5-Minute Prep for Faster Online Research

Are you asking yourself, "how do I make my family history research faster?" Sadly, family history research (genealogy) takes time. Think how long it took to create! But, there are ways to be more efficient and efficient means faster.

One caveat. With genealogy, you want efficient, not just fast. Fast today can mean completely stuck tomorrow!

So, I have a genealogy hack for you that can make your future online genealogy research faster.

Spend some time as often as you can on this (daily would be great, weekly almost as good, but monthly is better than nothing).

Studying Genealogy Periodicals

Studying Genealogy Periodicals: Journals, Newsletters, and Magazines

An often underutilized source of self-education is the genealogical journal. Genealogical journals are one of the only ways to learn how to do quality genealogy by studying quality genealogy.

Print to PDF for Genealogists

Are you fighting with your printer over another genealogy printing job? Maybe you need to go green and print to PDF.

Several years ago I published a post about printing to PDF. It was on my blog for my genealogy services website which I'm now retiring so I'm updating and republishing the article here.

You'll learn how simple it is to print to PDF and why genealogists, in particular, should love this option.

Summer Genealogy Inspiration

Does summer have you avoiding or missing out on genealogy? It might be the weather or maybe it's your summer schedule. No matter the reason, summer can either be a great time to accomplish some genealogy or a genealogical waste-land (that you often don't even understand).

Here are some ideas to shake up your summer genealogy routine.

Genealogy Research Skills Improvement

This isn't my normal type of post. This is essentially a round-up of my own posts related to a specific topic. But a topic you can't easily find with a search or a label.

This post rounds-up my posts about improving your genealogy research skills. If your genealogy skills need a boost, you're in the right place. I hesitate to label these as intermediate skills or advanced skills because we all have different ideas about what is "intermediate" or "advanced" genealogy.

Let's just say these posts will help you improve your genealogy skills. Some people will call these beginning skills, some intermediate, and some will consider them advanced skills. It doesn't matter, your skills have to improve to continue researching your family history.

Evernote Form for Census Correlation
Census Comparisons Continued
Is Your Genealogy Knowledge "Fuzzy?"
"Burned" Counties aren't always "burned"
Success in "Burned Counties" --- easy techniques to start with
Find Every Clue in U.S. Census Records
Cousin Baiting: What is It, Should You Do It?
What's the Opposite of Genealogy?
More Reverse Genealogy
Finding Aids vs. Library Catalogs
Evaluating Evidence: Books
Finding Female Ancestors: The Importance of Siblings
Make Your Genealogy Skills Go Pro
The 3 Genealogy Mistakes You Have to Tame to Improve Your Skills
Genealogy FAN Club: What Is It? Plus What It Is Not.

(looking for something else? This list is for posts that don't have a convenient label. Try the links in the top right, or a label from the right menu to find more from The Occasional Genealogist).