Hi there! I'm Lisa Lisson, and I'm passionate about helping people like you discover their ancestors and expand their family tree without feeling overwhelmed or uncertain about the next steps.
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Coffee Break Genealogy: Quick Wins Inside ☕
Published about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Welcome to the Are You My Cousin? newsletter! Each week, I share actionable genealogy research advice to help you grow a healthy - and accurate - family tree. Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe so you never miss an issue.
Hi Reader,
I'm just back from a recent trip to New York City with my husband. New York in January is cold, but that didn't slow us down. (Actually, I probably moved a little faster to keep warm!) We enjoyed fabulous food, watching all the lunar New Year celebrations and touring the New York Historical Society Museum & Library.
Travel usually means down time and that's when I pull out my phone and spend 15 minutes or so exploring some family history leads. Those spare moments add up!
We imagine we need hours of uninterrupted focus to make real progress, but we can make progress by performing quick and shorter research tasks. This week, I'm sharing my favorite 15 quick genealogy tasks in 15 minutes or less.
Even better? The video is less than 15 minutes, and the blog post is a quick read, too.
Plus, I'll show you how a little planning can transform these brief moments into substantial discoveries about your ancestors.
🤝 AFFILIATE SPOTLIGHT
NEWSPAPERS.COM 📰
Looking for a quick way to add depth and context to your family's story? Newspapers.com, now with more than ONE BILLION pages from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and beyond, is my go-to resource for uncovering the daily lives of our ancestors. I love discovering not just the major life events, but also the community activities, social gatherings, and local stories that shaped their world. It's those little details that help break down those genealogy brick walls and more fully tell our ancestors' stories.
Time always seems to be in short supply for those of us searching for our ancestors! This is certainly true for me, but you can experience some quick wins in your genealogy research. In my newest video, I share 15 tasks you can complete in just 15 minutes. Perfect for busy family historians who want to make steady progress and don't have hours to sit at the computer. Here is just a sampling of what you CAN do:
Review documents for overlooked clues
Create organized file naming systems
Update and back up your research
Each task is designed to help you move your family history research forward. Enjoy!
Finding time for genealogy research can feel overwhelming but establishing a consistent routine - even with limited time - can lead to progress in your family history journey. The key is creating sustainable habits that work with your schedule rather than against it.
Start by choosing a specific time each day for a focused 15-minute research sprint. Having a set time helps make genealogy research a natural part of your day rather than something you'll get to "someday."
Make these short sessions more effective by keeping your research plan nearby.
Set yourself up for success by organizing your digital workspace with browser bookmarks for frequently used databases and templates for common research tasks.
The most important aspect of your routine is how you end each session. Take the final minute to note your next steps, ensuring you can jump right back in during your next research session without wasting time trying to remember where you left off.
Remember, consistency matters more than duration - regular, focused 15-minute sessions will yield better results than sporadic marathon research sessions.
🔨GENEALOGY TOOL
YOUR BEST TOOL!
If you've ever sat down at your computer for a quick genealogy session only to spend too many minutes trying to remember where you left off, you understand the frustration of unplanned research.
A well-crafted research plan might seem like extra work upfront, but it's actually your secret weapon for making the most of limited research time. When you know exactly what records you need to check and which ancestors you're focusing on, you can dive straight into meaningful research whether you have 15 minutes or two hours available.
Having a plan eliminates the common time-waster of duplicating searches you've already done but forgot about. It also helps you stay focused during short research sessions instead of falling down rabbit holes that lead away from your research goals. Think of your research plan as a roadmap - when you need to step away from your genealogy work for a few days (or weeks), you can quickly pick up exactly where you left off without spending time reorienting yourself.
The most valuable aspect of a research plan is how it makes sense of scattered research sessions turning them into meaningful progress. Instead of randomly searching databases hoping to stumble upon useful information, each session builds upon previous work in a systematic way. Even brief sessions become productive when they're part of a larger, purposeful strategy. Your future self will thank you for taking the time to create and follow a research plan - it's truly one of the best time investments you can make in your family history journey.
Choose one ancestor and spend 15 minutes creating a timeline of known events for him/her. This simple exercise often reveals gaps in your research and suggests which records to search next.
Bonus: You'll have a ready-made research plan for your next session!
Until next week, remember that even small steps in your genealogy journey add up to big discoveries over time. Keep making those 15-minute research sessions count!
Actionable genealogy advice that you'll want to save in a special Gmail folder to grow your healthy family tree, sent weekly to 10,000+ readers.
Hi there! I'm Lisa Lisson, and I'm passionate about helping people like you discover their ancestors and expand their family tree without feeling overwhelmed or uncertain about the next steps.
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