Posts about functionality and productivity are all the rage these days. I am always thinking about how I can make my own browsing and reading/learning experience on the web more efficient. The problem these days is, though, that so much is thrown at you, from bookmarks over feeds to widgetized desktops even. I knew you have been waiting for this, so here is how I do it.
Firefox toolbar
This holds my daily resources I don’t want to be more than a click away from. These include shortcuts to Google Reader, my blog dashboard, the 9rules clubhouse, IMDb, and my Flickr and Last.fm accounts. I also have links to a number of dictionaries and news providers there, and the TV listings.
Bookmarks
Yes, offline bookmarks. I have a few folders with private stuff I don’t want to share, even in this age of sharing madness, such as online banking, my library account, portal to my provider, etc. But mainly, my bookmarks are a repository for things I don’t have time for but need to look at later. I make it a habit not to let that pop-down menu become scrollable, but preferably it’s shorter, of course, or empty.
Feeds
If it updates, it’s in there. I have about 400 feeds right now, but that doesn’t mean every single entry is a blog that I read A-to-Z every day. I follow comment threads there (yes, I’ve ditched CoComment), Flickr discussion groups and contacts, 9rules threads etc. And blogs as well, of course. Lots of blogs by lots of great people. That’s you.
Del.icio.us
To me, del.icio.us is more of a storage space. It’s where everything goes that I think is interesting. One day, my del.cio.us account will replace Google, because what I have in there will be of more use (to me) than any search can come up with. Not true, of course, but that is the general idea. I try to make it a habit to search del.icio.us before Google, though, when I think there’s a even a remote chance I saved something relevant in the past.
Add to that a number of widgets, standard Wikipedia in the search bar, and instant Google search in the address bar, and I have the ultimate productivity machine at my fingertips. So, there you have it: productivity 101 by me. It wasn’t that bad, now was it? Or can you still beat this?
26 February 2007 at 7:23 pm
I don’t use Firefox. :-P
26 February 2007 at 7:29 pm
That’s not the point is it?
You should, though. I hear Safari is for pussies ;-)
But seriously, what about Camino?
26 February 2007 at 11:07 pm
Good stuff.
I have a similar system with offline bookmarks — things I want to look at later — but I also have semi-regular things like the clubhouse, all my personal net property (gmail, gcal, librarything, twitter, et al) there because I don’t like using the bookmarks toolbar. Screen estate is everything and I like lots of it!
I have them synched using Google Browser Sync so I can replicate them at work too, so I don’t need on del.icio.us either. I can save that for the good stuff.
I had a clear out of my bookmarks earlier this week and the list is currently empty!
26 February 2007 at 11:38 pm
Interesting, I’mm looking at using FireFox after reading this article. It’s an iteresting read.
How about a list of extensions/themes you use in FireFox?
27 February 2007 at 12:59 am
You see, that’s the problem with efficiency and productivity: it’s so complicated! I prefer to good old fashioned, lets-surf-around-and-see-what-we-can-discover method. Now let’s see, if only I could remember the address to that popular site where we share photos. What was the name? Pictur? Flipper? Nipper?
27 February 2007 at 2:18 pm
I’m surprised there’s not a Firefox plugin that grafts your delicious bookmarks into your Google results.
28 February 2007 at 4:45 pm
[...] Nils goes productive on us. I wish my browser was so organized. As an aside, I hope I’m not the only one who strained my eyes while trying to see all of the websites Nils has on his quickbar. [...]
23 March 2007 at 6:27 pm
[...] browsing and updating my offline bookmarks (see earlier post on how I organize this), I came across some ‘book sites’ that actually are, and [...]