Organization Organization Organization

I use colored acid free sheets for each lineage to print family group sheets, pedigrees, stories, resource sheets, and research study sheets. If I do not have the correct color sometimes I use white paper with colored ink. It works.






Color Acid Free Paper in anti acid protector sheets treated with a humid resistant spray are placed in color coordinated binders. Yes, that is a closet shelf.

Notes, Index Cards, Sheets (if I do not have the correct color immediately available)----are identified with a color corner----highlighter, marker pen, crayola, whatever is handy and matches and placed in color coordinated temporary folders.
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As "Location Location Location" becomes a mantra to business owners and real estate agents; "Organization Organization Organization" is the battle cry for genealogist. Ergo the title of this blog Genealogy is Ruthless without Me. My career in Quality Management helped prepare me for this challenge of organizing genealogy data.

NOTE TO READER----(skip to Section B -- this is just an exhaustive explanation of how I came up with the idea)

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As a Quality Manager, I found a clever way to expedite my job. I used colored folders and color paper. Here was my methodology. Most certifications were based on Product/Process Improvement so we encouraged "Do it better".

The process included several steps;

1. Identify a problem or as we in Quality control like to call it "Opportunity for Improvement".

2. Prepare a suggestion for improvement. "Corrective Action" CARs.

3. Update all documents, training, trail period for the suggested improvement. "Engineering Change Order." ECOs

4. Update the approved documents. "Updated drawings, instructions etc. " SPECS

Each step along the way required engineering evaluation of feasibility, impact studies, vendor changes, inventory issues, customer interchangeability issues, and multiple other considerations. Ergo many engineers, department managers, and specialist needed to "sign off" on the Improvement.

It was my job to process all these changes: needless to say getting sign off --- was ridiculous! Documentation Release and Control was Ruthless!!! without me. lol

I am very visual and linear in my thinking process. So I adopted a color code process------ CARs were orange---- printed on orange paper traveling in orange folders, ECO were on yellow paper traveling in Yellow folders, Specs were green Document Change Orders traveling (you guessed it) in green folders. Kind of like orange (danger), yellow (a fix), green (GO). So as I passed Engineer or Manager's desk ---I could easily identify if my document had left their desk without bothering them.

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Section B: Using this same kind of thinking I developed a method to organize my genealogy work.

Here I will outline the problems I was having to organize my work:

1. Although I would set out to focus on one line of my ancestors---- I often was side tracked with another lineage. Example: I approach my computer ready to review my Chapin lineage and notice I have an email regarding my Carter lineage. I start to enter data in my Carter lineage and notice a surname that is in another lineage. OK --- by this time I have folders, notes, books, family group sheets all over the place.

2. I come across a surname I recognize but can not remember to which lineage it belongs. Lacy--- now I try to remember, who had a wife surname Lacy---- I go to my name list, do not recognize her husbands name to a lineage, work down the lineage until I find the link. Doing this several times a day and I am thinking there must be a better way. Doing this several times in the same week and I am beating myself up for not having a better memory than demonstrated.

3. Now I need to do something else besides genealogy or the mess I have made has caused me to be exhausted just to look at it!!! So I must clean up---- I need to either each piece of paper to decide which folder it belongs, or pile it all together and deal with it later,

So I color code.

Surname Hayley is RED. The list is the list of surnames associated with just one ggg grandfather only; ggg grandmother has her own list!

I stopped beating myself up when I realized exactly how many names I was really trying to manage in my head. Just going back to my Sweet 16, I am averaging 32 names per name. That is 520 names and I go further back than this when the names get fuzzy!

And all this color coding is followed through with my migration trails also.

Clean up and putting away is so easy for me now----- but better is the going back to where I was a lot easier. Using the color coordinated paper; I can journal the date/ activities for each lineage --- and not have it all on one page. I do not have to read through days of notes to figure out what I had researched.

This method may not work for everyone--- but for me right now----I love it.

Now computer files are totally different --- and another blog.........