Meeting 1/22 Focuses on Organization

This Monday is Martin Luther King Day and the library is closed. 

Our meeting is on Monday, January 22 from 1:00 to 3:30.

During our meeting we will focus on organizing genealogy, one of our common themes.  There are so many blogs about organizing and I could spend all day reading, reading, reading.  It seems important to pin down what your personal organizing problem is. 

For me it’s that, even though I know a lot about organizing genealogy now, I didn’t when I started so I have been building on a heck of a mess.

1.      I need to learn a few things.  Like how to use a research plan.  Blogger Lisa Lisson states this goal as “Setting a detailed and organized research plan, documenting where I stop and where I need to pick up again.”  That would save me a lot of time as I jump around a lot in the little time I have available.

2.      I need to tackle my paper and my computer files.  The best hint here is to use the same system for both.  I organize by surname while there are other systems being used.  And along with this I need to settle on a naming convention for my computer files.

3.      I made a big leap when I finally decided to switch to RootsMagic for my main automated family tree.  I like the advantages of having it on my desk.  This tree was easily built with a gedcom file from my Ancestry.com tree.  Now I have to do a major cleanup, again from the days when I didn’t know what I was doing. 

What are your biggest organization challenges?  Let the group know and we’ll make suggestions.  Get ready for a lively discussion.  Bring tips, notebooks, examples and questions.  Here are a few resources to help.

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Lisa Lisson has written a number of organizing articles.  Start with this overview:  http://lisalisson.com/2018/01/02/organize-genealogy-research/

In the first paragraph she says this: Read the full story on what you need to know to organize your genealogy here: http://lisalisson.com/2017/01/03/what-you-need-to-know-to-organize-your-genealogy/  

At the bottom of her first article there are links to “genealogy in 20 minutes a day”, how to create a genealogy research plan, using a timeline, photo organization and other topics.  

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Here’s a free 14-page collection of organizing articles you can download from Family Tree Magazine:  https://www.familytreemagazine.com/freebie/family-tree-tips-23-secrets-organize-genealogy/