Timeline: put events in order.

Separate the dates that do different jobs

• Event date: when the described action occurred.
• Created / sent date: when a document or message says it was made or sent.
• Filed / published date: when a court or platform recorded or released it.
• Received / collected date: when you obtained it.
• Review date: when you interpreted or corrected your entry.

Keep these in separate fields. An old event described in a new statement stays attached to both dates. Do not sort by the download date and call it the event history.

Build one event at a time

1. Start with your question and date range. Give each event an ID such as EVT-001.
2. Write one neutral action per row: “Office acknowledged request,” not “Office began hiding records.” If a source contains several actions, use several rows.
3. Copy the date/time exactly as shown into a raw-time column. Add the stated zone or write “zone unknown.”
4. Use a separate sort-time column if converting to one zone. Record the original offset, conversion method and assumptions. Daylight saving and device clock errors matter; do not invent midnight for an unknown time.
5. Add source ID and precise page, paragraph, spreadsheet cell or recording time. If the date is someone’s recollection, label it as such.
6. Mark certainty: exact as stated / approximate / date range / unknown / disputed. Exact as stated does not mean independently verified.
7. Sort dated rows; keep undated events in their own section. Where dates conflict, retain both accounts and explain the conflict.
8. Add a next-action field: the record or person who could resolve the uncertainty. Review the sequence when new material arrives without deleting the older interpretation.

Use this timeline layout

Columns: event ID · raw date/time · source time zone · optional normalized time · date type · neutral event · who/where · source ID and page · certainty · conflicting account · next action.

Computer: create a table in your word processor or spreadsheet. Format raw timestamps as text so software does not silently reinterpret them. Freeze headings if available; sort the whole table, never a single column alone. Keep a dated backup before sorting.

Paper: put one event on a sheet or index card. Include its ID and source reference. Arrange dated cards in order, with separate areas for undated and disputed entries. Photograph the arrangement for your activity log without treating the photograph as the original source.

Worked example: three dates, one request

Fictional example: REC-001 is a request sent September 3 at 09:10 −07:00. REC-002 acknowledges it September 4. REC-003 is a response dated September 7 and received September 9. Make a response-date event for September 7 and a receipt event for September 9.

If the response says an inspection happened “last month,” record an approximate August range, not an invented August 1 timestamp. If another source says September 2, keep both dates as disputed pending the inspection record.

The order does not establish motive or causation. Ask what independent record connects the actions before saying one caused another.

Check the timeline

• Every factual event links to a source and exact location.
• Alleged or remembered events are labeled; estimates are visibly different from exact timestamps.
• Unknown times are not silently treated as midnight or converted across zones.
• Contradictory and potentially exonerating events are included.
• Gaps generate questions rather than accusations.
• A second reader can reproduce the sequence from the source references.