Tired of the exasperating monotony of repeatedly searching for that link you need to access all the time? Tired of the time suck. Oh, the time suck! Then it’s time to use the easy-peasy tool to reduce the drag on your time!
Imagine if you dare, how much time you’ve wasted hunting for those oft used links such as:
- your website
- that really cool worksheet you made and saved online
- the site you always go to to reduce the size of those mammoth pdf files
- the website that helps you juggle multiple timezones so you don’t end up asking someone to meet at an ungodly hour
- your banking websites
Sure you could google them each.and.every.time. But who’s got time for that?
You’ve got talents and dreams to share with the world so don’t you want more time to do just that vrs hunting and pecking over and over for that same ol’ site?
Let’s bring a little peace of mind to you in honour of international peace day with an easy-peasy tool.
Enter bookmarks
I’ve written before about the incredible power of bookmarking online sites in Ten absolutely, positively must-have tech tools for saving your sanity but today we’re going to dive in a little deeper to that wonderful pool of productivity. This simple, easy-peasy tool not just enhances your productivity but also saves you time.
If you didn’t catch that post and you’re new to bookmarking, know that bookmarking is simply getting your computer to memorize your often visited sites. This includes any type of site on the web, as long as it has a url, so you can revisit them with ease.
It’s the digital equivalent of putting a bookmark in a book so you can easily and quickly find your place again. You can store your online bookmarks on your browser OR in the cloud. Today we’re talking browser.
Before we dive in though, here’s an important caveat.
Being more productive doesn’t have to mean doing more. It can mean doing more … of what you really want to be doing (vs dull, monotonous, repetitive tasks) like sharing those dreams and talents of yours. It can also mean saving time to ….. do less like resting, relaxing, recuperating, rejuvenating.
Here’s your path to your very own customized, supremely organized, easy to access online resources
1. Make a list
- Make a list of the websites that you visit all the time and/or you are asked for all the time (this is an important distinction I discuss in the pro tip below)
- These can include anything on the web – websites, online videos, online pdfs, anything!
2. Categorize
- Organize your sites into categories.
- These will become your folders so make sure they make sense to you.
- Examples from my browser include the following:
- Digital strategy: these sites from the screengrab above include my digital content calendar, the sites I store my blog posts, quotes, etc.
- Learning and Development Roundtable; here are my links to the Roundtable explanation page, RSVP sheet, sign up link etc. all captured in the screengrab above.
- Productivity; I’ve included the site where I reduce the size of pdfs I want to email, the google doc where I store client testimonials, google docs for my working better tougher research and more.
- Finances; spreadsheets, financial sign in websites and more are all stored in this folder.
- IP; this is where I have all my intellectual property (e.g. learning resources) bookmarked. Notice the folders within the folders from the screengrab above. Easy peasy nice and breezy, everything is just one click away.
- RPS website; this is exactly what it sounds like. All my oft used website pages are here as you can see from the screengrab above.
3. Create your bookmarks
- Using your browser’s bookmarking tool simply create your bookmarks
- Name them as you wish. You don’t have to stick with the name that will be automatically given to them when you save them to bookmarks.
- You can put folders within folders (check out my IP folder to see what I mean – I have it further broken down into sign ups, surveys/assessments, worksheets etc.)
- They’ll now appear on your browser (those little folders in the picture above)
4. Do a little jig
- Shake your booty in satisfaction. You now have beautifully organized bookmark folders.
- Simply click on the individual bookmarks and voila, you’ll be taken there instantly, with no more searching.
But wait there’s more to do with this easy, peasy tool!
Pro tip
Remember the pro tip I alluded to? You don’t always have to actually GO to the sites you’ve bookmarked (as in click on them). The next time your friend or colleague asks you for that favourite chocolate cake recipe of yours, or for the sign up to your Learning and Development Roundtable etc. you can simply right click, copy the url and paste. I learned this nifty trick from the wonderful Amber de la Garza, a productivity expert.
Here’s what right clicking to share looks like using the Chrome browser (yours may look slightly different if you use a different browser) in the screengrab above.
Just make sure when you’re wanting to copy the link you right click. If you click as usual you’ll go to that actual page.
I can’t tell you how often I share surveys, learning resources, my newsletter sign up, my Learning and Development Roundtable signup, blog posts, the Learning and Development Roundtable backgrounder etc. And because I have all those sites bookmarked I don’t have to open another tab, copy the url, go back to the email, blog post etc (wherever I”m sharing the resource) and paste.
Can you hear the angels singing?? This is such an easy tip that saves a ton of time. Whether you’re clicking on your bookmarked site to go there or right click to share the url, bookmarking saves a ton of time.
Okay rockstar. Go spend more time chasing those amazing dreams of yours and/or resting up with all the time you’ll soon save with bookmarking.
Learn
- Start making a list of the sites you want to bookmark and go at ‘er knowing that sweet time saving, ease and efficiency are all close by.
Laugh
- Stop feeling like you’re going round and round the hamster wheel with endless searching for online resources.
Lead
- If being able to share a bunch of bookmarks by topic is important to you, dig into bookmarking even more and use this social bookmarking tool; Digging Diigo- your path to online ease and efficiency
P.S. Want to receive invitations to my monthly Learning and Development Roundtable? Easy peasy. Sign up here.
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