Airtable is a hybrid spreadsheet and database. Most database tools are beyond the technological level of typical users, so most people don't use database tools. Yet, databases are highly useful. Luckily for us, Airtable is a database tool that doesn't require that you know how to code. If you are familiar with spreadsheets, you'll pick it up right away. Each database is called "base." Think of it as a spreadsheet with multiple sheets/tabs. Each sheet within the base is a "table." Rows in a table are called "records." Columns in a table are called "fields." Each field is customizable. You...
Genealogy Standard #28 states, "Genealogists attach citations to images and printouts."[1] This is to ensure that a record will never be without its citation, but what is the best way to do this? I have tried a few different approaches with varying degrees of success, but then I tried Canva, a free online publishing tool that makes it possible to "design anything and publish anywhere." I had been using Canva for several years to create everything from social media graphics to ancestor collages. Once I decided to try using Canva to add citations to my record images, I haven't looked...
Do you have a specific way to deal with the genealogy documents that you scan or download from a website? Have you set up digital file folders for your documents? How do you attach a citation to a document so it doesn't become separated from it's source? These are all questions we grapple with until we decide on a protocol that works for us. There is no one size fits all, when it comes to files and documents, but lets looks at some basic principles. Then you can create your own protocol for dealing with documents. To Download or Not...
Have you wished for a way to organize your notebooks in Evernote? You may have hundreds of notes in a notebook and even searching by tags brings up too many notes. Did you know you can create a custom note that can serve as a table of contents? You can organize this custom note any way you like and in the process clean up your notebooks as well. If you'd like to learn more about using Evernote for Family history and genealogy, check out these articles. Create Your Own Genealogy Reference Center with Evernote Using Evernote for Genealogy Research Choose...
What lies ahead for genealogy and family history in 2020? Taking a look back at 2019 can be helpful in predicting where we might be headed in 2020. The most viewed blog posts on Family Locket for 2019 included those on DNA, Organization, and Productivity. If you missed any of these, I invite you to do some browsing and see if there is something that could help you in your research for 2020. Below are the posts and a teaser for each one. "Before We Were Yours" and a True Life Adoption Story from the Tennessee Children's Home Society As...
When you sit down at your computer for that devoted family history / genealogy time, how do you decide what to work on first? Should you go to work on a research project, watch a webinar, or browse new DNA matches? If you've been following the Getting Things Done method, you'll have a task list of next actions for various projects. Now it's time to engage. Choose a next action and go to work. This is the final article in this five-part series based on David Allen's book, Getting Things Done: the art of stress free productivity. If you've been...
Are you keeping your genealogy systems updated and functional? You might have spent a considerable amount of time organizing your records and prioritizing projects, but then you took a research trip, attended a conference, or watched a webinar, and now have a stack of papers and a flash drive full of digital records. If you're feeling weighed down again, the step you might be missing is reflection. Regularly capturing the new items that have risen to the surface, reviewing your calendar and project lists, and processing new materials can keep your mind free to do its best work. This is...
Are you ready to get your family history and genealogy papers and processes organized? Those stacks of file folders, documents, and lists of to-do items aren't going to help you make progress in your research until you have an organizational method that works for you. If you don't know where to start, I have some ideas to help you! This article is part three in my series on applying concepts from David Allen's book Getting Things done: the art of stress-free productivity to my personal family history projects. Previously I wrote about capturing all of our projects in my article: Family...
Have you ever tried to explain your pursuit of DNA matches, and found it hard put into words? Have you ever wanted to see an image of your DNA and how it connects you to your ancestors? Chromosome mapping will help you come up with an answer! The goal in using DNA in our genealogy research is to learn which segments of our DNA we inherited from specific ancestors and use them to learn more about our parents, grandparents, and so on, back in time. Autosomal DNA is an extremely powerful tool that can help us confirm known ancestors and...
What is holding you back from making progress on your family history projects? Too many to count? Not knowing where to start? If just thinking about your projects sends you into panic mode, it's time for an intervention. I previously wrote about Family History & Getting Things Done, using David Allen's book, Getting Things done: the art of stress-free productivity, as a model. The ideas in the book have been a game changer for me. Sometimes a simple mind shift is all we need to move forward. What did I discover? I have a multitude of personal family history projects...
