Tool Box

My workload lately has been tedious and not too exciting. But as I was cleaning up my workspace after completing a project recently, I got thinking about all the things I use regularly when I’m working. I have a literal box that I keep everything in so nothing gets lost. Here are the contents:

Legal pads. I’m a big fan of actually writing things on paper. I take notes about research ideas for next steps. I draw out possible family relationships. I write up timelines. I feel like most people use software programs for things like this and keep it all tidy on a computer. I still like to just use paper and pen.

A pilot pen. I have a very specific pen that does not leave my office. My kids know this pen. It’s “special” and I like it.

A highlighter. Going along with my legal pads, I find that color coding helps me sometimes.

This Feast Day Calendar.

I’ve been using this one for about 25 years. Variations of Feast Day Calendars can be found on the FamilySearch Research Wiki and other places online. I’m a sucker for the paper copy because it’s what I have always used.

The Genealogical Guidebook and Atlas of ___.

These guidebooks exist for each of the Scandinavian countries. This item in my box is just like the Feast Day Calendar in that the information is now available all online, yet I still love this book. The irony is, I usually have these maps sitting on my desk while I also have the online version pulled up on my computer. Boundary lines are tricky and understanding them makes all the difference.

What Did They Do?

While I am a giant fan of the online word lists, this book is even more comprehensive than the genealogical word lists on the wiki. The other thing I like about having this book handy is that I can compare what is written next to these big lists of occupations. It’s a great book.

And a bonus one because this isn’t in my box, but it’s always open on my computer. The FamilySearch Research Wiki for wherever I’m working. I ALWAYS have the maps open, and I always have the word lists open. The map tools built into the wiki are amazing. I will have to include a full post about those in the future.

That’s just a peak into the way I work. My desk looks like a book and notepad explosion when I’m deep in a project. What tools do you like? What am I missing out on?