Genealogy Research Planner – My Christmas gift to you
Genealogists have always kept notes: in margins, on envelopes, in notebooks, and three-ring binders. A good research log is an old tradition. The spreadsheet I’m sharing here is simply a way to keep these notes at hand and to bring that same careful, methodical habit into a digital format that’s easy to search, filter, and carry with you.
How to Use My Genealogy Research Planner in Google Sheets (or Excel)
In this article, I’ll walk through how to use my Genealogy Research Planner in Google Sheets – and, if you prefer, in Microsoft Excel.
Download the template:
“Download the Genealogy Research Planner (Excel file)”)
You may get a warning that this is an unsafe file. However, the file is hosted on the same server as this blog and is totally safe to download and use.
The file is an Excel workbook (.xlsx) that works well both in Google Sheets and in Microsoft Excel.
If you hover your mousepointer over any of the pictures in this article you can see an enlarged version of the picture.
What this planner is – and what it is not
This planner is not another family tree program. It doesn’t replace your main genealogy software/online service.
Instead, it is:
A research log for your questions and searches
A people index tied to your research
A sources index where you record what you’ve checked
A task list for your ongoing work
In other words: a traditional paper research notebook, but structured into tabs and columns so you can keep your work organized over time.
Step 1: Open the planner (Google Sheets or Excel)
The template is created as an Excel file so it can be used in both environments.
Option A: Use it in Google Sheets
Download the file from my blog to your computer.
Go to https://drive.google.com and sign in.
Click New → File upload and upload the file.
In Google Drive, right-click the uploaded file and choose
“Open with → Google Sheets.”(Optional, but recommended): In Google Sheets, click
File → Save as Google Sheets
This creates a native Sheets copy you can use and duplicate for new projects.
Option B: Use it in Microsoft Excel
If you have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer:
Download the file from my blog.
Locate it in your Downloads folder (or wherever your browser saves files).
Double-click the file to open it in Excel.
If Excel shows a security warning (Protected View), click Enable Editing.
All the sheets, column headings, basic formatting, and dropdown lists (Status and Priority) will work in Excel as well.
Working with several projects
You don’t have to use the same file for all your research forever.
In both Google Sheets and Excel you can:
Rename the file to match a specific project, for example:
Genealogy Research Planner – Veøy–BergsvikGenealogy Research Planner – Australia Emigrants
Make copies for different major lines or themes:
In Google Sheets: File → Make a copy…
In Excel: use Save As… and give the new file a different name
This is especially useful if you work on several big projects at once. Each project then has its own planner file, with its own Dashboard, Research Log, Sources and To-Do list, instead of everything being mixed together.
Once it’s open (in either program), you’ll see several tabs at the bottom:
The Dashboard: your front page
When you open the file, you land on the Dashboard sheet. Think of it as the cover and table of contents of a paper research notebook.
The Dashboard gives you:
A title and subtitle for the planner
A “Start here” panel explaining the first steps
A “Current focus” panel suggesting how to filter and prioritize your work
A “Quick links” area with clickable links to:
Research Log
People
Repositories
Sources
To-Do
You can always click back to the Dashboard to re-orient yourself, especially if you duplicate the file for different projects. It’s a simple way to keep the planner feeling like one coherent tool, not just a collection of sheets.
The Instructions tab: start here
The Instructions tab is a short “how to use this file” guide built right into the planner. It explains:
Where to start (the Research Log tab)
A suggested workflow (from question → search → source → next steps)
What each tab is for
How to work with the file in Google Sheets or Excel
If you ever forget how something was meant to be used, this tab is your built-in reminder.
The heart of the planner: the Research Log
The Research Log is the main tab you will use.
Here, each row is one focused research question.
Typical columns include:
ID – a simple code like
RL-001to keep things organizedResearch question / objective – what you are trying to find
Person(s) / family – who the question is about
Location – farm, parish, county, country
Record type – census, church book, probate, bygdebok, etc.
Repository / website – where you will search (e.g. Digitalarkivet)
Planned search – how you plan to search before you start
Result summary – what you actually found
Conclusion / next steps – what this means and what to do next
Status –
planned,in progress,done, oron hold(with a drop-down list)
The top row is frozen and formatted, and filters are already turned on, so you can:
Filter by Status to see only unfinished work
Filter by Person or Location when you’re revisiting a branch of the family
Sort by Date worked to see what you’ve done recently
Example: researching a baptism
A typical row might look like this:
Research question: Find baptism for Ole Olsen, born c. 1823 in Veøy.
Person(s) / family: Ole Olsen, Bergsvik farm
Location: Bergsvik, Veøy, Romsdal, Norway
Record type: Parish register – baptisms
Time period: 1820–1825
Repository / website: Digitalarkivet
Planned search: Check Veøy parish baptisms for all children named Ole around 1823.
Result summary: Found baptism 10 Aug 1822, parents Ole Larsen and Marit Olsdatter, Bergsvik.
Conclusion / next steps: Attach source, check siblings 1818–1830, verify farm in later census.
Status: done
In the template, I’ve included a worked example like this, which you can overwrite or copy when you start.
