I’m feeling the need again for a 30 x 30 challenge so that I make daily research a priority again. In my 30 x 30 challenges I challenge myself (and anyone who wants to join me) to doing 30 minutes of genealogy every day for 30 days.

I find that when I have a challenge going I’m much more likely to prioritize doing research and get it done first thing in the morning. When I don’t have the outer and inner accountability that a 30 x 30 challenge brings, I sometimes put genealogy research on the back burner.

I love doing my research each day in small bites because it keeps me engaged in my research and usually means that I don’t fall down a rabbit hole in marathon research sessions.

So who would like to join me on October 1? You can work on an organizing task or just do research or whatever else feels beneficial.

Let me know in the comments if you’d like to join me!

It’s the end of the month! The 30 x 30 challenge officially ended yesterday. I wanted to check in today and out how this summer’s challenge went. Were you able to do something genealogy-related every day for 30 days? Please report in the comments!

I’ll start: The challenge was tremendous for me. It was just what I needed to refocus. Having made this commitment, I made sure to do the research every morning, before I got going with other stuff during the day. I find that if I want to get something done, I need to do it first thing in the morning.

Whereas prior to this challenge, according to my research log, I hadn’t researched in two weeks, this month I blogged each and every day, save one. I did have one early-morning client appointment that prompted me to eschew research until later in the day. But after eight hours of leading a decluttering team that day, I was too brain dead to research. So I did miss one day. But overall I felt great about the challenge.

I notice that when I research a little bit every day, I stay in touch with my research and I don’t get overwhelmed. Also with daily research I always know what I’m going to work on when I get started (since it’s been just a day since my last session). That makes makes getting started much easier. It’s a huge benefit to daily research.

Even though the challenge is officially over, I’m going to try to continue with the daily research.

I’d love to hear how it went for those of you who decided to participate this month!

My life has been a bit hectic and genealogy research has dropped to the bottom of the priority list. My antidote to that? A new 30 x 30 challenge!

Who wants to join me? In the 30 x 30 challenge, I commit to doing 30 minutes of genealogy research (or genealogy organizing) every day for 30 days. This challenge will start on Sunday, July 1 and end on Monday, July 30.

Whenever I make this commitment, my research goes to the top of my priority list (which usually means I do it first thing in the morning) and my genealogy productivity and enjoyment skyrockets.

Please comment below if you’d like to join me in the challenge. Mid-month I’ll post a progress report. Here’s to a July full of fun genealogy research!