Tuesday's Tip- Organization- Part 1

Organization is very important when it comes to researching your family tree. It also helps to keep your sanity when you have a million papers, documents, etc everywhere.

Don't let this be you!

When I first started researching my tree, I wrote everything down in a notebook. Many people just print and keep leaves of paper everywhere. I find this clutters up the workspace and there is no organization with paper flying everywhere. I hate clutter. Many people also keep their leaves inside of a 3-ring binder- I think this works great for keeping a hard copy of your family tree, but not for research purposes. I’ve tried this one and I find that it’s clunky and in the way.

I have found that the best resource if you’re going to write a lot by hand, is to use a spiral bound notebook- but only for notes. If you do this, you will most likely fill up a couple of notebooks.

Another great idea, especially if you’re doing internet family research, is to save a piece of paper (and the environment) by using a word document and saving it under “Research”. You can always delete and re-type, delete and re-type once you’ve put your found information where it needs to go permanently.

(Suggestion- if you’re going to throw out (either via paper or word doc) always save your sources.)

I have found that if I have two or more windows open on my computer, and I’m doing research, the best option is to split the screen- put your research word doc on the right side of the screen and the information you’re transcribing on the left so you don’t have to click and go back, click and go back, etc. J This works out great- quick and efficient!

Everyone is different and it depends on how you organize and what works for you- as long as you are organized, it doesn’t matter what you use, as long as it works! J

I hope this helps with your organizational difficulties! If you have any ideas or suggestions for me, please share!