Approaching your family tree research in an organised manner

Yes this is part of what had accumulated in my spare room, not to mention the collection of scanned documents that were in numerous files on our computer and my lap top. I am sure there are many family researchers who, like me, find it hard to keep up with the large amount of information, photos and documents that they have accumulated.

It was around 2007 I decided it was time to really sort out this mess. At this time I was studying at University and one of the subjects I was doing that semester was Project Management. Our first Assignment was to identify a project we would like to put into action over a period of 2 months. We had to develop a plan, put it into action and report back to our lecturer and class on its success. So using the guidelines and lecture notes from our Project Management Course I set out, with great determination, to put some order into my family tree research. (I do believe my husband was even more enthused at the thought of having the spare room or family office functioning in a more ordered manner).

The first step in the process was to identify what my were my main objectives. (sooooo important to have something that is dooable). So after some careful thinking I came up with the following objectives.

1. Develop an on-line family tree, that can be accessed by family members and family researchers and can be used as a basis for future research.

2. Establish a physical filing system for the storage of family tree records (birth, death and marriage certificates, photos, newspaper cuttings, personal accounts, letters etc.).

3. Develop an filing system on my computer for the storage of all scanned documents that is logical and easy to maintain.

I look forward to sharing the different stages of this project and appreciate any feedback or suggestions on how to make the process even smoother and more efficient.