Timely Tips

The key to organization is finding a system that works for you. But you still can learn from other genealogists’ organizational successes (and defeats!). For instance, you might try these electronic-filing suggestions from fellow Family Tree Magazine readers:

? The internet lets you research your family in great detail. But an annual “cleaning” and reorganizing of your research is absolutely necessary to confirm whether you are on the right track or have erroneous data. —P. Johnson

? When a handy tip or link appears in a lengthy e-mail newsletter, I just copy the text and paste it into a new message to myself. No long newsletter to save. — J. Ermey

? I often need only a small portion of information from a genealogy Web site. On my desktop, I keep a blank word processing document that I’ve formatted with an automatically updating date. I copy the desired information and URL from the site and paste it into my blank document. When finished, I “save as” with an appropriate file name, and my blank document is ready for the next site. —A. Crull