What is your Wiki Routine?

Question

I hear so many stories about people following paths and falling down rabbit holes and I myself definitely heard a white furry creature with long ears and a pocket watch mumbling about being late for an important date right before finding myself in Wikitree Woods. It's got me thinking about routines and how you organise your time on here. In the literary world there are planners and pansters (as in fly by the seat of). Which are you and where do you begin tackling the mountain of things to do?

Comments

You make me smile in real life :)

---

The feeling is mutual Keith :-)

---

I like this! Mags

---

Fun Question. I keep my computer up and on Wikitree all day if  I I am at home. I have to place a time next to me when I get  on the Tree. Because I would  stay on longer doing research. (LOL). I am like that saying a kid in a candy store ( or what ever your thing is)   the Tree amazes me. I  find something in my family that other`s have placed. I have found   cousins  and we even message each other. It is great.

Mary Ann

---

I have to set my alarm for every 30 mins to remind me to stand up and do something else for a minute. Definitely a kid in a candy story. :-)

Answer 1

I have my day scheduled around the time I have volunteered for different projects like Greeters, Integrators, Messengers, Volunteer Coordinators, Cemetery Project, G2G Forum and between these I am answering request for Mentor help or working on my tree. So you could say I stay in the WikiTree Woods most of the day and venture out occasionally to do my honey do's. I have a dog and not a rabbit.

Comments

Nice David. You do so much for Wikitree. What kind of dog do you have?

---

We  have a Terrier mix that we adopted from the SPCA animal shelter, her name is Sariah but we call her Sarah.

Answer 2

I am afraid to say I am definitely a panster.  I have a few scheduled projects, but otherwise, what I work on depends on what is calling the loudest for my attention and how many emails I have received from members in need of assistance.  I do try to rotate my project activities so everything is getting a little bit of my attention, but I am beginning to wonder if I will ever finish anything this way?

I have yet to find a good way to manage my time on WikiTree when every activity is like a piece of candy in a candy store.  If anyone has a winning solution, I am all ears :-)

Comments

You and me both Emma. I'm secretly hoping someone will come up with a magically timetable for my day when I work efficiently and achieve loads lol.

---

I posted something similar not too long ago with the same hope.  Sadly no go.  Maybe this time :-)

Answer 3

I just tend to loosely prioritise my wiki-tree work day by day and by which challenge I'm working on.

So Saturdays I focus on biobuilding unsourced profiles from the unsourced categories.

The other days I focus on building back my direct ancestor's profiles (I didn't upload a gedcom, but started from scratch as I was determined to build fully sourced complete bios for each person before creating the next...with complete citations)

At the moment I am trying to work on ancestors who have original documentation (parish registers/bishop's transcripts) available on family search which could be retracted at any time as so many have been taken off in the last few months without notice.

Then I work on the biobuilder's monthly challenge. But I have no set time frame! p.s. I have 3 free range rescue house bunnies but no dog lol

Comments

That's amazing that you rescued the bunnies! I uploaded a GEDcom but never imported it. I realised accuracy was important to me and it was ultimately quicker to do it your way. I still have some profiles with only one source but I'm not aware of managing any unsourced profiles. There's nothing more satisfying than polishing a fully fleshed out bio though. :-)

Answer 4

Answer the mail first. Sometimes can take most of the day. If we've been out and about add some of the pictures we've taken. Then try and improve some of the profiles on the watchlist, oldest first. Sadly few of mine are complete. Sometimes it gets tedious (there are boring profiles out there, I've discovered). Check in on G2G. All the time I'm thinking I should just complete something but I made the beginner's mistake of adding too many profiles in the first place.

Comments

Don't worry, none of us have arrived at the bottom of our in-trays and to-do lists, whether we important all our profiles or created them from scratch. Every little bit you do to improve them and the site is a gift to generations to come that would not be there otherwise. :-)

---

Wish my children saw it like that!

---

There's still time... When my Grandfather first showed me all 17 volumes of what he lovingly referred to as the "Patriarchal Papers," I glazed over and pretended to be interested. I was 19 and much more interested in the living than the dead. Now I'm pouring over his work with so much gratitude in my heart for the countless hours of work he has done. If only I could tell him now how much it means to me. Trust me, someone will one day be so very grateful to you as I am of my grandfather now...

Answer 5

Nav Home Page is bookmarked, so I always start there. Check what has been going on, and then scroll down to the bottom of the page and hit g2g.

Once I have 'done' g2g, it's back to Nav page. If I am Rangering, I open up a couple of tabs with related pages, and take a look around.

Then... I try and remember which dang profile I was working on, and what I was going to do with it.

Comments

Have you created a "to-do" list on Wikitree? Here's mine although it needs updating a bit. I find it really helpful in knowing what I am working on and how complete my profiles are. It was imported straight from my watchlist and then I edited it into groups of people I am helping / working on.

---

I love the to do list feature.  I need to use it more!

---

I need to up-date mine! I feel inspired with all this chat! :-)

---

Good idea. Something I need to do.

