Here’s the next in my series of bite-size Quick Tips. Click on the Quick Tips tag for my other Quick Tips. Because I tend to write longer posts, I wanted to provide a quick-to-read (and quick-to-write) high-impact post every couple of weeks. This one has saved me a lot of time in the past when I’ve let unprocessed files pile up.

Grab a URL when you download a document

When I’m researching mindfully, I process a document as soon as I download it, before I move on to anything else. (And by that I mean create a sort citation, glean all the information from the document and add it to my genealogy software.) But as I revealed in a recent post about my backlog, sometimes the reality is that downloaded documents languish before being processed. (I do always change the filename as soon as I download, though.)

One thing I’ve trained myself to do if I realize I’m not going to have a chance to process a document on the spot is to copy the URL of the document and paste it into the metadata of the file so that I can easily see the document online again. Often I want to look at the context of the document, so I want to look at the website, not just the image I downloaded.

To accomplish this on my MacBook, I copy the URL from the website first. Then, after I’ve renamed the file, I right (or control) click on the filename and select Get Info. (Or, as a reader pointed out to me, I can just click on the filename and press Command+I!) That pulls up the information pane. I simply paste the URL into the Comments section. When I finally get around to processing it, it’s very easy to copy and paste the URL into my browser to see it again.

I think, but I’m not positive, that the same thing is accomplished in Windows by right-clicking on a file, selecting Properties and then clicking on the Details tab. If I’m wrong about that, please correct me in the comments!

Here’s the next in my series of bite-size Quick Tips. Click on the Quick Tips tag for my other Quick Tips. Because I tend to write longer posts, I wanted to provide a quick-to-read (and quick-to-write) high-impact post every couple of weeks. This one has become second nature to me, even when I’m not doing genealogy!

Use standard genealogy formatting when writing dates

If you’ve been doing genealogy awhile, you’re probably already doing this, but for newer genealogists, I suggest using a standard date format for your genealogy dates to avoid confusion. Here’s my understanding of the accepted format:

Day of the month expressed in one or two digits, followed by the three-letter abbreviation for the month and then the year, expressed in four digits. (DD MMM YYYY). Note the absence of a comma or slashes.

So my mother’s birthday, which she probably wrote most often as May 2, 1933, is expressed 2 May 1933 in my genealogy software.

Using a standardized format eliminates some of the guess work for people who look at your data. Most U.S. folks are accustomed to writing dates like this: MM-DD-YY (7-10-20). But people in many other countries tend to put the day of the month first, as in DD-MM-YY (10-07-20). Using letters for the month eliminates confusion. And it’s essential to use all four years of the date because we genealogists are working in multiple centuries.

This is an easy habit to get into with repetition. And it’s well worth it, in my opinion!

 

Photo by Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash

Here’s the next in my occasional series of bite-size Quick Tips. You can see my other Quick Tips by clicking on the Quick Tips tag. Because I tend to write longer posts, I wanted to provide a quick-to-read (and quick-to-write) high-impact post every now and then. This one is about a habit that was a game changer for me!

Jot down your next actions at the end of every research session

I used to become overwhelmed at the beginning of every research session because I didn’t know what I should work on. There were so many possibilities! That problem was solved by one simple habit. At the end of every session, I write down my next steps. So all I have to do is look at that note and get to work.

I write it in my super-simple research log, but it doesn’t matter where you write down yours, just as long as you do it. I’d encourage you to be consistent in where you write it (and to avoid putting it on a sticky note or a piece of scrap paper that can get lost or create clutter). Stick with it for a little and it will become a habit.

Creating this habit has taken away a huge impediment to my research and I encourage you to give it a try!

Photo by Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash