I haven’t always been a list maker. Up until a couple of years ago, I rarely used lists to remember things. But running a business and trying to keep track of what I am needing to do with genealogy has lead me to use Sticky Notes. These notes are built right into your Microsoft operating system.

I normally have a few Sticky Notes on my desktop at all times to track my personal to-dos or reminders. But you can use the Sticky Notes to write a to-do list, jot down a phone number, or anything else that you would use a pad of paper for. The best thing about using them? They wont fall off of your monitor!

1. To start Sticky Notes, click on the Start Button and type Sticky Notes in the search box and then click on the Sticky Notes in the search results. This will launch the Sticky Notes Program. Sticky Notes can also be found under All Programs and then under Accessories.
2. You can create new notes by clicking on the new notes button (the + at the top left) or by pressing Ctrl+N.
3. You can remove a note by clicking on the x at the top right of the note You can resize the note by placing your cursor on the edge of the note, then click and drag it to the size you would like.
4. You can also change the color of the Sticky Note by right clicking on the note and selecting the color that you would like.
5. There are a few options to use to format the text of your Sticky Note. To format your text highlight the text in your note and use one of the keyboard shortcuts below.

Bold Text – Ctrl + B
Italic Text – Ctrl + I
Underlined Text – Ctrl + U
Increase Font Size – Ctrl + Shift + >
Decrease Font Size – Ctrl + Shift + <
Bulleted list – Ctrl + Shift + L (do it again to get a numbered list)
Capitalize Highlighted Text – Ctrl + Shift + A
Right Align – Ctrl + R
Center Align – Ctrl + E
Left Align – Ctrl + L
Single Space Line – Ctrl + 1
Double Space Line – Ctrl + 2
1.5 Line Space – Ctrl + 5
Strike Through – Ctrl + T

The Sticky Notes is a great little tool to use if you only need to track information for a short amount of time. At some point, I will introduce you to Trello that will take things to the next level and even let you collaborate with others.