Answer 6

Generally, I have no specific schedule. I alternate between checking G2G & then integrating any findings into the Wikitree data base.

Comments

You have given so much to Wikitree Doug. Thank you! :-)

Answer 7

I am still new to WikiTree, today is my 3 week anniversary. I bounce around looking through help, style guide, space:source, and G2G for learning. Otherwise I work on finding sources and updating biographies for my ancestors, focusing on those existing Profiles which came from someone's GEDCOM or which have errors. I have adopted a couple of orphan ancestors. I research from the iPad and update from the computer.

In other words, I add to the workload of Greeters, Mentors, etc. with the ultimate goal of making contributions that eventually might reduce that workload.

Comments

Happy anniversary Kay! Sounds like you are doing brilliantly. It is a steep learning curve at first but you are over the hump. It's great having you here in the Woods :-)

---

LOL Kay!  Welcome to WikiTree.  It will all be good in the end :-)

---

Thanks. I have just about finished cleaning up a conflated ancestor. Yippee! Once I get him all straight, I'm going to put him in my (very trimmed) public cousin bait tree on Ancestry so the fixes can replicate themselves. Now to work on his descendants. There are so many great links here to sources, what a find!

---

That's sounds so exciting Kay! :-)

Answer 8

First stop is Nav Home Page, so I can thank as many people as I possibly can ;o)

Then I go to G2G, to see if there are any questions that a) might interest me, b) are to do with the UK, so I might be able to help, c) both.

Then my week is split into my ONSs.  EditBot was just having a manic episode, so I've got my work cut out for me. :(

Then everything else, each day. :o)

Comments

I'm UK too! You might have to explain ONSs and Edit Bot to me. I'm a bit of a ditz when it comes to tech stuff.

---

ONSs = One Name Studies

EditBot = a creation of the magical Aleš, which zooms through profiles and categories and does the work of one person in just a few hours.  I think we should rename it Shazam!

---

How about "Velox" - Latin for "Quick?" :-)

Answer 9

Everyday starts with emails - Business, WikiTree and Personal. This leads me to do things on WikiTree no matter the email. So I award badges, answer queries from PM's and emails and add information for family and clients.

Since I use WikiTree as my Genealogy Program, period, my schedule is dictated by what my email says it is. Then I work on whatever needs attention after I am done my email, whether client or Family or WikiTree or Blog or... until I have to stop working to spend time with my family.

BUT - HOLD THE PRESS

I have been thinking about getting a whiteboard so I don't miss the stuff that my emails don't move me toward. Like I have a client who never - literally never - emails me and I have to keep them in the back of my mind so I don't forget to work on their Genealogy.

One year at Roots Tech, WikiTreer Randy Seaver ran down his daily schedule for us. Crazy strict about doing "this" (at some ungodly morning hour) and "this" at this time for this long. He is incredibly successful and his way works for him. Which is a part of why I am thinking a white board to keep things in front of my face would be a good thing.

Mags

Comments

My white board / peg board is on the floor of my office waiting to be hung on the wall! It's partly because I think it will be useful to visually see what needs to be done, and partly because it gives me an excuse to go out and buy more pens. (I love stationary almost as much as I love genealogy). :-)

---

Maybe you could investigate Trello which is the on-your-screen version of a whiteboard? (Although I agree with Susie, - LOVE stationery. I don't care about going clothes shopping - just show me an office supplies shop and I start drooling LOL)

---

I just can't walk past Paperchase / Office Depot / W H Smiths (other stationary suppliers available) without going in and coming out with pens, paper, notebooks etc. I now have to try and restrict myself to a new pencil case every September and what I can fit in it. Rather like back to school. I get very excited about it! lol

---

Susie and Ros, we must all be related :-)  I love office supplies!  I have had to reform from overbuying and stocking them.  Besides, it is more fun to go out and buy fresh when needed!

---

Donate your extras to your local Salvation Army post.  Ours is currently
furnishing back to school supplies for children from families that need a boost.  They continue to replenish supplies through out the year as needed
for the children.  There is another program that also furnishes filled, new, backpacks for the school opening.  However, I disagree with their idea of not requiring financial need, anyone who shows up walks away with one.

---

Thanks for that Beulah. I'll have to check to see if they are doing that here in the UK too.

Answer 10

Sorry to say but, I'm not as dedicated as a lot of folks here.  Meaning, I have somewhat of a daily computer schedule and Wikitree is a part of that but WT is on the same footing as my other interests ... World News, Stock Market (Yikes it's in the dumper the last couple of days ... lol), e-mail.

On the Wikitree front, I always check my 'Family Activity Feed' to see if I need to check out any profiles.  Then I go through G2G and help where I can ... or, learn something!!  If it's Tuesday, I'll check out my error report and fix up some things but I'm not obsessed!  Add some family profiles ... I'm lucky to have a two volume book on the Jewetts of America ... wow! I'm into the second volume (9th generation).  I've really slacked off on my Canadian History Project efforts ... but will add a few to Gros Ile now and then ... but, that whole thing is just depressing.

