It’s last day of October. (October felt very long to me!) For those of you who participated in the 30 x 30 challenge in which you committed to doing 30 minutes of genealogy research for 30 days in a row (or some variation, at your discretion), I’d love to hear how the challenge went for you!
As I mentioned in my mid-month update, I had a blockbuster first half of the month. The only day I failed to research in the first 26 days of the challenge was (ironically enough) the day I posted that update. I had two trips in October, one to Walla Walla to visit my dad for a week followed shortly by a five-day trip to New York City to pal around with my college buddies (which was heaven). I managed daily research all the way to my penultimate day in New York, which was October 26. But when I got home after so much travel I had to hit the ground running with appointments and other obligations for my organizing business. So I’m ending the month with a whimper.
But I’m very proud that I researched 25 out of the first 26 days of the month. I love how daily research keeps me connected with my ancestors and my research.
In November I’ll be working every day on my novel for National Novel Writing Month, so I’m thinking I won’t get a lot of genealogy research done. Maybe I’ll surprise myself. I think I’ll start another 30 x 30 challenge in January. I hope you’ll join me!
In the meantime, please report in, if you’d like!
Discovered a 2nd cousin that I knew nothing about. Turns out we were both researching our shared great grandparents. We’ve exchanged emails and are corresponding. When I started Ancestry, I was simply fascinated by my history. However, I never anticipated finding new living relatives!
That’s just wonderful, Darren!
I did great the first 25 days also. We won’t talk about the last 5. I am slowly whittling away my paper piles. I am in for November, although with a couple of trips, I won’t be quite as successful. Thanks for the challenges!
Maybe what I need to do is have a 25 x 25 challenge! LOL. Even if you and I didn’t manage 30 days, I think we should be proud of our efforts for 25 days!
I’m thrilled with the results of my first 30 x 30 challenge. I spent a total of 60.5 hours involved in a variety of activities: 1) did a “look over” of the sources I had for my father, Joseph Clarence Guffy; 2) became more familiar with my software program (Legacy 9) by entering new sources and their citations; 3) attended 5 genealogy webinars; and 4) read a variety of genealogy blogs. Thank you so much for the challenge—it’s exactly what I needed to get back into my genealogy search/research. I plan to continue my 30 x 30 challenge log for November!
Over two hours a day, Gwen? That’s amazing! So glad the challenge was helpful.
Great month, worked on moving and organizing my old digital files to my new computer. Also tackled a stack of loose paper files so I can digitize more quickly. Think I’ll keep working a little each day until the holidays arrive. Thank you for the encouragement.
Fantastic, Patty!!
I got more blog posts finished and up in October than I’ve ever done in a single month (5), including one about a stubborn brick wall. Through the wonderful new site, Walk My Past, somebody on the ground in Scotland kindly did some research for me and solved my mystery! I’m beyond thrilled. So it was a great month all around!
That’s amazing! So glad October was such a great month for you!