing and…too many things to list but I am definitely in!

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      April 1, 2018 at 8:13 am

      Excellent, Susan! I hope you find it really beneficial!

      Reply
  9. David Fernley says

    April 1, 2018 at 1:10 am

    I’m in!

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      April 1, 2018 at 8:14 am

      Great, David!

      Reply
  10. Jerry says

    April 1, 2018 at 3:21 pm

    Just read about the challenge. Since my genealogy is so sporadic, I look forward to the next 30 days. Will concentrate on entering US Census data for the years 1880, 1900, and 1910.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      April 1, 2018 at 3:50 pm

      That sounds great, Jerry. Welcome to the challenge!

      Reply
  11. Joy Beer says

    April 2, 2018 at 7:01 am

    My 30×30 will be to do ONLY 30 minutes a day, and here’s the rub. I’ve been spinning my wheels doing searches, not always logging them… and I need a break from poring through the nli Irish Parish Registers and losing time on the rest of my life. So, I will set a 30 minute time each day and ask myself, “What can you do in 30 minutes that will make you happier after you’ve done it?” That’s it.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      April 2, 2018 at 8:02 am

      I love your twist on this, Joy!

      Reply
  12. Kace says

    April 2, 2018 at 7:50 am

    I’m in! I LOVE Faye’s idea of looking at a different family line each 2 weeks! There is a Family Reunion at the end of the month that illness prevents me from attending, so I’ll become part of it with this!

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      April 2, 2018 at 8:03 am

      Great, Kace! I love that this challenge will help you feel a part of the family reunion you can’t attend!

      Reply
  13. Ron Kawalilak says

    April 2, 2018 at 8:36 am

    I’m in. I have recently received the WWII service records for my Dad (age 98) and two of his brothers, and I’m working my way through them. That’s my focus for April.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      April 2, 2018 at 8:46 am

      Enjoy those records, Ron! Glad you’ll be participating.

      Reply
  14. Emily says

    April 2, 2018 at 2:09 pm

    Late entry here. I did 45 minutes yesterday and over an hour today. I am also working on my Dad’s WWII service.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      April 3, 2018 at 1:49 pm

      Not late at all, Emily. Welcome to the challenge!

      Reply
  15. Georgette Lamb says

    April 3, 2018 at 2:21 pm

    I just saw your post on Pinterest. A little late to the challenge but I’m in. I’ll see if I can add the hour that I missed Apr 1 and 2.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      April 3, 2018 at 2:34 pm

      Excellent. Welcome, Georgette!

      Reply
  16. terrysthinking says

    April 4, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    Hi Janine, Count me in. I am a bit late to the party – but have been working on a geneology photo project for the last four days – clocking in about 24 hours so far.

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      April 4, 2018 at 3:42 pm

      Welcome to the challenge, Terry! Look forward to hearing your progress. (24 hours on genealogy photos in four days is truly impressive!)

      Reply
  17. Catherine Weinraub says

    April 12, 2018 at 10:35 pm

    I know it’s past the first but just found this link .is it too late to join?

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      April 13, 2018 at 7:12 am

      Absolutely! Welcome to the challenge! I’d suggest you make your 30 days extend from April 13 to May 12. Same benefit!

      Reply
  18. Jo Ann Murray says

    April 18, 2018 at 8:42 pm

    I would love to do this

    Reply
    • Janine Adams says

      April 19, 2018 at 7:10 am

      Join us! You can start today and end of May 18, if you’d like.

      Reply
      • Jo Ann Murray says

        April 19, 2018 at 8:20 pm

        Awesome

        Reply

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about me

I'm Janine Adams, a professional organizer and a genealogy enthusiast. I love doing family history research, but I find it's very easy for me to get overwhelmed and not know where to turn next. So I'm working hard to stay organized and feel in control as I grow my family tree.

In this blog, I share my discoveries and explorations, along with my organizing challenges (and solutions). I hope by sharing what I learn along the way I'll be able to help you stay focused and have fun while you do your research, too.

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