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Last Updated November 2, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\n Ancestry 50% Off Gift Memberships for Black Friday (Gift to Anyone, Even Yourself!)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n By Patricia Hartley<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s every family historian\u2019s dream to one day devote all of our waking hours to our personal genealogy. Imagine waking up, pouring a hot cup of coffee, logging on to your computer, opening up ten tabs and just digging in for the next eight hours, starting where you left off the night before. Or maybe you take the day to visit family cemeteries or travel to a distant library or courthouse to continue your research. <\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, many of us don\u2019t have the luxury of unlimited time for genealogy\u2013at least not yet. Work, family, school, and other obligations often leave little time for hobbies, even those as precious to us as family history research. One of the many reasons genealogy becomes a lifetime pursuit is because the number of places, records, and people to discover outnumbers the number of hours available to find them.<\/span><\/p>\n So how can we get our research fix and still accomplish everything else we need to do in our day?<\/strong> One option is to follow a regimen that\u2019s popular with people looking to fit <\/span>exercise<\/span>, <\/span>jazz practice<\/span>,<\/span> journaling<\/span>, and even <\/span>baking artisan bread<\/span> into a busy schedule: try to carve out just fifteen minutes a day for your passion<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n Make Instant Discoveries in Your Family Tree Now Imagine adding your family tree to a simple website and getting hundreds of new family history discoveries instantly.<\/b><\/p>\n MyHeritage is offering 2 free weeks of access to their extensive collection of 20 billion historical records, as well as their matching technology that instantly connects you with new information about your ancestors<\/b>. Sign up using the link below to find out what you can uncover about your family. Discover New Genealogy Records Instantly<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Just think\u2026fifteen minutes a day for 365 days adds up to more than 90 hours of ancestor sleuthing each year! Of course, you can adapt this plan to fit your own available time. Do you have an hour each day instead \u2013 great! Plan to get even more done. Only have 5 minutes? No problem, scale things back but don\u2019t give up entirely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So how will you spend your fifteen minutes a day this year? Here, we present a full seven day\u2019s worth of ideas to get your family-finding sessions off to a great start. These are just ideas though \u2013 you should design a schedule that fits your<\/em> needs. <\/span><\/p>\n The best way to spend your first fifteen minutes is to get organized\u00a0 \u2013 because being clear about your goals will get you a lot further. <\/span><\/p>\n Start now by making a weekly list of goals \u2013 people to research, records to finds, tasks to complete\u00a0 \u2013 and check them off as you complete them each day. Use the following days in this list for inspiration on what to focus on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Each and every week, use your first 15 minutes<\/strong> to get organized for the rest of that week\u2019s days and make use of your organization system to stay on top of your plan. If you don\u2019t already have an organization system in place for your genealogy research you\u2019ll want to consider taking this online organization course just for family historians<\/strong>. It will make the job of staying on track easy.<\/p>\n Of course, any research is better than no research so, even if you\u2019re not a big fan of planning ahead, you can still make a lot of progress in your allotted time. But being very clear about what<\/strong> you want to accomplish and how<\/strong> you might go about it will always take you further.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 20 Billion Genealogy Records Are Free for 2 Weeks Get two full weeks of free access to more than 20 billion genealogy records right now. You\u2019ll also gain access to the MyHeritage discoveries tool that locates information about your ancestors automatically<\/b> when you upload or create a tree. What will you discover about your family\u2019s past?<\/p>\n Claim My Free Record Access Now<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n With only fifteen minutes to dedicate to your family history research each day, time management is key. Trying to work on more than one ancestor in that time period may prove overwhelming. A better use of your time would be to focus on only one family member each day and progress through your tree in an organized fashion with each additional day. <\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps you could start with your grandfather, then your great-grandfather, etc., following your father\u2019s paternal line as far as you can, then pick up your research with your father\u2019s maternal line.<\/span><\/p>\n What should you do with your fifteen minutes per family member? <\/span><\/p>\n That depends on what information you\u2019ve already gathered. For example, you probably have a lot of information on your grandfather \u2013 obviously one of your most recent ancestors. But how long has it been since you reviewed his profile for missing pieces of information or searched for new records? <\/span><\/p>\n Is the data you entered when you started your genealogy journey consistent with the format you\u2019ve adopted since then, and is it properly sourced? Even if you find no issues during your fact-checking, this review may reveal new clues or potential avenues of research you\u2019ve previously overlooked.<\/span><\/p>\n Most family historians have learned (sometimes the hard way) that proper planning is key to fruitful research. Picking a database or website at random and searching page by page for familiar surnames is frustrating and, frankly, a waste of your valuable time. Instead, use your fifteen minutes to list sources for future research using a research log.