As a blogger, you are faced with the most distractions ever conceived in human history caused by the internet and web 2.0 popularity. There are the Tweets that you feel like reading, your Facebook status that you have to update, your emails that you need to read, Youtube videos you need to watch, and other blogs and interesting sites that you are a regular visitor of. There are more information available online in a single day than what you could consume in a month. But, don’t beat yourself for it. When you’re stuck filling up the registration forms for the hundredth time. It’s time to step back, relax, and read these quick ways to improve your online productivity.
1. Better Feed Reader
The first step towards improving your online productivity is by changing the way you access the information and news available on the internet. Rather than visiting your favorite blogs and sites for the latest gadget news, you should instead use feed readers to combine them into one single page. If you’re using Firefox, I highly recommend using Feedly add-on. This feed reader is one of the best looking one I’ve seen so far. But if you’re not using Firefox, install and start using one. It’s the best and most versatile browser with add-ons and plugins that helps you increase your online productivity. Other feed readers you could try are Google Reader and Bloglines.
2. Reduce to Bare Necessity
A secret to Web 2.0 is that it should more aptly be called the Repetition Web. Chances are, any story that you are currently reading has been written twelve times before with slightly different spins. Say, you’re a technology and gadget freak like me. I read Gizmodo, Tech Crunch, Engadget, Boing Boing, and Ars Technica. And Apple is announcing the new iPod. A lot of times I end up reading the same news repeated on those sites. To deal with this, I use TechMeme to filter the news so that i only need to read the most important news once and thus increase my online productivity. You can find similar sites that do this based on the type of blogs you usually visit.
3. Productive Start Pages
If you have Google account, the best all in one deal is iGoogle. Because, not only you could have all the latest news items presented to you when you load your browser, you can also access your Gmail account and Youtube account from within iGoogle itself. Other sites that have similar features are NetVibes, and PageFlakes.
4. Organize Your Time & Track Your Goals
In order to use your time effectively, you need to make a schedule for yourself. Having all the activities on a calendar is undoubtedly the way to go for keeping track of events. Use Google Calendar, if you have a Google account, or Scrybe or 30 Boxes to arrange your day. Use Dreaminder to track your goals. Use Time Tracker or Get Harvest to keep track of the time you spend on any task, like writing a blog post.
5. Mind Map Your Posts
Mind mapping has been regarded as one of the best ways to brainstorm. Mind maps have been used to generate, generate, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing. To increase your online productivity with Mind Map, use the free mind mapping tool, Bubbl.us. This mind mapping tool was used by Frank Kern in his Mass Control course.
6. Automate Your Tasks
How many times have you visit a site to gather some information and realize that you need to sign-up to get the article you’re looking for? All the hassle of filling up the registration form just to visit the site once? Well, Bug Me Not (Firefox plug-in) takes away some of those hassles by tapping into the database of pre-made registrations and bypass those login screens with a simple right-click. If you still haven’t install Firefox. Do it now, because Autofill Forms (Firefox plugin) will get rid of those tiring days of filling up registration forms for you. If this doesn’t save you time, nothing will.
These are tools and resources to improve your online productivity. Use them wisely, and I believe you could finish more tasks with less time. Feel free to leave comments or tweet it if you like it.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Number 3, make a productive start page is my favorite on this.
thanks,
Nhoel of http://keywrodspeak.com
Nhoel´s last blog ..10 Most Common Grammar Mistakes
Andi, congrats on another concise and very informative post! Keep it up.
I will for sure try some of the ideas presented myself. Especially like the bubble.us service, techmeme adn your advice on creating calendars – I must do it at last (been aware of it but doing nothing for too long).
I love iGoogle myself. I use multiple tabs there.
Take care.
Money-Era.com´s last blog ..You are on the run & everything works
I like it. I’d also mention the Zen Habits blog as a great place to get ideas on how to streamline and simplify your work processes.
Mogul´s last blog ..An Introduction to Crafting Headlines