Will occaisionally watch a sporting event on my computer while doing other stuff.  We don't have cable so it's a streaming thing.

That's 'bout it ...

Comments

Sounds like you have a good work / life / Wiki balance Bob :-)

Answer 11

I am too random a person to have a routine, but in general I do the following:

*Use RSS feed to check on Wikitree questions. Roughly 3 times a day.

*Correct errors in western states in orphaned profiles.  I like to work on empty profiles and add a few sources which you would think would bring the error total down, but it doesn't because they keep adding errors.

*Add 1 name to my Colorado Veterans Registration free space page

*Work on a random surname from my to do project list, adding a source or writing a bio.

*Research my great-grandfather's Civil War regiment in preparation for making a free-space page on his regiment and company.

*Add one or more people to my cemeterist project.

*Look for Mary, my missing great-grandmother, which currently involves building out trees and looking for connections and editing my free space page Looking for Mary to track my progress.

*Work on one of my Civil War regiments (I have 3 at the moment), adding a profile if possible to at least one of them.

I'm probably leaving something out, but those are the main things.

Comments

I love how you move everything forward just a little bit every day. Totally get what you mean about the errors. Sometimes it feels like plugging a dam with your thumb! :-)

Answer 12

I'm not a real planner; I'm more the rabbit hole kind of guy. I like to do unsourced profiles, generally Connecticut from the early days through the 18th century. When I find a birth source, for instance, often from the Barbour Collection, often parents' marriage dates show up, as do birth of siblings. Well, I just can't ignore that data, can I? So I have to add them, or at least add sources for them. Then I notice a sibling's spouse and I have to add that! Then I find that adding a source discloses a duplicate profile I have to merge... 30, 40 windows open at once? No problem! But it sure is fun!

Comments

Your rabbit warren sounds so much fun it puts a hop in my step! :-)

---

Jim, seventeen is my record of opened tabs before I crash my browser :-)

---

I think I must be lucky to have a Mac Book Pro. I can open all 120 for a day's messaging at once without it crashing.

---

Yah, I need to upgrade my MacBook :-(

Answer 13

Each day I make a profile for at least one person who has a main entry in T. J. C. Williams's History of Frederick County, Maryland (or if the next person is already in WikiTree, I add that category & source to their profile); if I have time, I'll also add their parents, other ancestry from the bio if I can verify it, spouse, and kids.

Other than that, it depends on my mood. Sometimes I'll add more descendants of my 3xggps. Sometimes I'll work on the Data Doctor error reports (409, Marriage to Duplicate Person, how I love you). Often I'll look at possible matches for a person, grumble at the gazillion undated profiles that show up, and see how many I can put an estimated birth date on or find a source for -- forget falling into rabbit holes, I'm crashing through the roof of Watership Down.

Comments

Now I have "Bright Eyes" going through my head! Must add it to my Wiki Playlist :-)

Answer 14

Because I have arthritis in my knee and back I am very stiff in the morning.
I get two acetaminophen with a couple cups of coffee while my computer
company warms up.  Then I spend three or four hours having breakfast, working on the orphaned GEDCOM, listening to morning tv news shows, and loosening up.  Then I can dispense with my walker and do other things.  I started with the names which start with A and added to the family group as far as I could and then went to the next one on the alphabetical list.  Some I have filled in over the last four years because they were immediate family or unsourced listed.  Over the last five months I have done over 1500 profiles and have just finished the whole
group of A names.  Tomorrow--on to the Bs.  Sitting down at the computer gives me a chance to do some simple stretches, give the pain
reliever time to work, and gives me a chance to hopefully keep active enough to keep my eighty year old brain from turning to mush or the
dreaded "old timers" disease.  I am only adding sources to the orphaned
GEDCOM to help others avoid duplicates because of lack of information.

Comments

So sorry you are in so much pain Beulah. I too have arthritis in my knees although mercifully the latest steroid shot in them has calmed them down a bit. I feel for you. You blow me away with how many contributions you make. Thank you! You are awesome!

Answer 15

The only things I come in on that are with a plan is Greeter and Messenger duty. LOL Otherwise the rest is random. I use to try to do Saturday Sourcing but lately that just doesn't happen. I do try to at least mark on the monthly sourcing if I find one that I source by chance. I guess I just jump all around like I do off WikiTree doing genealogy. LOL

Comments

Nothing wrong with being spontaneous Charlotte :-)

Answer 16

Well after I get up, make a cofvefe and turn on the pc, firstly I'll look at the nav homepage to see what's been done overnight, second I'll go through the recent G2G, then, after more coffee I'll either continue where I left off yesterday (currently I'm studying parish records from the 1700's for people with the surname Platts in Leicestershire and adding them to existing profiles or creating new profiles and sourcing them further) or, if I don't feel like doing that, I'll look at my watchlist, sorted with oldest edited at the top and try to improve some of my older profiles. Later on I'll check and answer mail. The PC stays on all day and I come and go.

Comments

Have you come across any interesting Platt ancestors?