<\/span><\/p>\n Research logs come in a variety of formats; you can create your own in a spreadsheet program or download a <\/span>research log template from FamilySearch<\/span> or another provider\u2013it doesn\u2019t have to be fancy. <\/span><\/p>\n The value of a research log is the organization and tracking of what sources have and <\/span>have not<\/span><\/i> been reviewed or found. A typical log includes the date you reviewed a source, the place you found it, the purpose of your search, the library call number or other reference information, and the source itself, in addition to your findings.<\/span><\/p>\n Starting a research log is a great next step after you\u2019ve reviewed a particular ancestor\u2019s profile in a previous session and noted any missing information (see the first suggestion above). During your fifteen minutes, start a research log for that ancestor, notate a specific objective based on your earlier review, and list potential sources for that information. <\/span><\/p>\n For example, if you\u2019re searching for your second great-grandfather\u2019s date and place of death, you may include in your log to search probate records, cemetery records, or mortality schedules from reasonable time periods and counties. You can then devote future fifteen minute sessions to checking out each of these resources, one-by-one.<\/span><\/p>\n Even the most old-school family historian appreciates the hints that programs like MyHeritage, Ancestry and FamilySearch provide to alert researchers to new records that have been added to their vast databases or discovered based on updated search algorithms. Your fifteen-minute research window is a great time to review some of the leads these hints provide.<\/span><\/p>\n Remember, though, that no hint should be accepted blindly. Just because Ancestry suggests that the Ben Jones in a record might be your Benjamin A. Jones, Jr. doesn\u2019t automatically confirm that it\u2019s a match. <\/span><\/p>\n Spend your fifteen minutes opening and reviewing these records\u2013one ancestor at a time\u2013and carefully compare the information to what you\u2019ve already learned before hitting the \u201caccept\u201d or \u201cattach\u201d buttons. And for goodness sake, if your hint is another subscriber\u2019s online tree, consider all of the information within unreliable until you\u2019ve done your own due diligence on the facts.<\/span><\/p>\n For more help with this read\u00a0Another Person\u2019s Family Tree is Not a Valid Source or take Family History Daily\u2019s Ancestry Crash Course.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve completed a DNA test from AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, 23andMe, or another provider, your DNA profile is constantly being compared to that of every new person submitting their sample\u2013which means that you\u2019re likely to find new matches at least every few weeks. <\/span><\/p>\n Why not use one of your fifteen minute-family-frenzy sessions to check for new DNA cousins? If you find a new match, you have plenty of time to review the connection and even send a quick note to introduce yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re not quite up to research or review when your daily fifteen minutes roll around, use this time to learn a little more about what\u2019s new in genealogy research. <\/span>Read helpful articles<\/span> or\u00a0<\/span>catch a quick podcast or YouTube video from <\/span>Family Tree Magazine<\/span> or Lisa Louise Cooke\u2019s <\/span>Genealogy Gems series<\/span>.\u00a0 You might also like to take an online genealogy course. <\/span><\/p>\n Even the most seasoned genealogists can pick up a new tip or trick from another pro every now and then!<\/span><\/p>\n If you do nothing else on the final day of your research week, make sure you have backed up your tree and records \u2013 because it is a terrible thing to lose years of research. This guide will walk you through the four steps necessary to make that happen.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve already placed your backups on autopilot, or plan to only back up once a month, use your time today to catch up on things you couldn\u2019t complete during the week. Then, you\u2019ll be all ready to use day 1 to get organized for a new week of research!<\/strong><\/p>\n Related:<\/strong> 3 Signs You Should Scrap Your Family Tree and Start from Scratch<\/p>\n Originally published in Jan 2019, updated Dec 2020<\/em><\/p>\n For nearly 30 years\u00a0Patricia Hartley\u00a0<\/strong>has\u00a0researched and written about the ancestry and\/or descendancy of her personal family lines, those of her extended family and friends, and of historical figures in her community. After earning a B.S. in Professional Writing and English and an M.A. in English from the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama, she completed an M.A. in Public Relations\/Mass Communications from Kent State University. She\u2019s a member of the Alabama Genealogical Society, Association of Professional Genealogists, National Genealogical Society, International Society of Family History Writers, Tennessee Valley Genealogical Society, Natchez Trace Genealogical Society and the International Institute for Reminiscence and Life Review. She lives with her husband Doug, a firefighter and paramedic, on the beautiful Tennessee River. Patricia has two children, Jessica and Jamie, both graduates of the University of North Alabama.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 15 Minute Plan for Achieving Your Genealogy Goals Last Updated November 2, 2023 Ancestry 50% Off Gift Memberships for Black Friday (Gift to Anyone, Even Yourself!) By Patricia Hartley It\u2019s every family historian\u2019s dream to one day devote all of our waking hours to our personal genealogy. Imagine waking up, pouring a hot cup […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2],"class_list":["post-228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-guides","tag-db"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":231,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228\/revisions\/231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The 15 Minute Plan for Achieving Your Genealogy Goals<\/h1>\n
Day 1: Get Organized<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Day 2: Focus On and Fact-Check Only One Ancestor<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Day 3: Start a Log for Future Research<\/b><\/h3>\n
Day 4: Follow the Leads<\/b><\/h3>\n
Day 5: Review Your DNA Matches<\/b><\/h3>\n
Day 6: Brush Up on Your Skills<\/b><\/h3>\n
Day 7: Back Up<\/strong><\/h3>\n