The use of Research Logs is not only my saving grace when real life gets in the way of genealogy, it also helps me brainstorm ideas.  When I first started genealogy, I kept notes on writing pads and then would file them in the surname folder.  Wow, when I think of how much time I have wasted over the years by redoing work.  I have looked at the same microfilm more than once, thought that I had found something new, to turn around and see that I had found that document years before.

Research Logs do not have to be complicated and time consuming to fill out.  Main things to capture – what are you looking for, what have you found (or didn’t find) and what did you do with your findings (entered into tree, filed under…)

If I have my computer with me when I am at a research location, I will type directly onto my Research Log in Excel.  When I need to use a paper version, I use the Research Planning Worksheet pages available in Unpuzzling Your Past WorkBook by Emily Anne Croom.

These logs have been great to use when trying to see what I might have missed in my research to solve a brickwall, to picking up a project where I last left off months/years ago.