Nature reminds us that small things lead to great things. A tiny seed becomes a rose; a little acorn becomes a great oak.

It’s the same in family history. There’s something small you can do that has the potential to make a big difference. It’s simply this: when you’ve been doing family history and have to stop to focus on other priorities, write down two things:

• A quick summary of what you did
• What you want to do next time

For example:

• If you were scanning photos, make a brief note of which photos you finished and which ones you plan to do next time.
• If you were planning a family reunion, note which tasks you completed and which tasks you’ll do next.
• If you were researching a family, record what you found and make notes on what you want to do next time.

Often we think there’s no way we’ll forget what we were working on, or even what we plan to do next. But just a few days later, it can all be fuzzy. So when we start again, we may end up repeating work we’ve already done, or worse yet, procrastinating because we don’t remember where we need to pick up.

It only takes a few moments to jot down what you worked on and what steps you need to take next time. It doesn’t have to be fancy: you can use a note-taking app, Google Drive, paper—whatever works for you.

Try out this little tip and see if it doesn’t lower your stress and boost your productivity. Just like an oak is huge compared to an acorn, the benefits will be huge compared to the effort!

Additional ideas: learn about using to-do lists for research and the Online Tracker for tracking your learning progress.