The People tab: keeping track of individuals
The People tab is a simple index of individuals tied to your research.
Each row is one person, with columns such as:
Person ID
Full name
Alternative spellings
Key life events (birth, baptism, marriage, death, burial)
Main farm(s) or residences
Notes
Related Research Log ID(s)
Source ID(s)
This tab does not replace your family tree program. Instead, it serves as a bridge between:
The questions you log in the Research Log
The records you index in the Sources tab
Over time, this becomes a quick reference for “who have I already worked on in depth, and what sources support my conclusions?”
The Repositories tab: where you actually search
The Repositories tab is a small but useful list of places you search regularly:
Archives
Libraries
Websites (Digitalarkivet, ArkivDigital, Ancestry, MyHeritage, etc.)
Typical columns:
Repo ID
Name
Type (archive, library, website…)
Country / region
URL
Notes (for example “parish registers for Veøy, censuses, probate…”)
When filling in your Research Log, you can refer to these repository names or IDs. This helps you see at a glance which archives and sites you’re using most, and where you might still have unexplored collections.
The Sources tab: your source index
The Sources tab is your central source index. Here you record each source you actually consult.
Columns include:
Source ID (e.g.
S-045)Type (church book, census, probate, bygdebok, etc.)
Title / description
Jurisdiction (parish, county, country)
Year(s)
Call number or archive reference
URL
Repository ID
Persons / families mentioned
Citation (how you would cite this)
Notes
When you complete a search in the Research Log, you can:
Add a new line in the Sources tab with a new Source ID
Copy that Source ID back into the Source ID(s) column of your Research Log row
Step by step, you’re building exactly what genealogical standards have always recommended:
a research log and a proper source list to support your conclusions.
The To-Do tab: your ongoing task list
The To-Do tab is a simple task manager for your genealogy projects.
Each row is a task, with columns such as:
Task ID
Task description
Person / family
Priority (High / Medium / Low – with a drop-down)
Category (lookup, analysis, writing, organizing, etc.)
Repository / website
Due date
Date completed
Related Research Log ID
Notes
Some typical tasks:
“Check probate for Bergsvik farms 1820–1850”
“Compare 1865 and 1875 census entries for the same family”
“Transcribe and translate a difficult burial entry”
Before you visit an archive or log into a subscription site, filter your To-Do list by:
Repository / website – to see everything you planned to do there
Priority – to tackle the most important work first
A suggested workflow
You can of course adapt the planner to your own habits, but here is a simple, traditional workflow:
Start with a question
Go to the Research Log and write a clear research question.Plan before you click
Still in the Research Log, fill in the repository and record type, and write a short Planned search. This forces you to think before you dive into the records.Search and record what you find
After searching, write a Result summary and a short Conclusion / next steps. Do not trust your memory.Add the source properly
Go to the Sources tab and create an entry for the record you used. Give it a Source ID and a citation you can live with. Link that Source ID back to your Research Log row.Update your people
If this search changes your understanding of a person’s life (e.g. a corrected birth date, a new residence, a different farm), update the People tab.Create follow-up tasks
Any new questions that arise go into the To-Do tab and/or new rows in the Research Log.
This is exactly the kind of disciplined note-keeping genealogists used to do in notebooks and binders. The planner simply gives you a structured place for it.
Customising the planner for your own research
The template is meant as a starting point. You can:
Add columns that matter to you (for example, “Farm number” or “Bygdebok volume/page”)
Hide columns you never use
Duplicate the whole file to start a new project (for example, one per main ancestral line)
Whether you use it in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel, the structure is there to serve your research, not the other way around.
Go to Google’s own help page: “Edit & format a spreadsheet”
It shows how to change themes, fonts, colors, borders, and more – including how to apply and customize a theme for the whole sheet.
Adjusting the size of cells
You can also adjust the size of the cells to make the planner easier to read:
In Google Sheets
Point at the line between two column letters (for example between C and D) until the cursor becomes a double arrow.
Drag left or right to change the column width, or double-click to auto-fit the contents.
Do the same on the row numbers (between 5 and 6) to change row height.
For precise control, you can also select a column, then use Format → Column → Resize column….
In Microsoft Excel
Point at the line between two column letters and drag to resize, or double-click to auto-fit.
Do the same on the row borders to change row height.
You can also right-click a column header, choose Column Width…, and enter an exact value.
Don’t be afraid to make some columns wider (for example, Research question, Result summary, Conclusion / next steps) and others narrower (IDs, dates, status). A few small adjustments will make the planner much more comfortable to work with on your screen and on printouts.
Final thoughts
Good genealogy rests on clear questions, systematic searching, and careful notes. Whether those notes live in a leather-bound notebook, in Excel on your desktop, or in a Google Sheet in the cloud, the principles are the same.
This Genealogy Research Planner is a way to keep those traditional habits alive in a modern tool: helping you see what you’ve done, what you’ve missed, and what you should do next.
If you decide to use it, I’d love to hear how it works for you—and how you adapt it to your own style of research.
Comment below or drop me a word through my Contact page
